joelwalsh

It looks like I didn’t explain myself very well there.

The issue is not the NAME of the theme. The issue is that the website is not using the CSS at all even though the URL of the CSS is properly listed in the header of the document.

By this I mean, none of the styles or positions specified in the CSS are being used; it’s all as if there were no CSS. Since the CSS is called from the header using the URL of the CSS, and that is correct, how can this be? What am I doing wrong?

I’ve put it back to the old CSS so you can see here: https://www.UpMarketMerchant.com

Re: Fantastico, I think it is very useful (as long as the install is up-to-date). The reason it’s useful is that it gets around all the different server configuration issues that can popup on a manual install. Having done both Fantastico and manual install on a few servers, I’d have to say that Fantastico is easier in cases where the server setup is a little different (no, I don’t know enough about servers to understand why this is, except that the differences can crop up even when all the servers are the same version of Apache).

Also, if you have a host who updates Fantastico every week, you might have your new WP installation in your Fanastico within a few weeks of official release. But I don’t think most hosts bother with updating Fantastico more than once a month, if that.

OK, I still need to know: does it qualify as three columns?

Moshu, that looks very helpful, and hopefully as I build more sites I will have a chance to try it out. For now, I’m a little too time-pressed to learn anything new, but I’ll keep it in mind.

Well, I did what VK said and had my assistant move the posts manually. Didn’t take her more than an hour total for about a dozen or so posts, and without any headaches, so I guess you guys were right.

You can see the result here: UpMarket SEO: https://www.UpMarketSEO.com

I have no way of knowing for sure, but with Fantastico it seemed with this last one (1.5.2) that the lag was about 1-2 months.

I believe the contact form plugin requires you to have it in side the post or page itself, not in a sidebar or otherwise as part of the theme; am I wrong?

There was a hack for putting a comments form on the homepage, and I’m just trying to figure out what that is.

In the meantime, I’ve just copied the entire form html into the sidebar template. You can see this here: https://www.UpMarketSEO.com

But this way the form pass on the value for the page/post number/title which is very useful in figuring out where people are coming from when they write you. Usually it’s in reference to something on that page so the comment doesn’t make sense otherwise.

I’m not using WP for a strict blog which is why I’m interested in this.

Thank you for the thoughts, null. Can we see your site soon? Not in your profile.

The boxes on the right side have been fixed.

I had done the thing with the boxes on the bottom, the footer boxes, deliberately. Just a thought: everyone has footers that extend the width of the page, though maybe there’s a reason for that…once there’s much in there the boxes won’t resemble footers anymore. I guess I’ll change at least the bottom-most footer box.

Null, which font is way better?

Yeah, I know this would be a somewhat obnoxious place to put an advertisement, very in-your-face, but that’s the idea, to make it noticeable, without actually interrupting the content.

Katie, if there’s any part of the site that is actually making it hard for you to read or to figure out what goes where, do let me know. The whole idea was to make it easy to read and to find what you’re looking for, but of course your eyes always glaze over when you’re looking at your own work.

Hi, Null

I just looked at the browsercam of Opera 8.5 and at least the top seems to be OK. Were you referring to the bottom of the page?

Here is the browsercam image:

https://www.browsercam.com/projects/215299/4454411.jpg

OK, I’m checking the site in different browsers and platforms. You can have a look at the results here:

https://www.browsercam.com/public.aspx?proj_id=215299

{{fingers crossed}}

Hi Katie–

Good eye: the middle column’s content is not that good but it’s not a permanent part of the design. The idea is that an advertisement will be there, such as an image or Google adsense. Of course, there is default styling for that column in case text is used. Any thoughts on improving the default styling?

What would you recommend to liven it up?

It all depends in what you mean by boring. From a usability standpoint and a conversion rate standpoint I find the design very exciting because it manages to combine an article, a lead capture form, and an advertisement, each in prominent positions, without the whole thing being busy.

But yes, it is boring in terms of the color scheme, fonts (really, fonts have to be boring, since you if don’t go with the 6 or so browser-standard fonts I think you’re just making more trouble than it’s worth), and general layout. The idea is that people go to a site for the content, not the color scheme (well, if they’re non-designers…)

If you know of a theme that is more interesting visually, combines an article, advertisement, and lead capture form (or some other 3 slightly disparate elements) without any of them unduly distracting from anything else, let me know. I’m sure such a theme exists but it’s not easy to search through WP themes right now; you’re better off just designing your own, time-wise.

The new semiologic 3-column theme comes somewhat close and is very attractive, but still a little too busy for my tastes.

actually, columcille, that’s how it looks in firefox on windows xp…

I’m guessing you’re referring to the columns intertwining at the bottom of the page? you think it looks bad? Of course, if there is enough content in the post column, that won’t happen since they’ll all get pushed down the page. I’m assuming that once the site gets ready to roll there will be plenty of content in the post column. But in any event, as long as not content is obscured I don’t think it’s a problem in that sense, and aesthetically, I rather like it.

But my aesthetic sense is not very strong. What do you think? Not good?

Also, how much longer can we keep releasing themes meant for 1.5? Or will this not necessitate any revamping of themes?

does this address any security concerns in the older version? Will we be putting ourselves in any danger practically if we don’t upgrade relatively soon?

Also, I thought there was going to be a 1.6?

Ok, it was actually more like a couple dozen posts (the reference to a few posts was to the number of posts on the site now). But if it will risk wrecking the thing that badly, I guess I’ll just go with that.

Is this the same reason why moving a WP installation is such a trial-and-error chore?