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Not Only Updates, But Enhancements! Any Ideas?

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I've been updating the website over the last couple of weeks and I'm not quite done yet, but I wanted to share with you what I've enhanced on the blog and see if you have any ideas for me.

Enhancements

  • Article Previews. The homepage and archive pages will now only feature a post introduction instead of the full article. The pages were simply getting too long.
  • Trackback Toggling. As seen in Set Up Your WordPress Blog To Allow Trackback Toggling. If you'd like to see trackbacks, you can. The default is for them to be hidden.
  • Related Posts. If someone comes from Google and doesn't find exactly what they're looking for, maybe an related article would answer their question.
  • Glorious Gravatars. To add a bit of personality to the site, I've added gravatars. You take the time to post, I'd like reward you with!
  • Code Crunch. Using PHP output buffers, the site's header has been crunched down to one line of code. This should save bandwidth and make each page download faster.
  • Example Pages. I've created an example page template to increase branding and make the site look a bit smoother.
  • $10 Off Per Month Coupon. I know that some people prefer to pay for hosting on a monthly basis. Use the coupon code DAVIDWALSH10 at Dreamhost and get $10 off hosting each month.

To Do

  • Phase Out Google Adsense. Google Adsense is, quite simply, ineffective. My best day has been $5 but I'm usually lucky to get one click per day. Moreover, I'm not surprised to see that click worth more than a few pennies. I'm going to test the waters with static advertising.
  • Comment Crunching. I'd like to figure out a way to safely remove extra line breaks and tabs in the source code for comments. Any way to save you download time.
  • Polls. I'd like to add poll capabilities but I need to find a reliable plugin. I have plenty of poll questions stockpiled!

You Tell Me

I'd love to hear your suggestions as to how I can make my website better for you. Anything you see (or don't see) on my website that could be improved? Anything you want added or removed? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Discussion

  1. Eric Wendelin

    All great changes David! I especially like the related posts. I personally use the WP-Polls widget (as does Chris Coyier it seems) and I really like it. Let me know if you need a URL for it or anything.

    I’m not sure if anything is missing here but if I think of something I’ll mention it. Good work!

  2. Jesus DeLaTorre

    I think code tags and a live comment preview, would be helpful.

  3. david

    I’ve tried live preview in the past Jesus, but couldn’t get it to work. I’ll give it another try though.

  4. Jesus DeLaTorre

    It seems to be working. I like it especially when writing code, since you don’t know what WP will do.

  5. Mark

    I just implemented a link on my page that will take you to a random post. I think this might be cool for you to add as well.

    Btw I am not a fan of the comment preview. It doesnt add any value and my browser is making small refreshes every time I type which is very annoying.

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