Archive for iThemes
BackupBuddy–The Must-Have Plugin
Posted by: | CommentsUsing BackupBuddy from iThemes to backup my site is a lot like using Carbonite to back up my hard drive. Once my settings are in place, I know I’m protected and can easily recover everything.
BackupBuddy is a premium WordPress Plugin that backs up your website or blog– not just your posts, but your theme, widgets, plugins and SQL database. This is superior to any other backup plugins out there because BackupBuddy will actually restore your site to its former state. You won’t have to reconfigure your widgets or wonder what was there. Just follow the instructions to get quickly back online.
BackupBuddy Menu
I’ve had BackupBuddy installed on my site and any sites I maintain for over a year now and recently upgraded to the new 2.0 version that includes even more and better features. I’ll highlight the ones I find most important below.
BackupBuddy Features
- schedule regular backups for database only or a full backup
- tell BackupBuddy to email you upon successful (or unsuccessful) backup
- tell BackupBuddy where you want your backup sent. Choices are: Amazon S3, Rackspace Cloud, an FTP/FTPS account, or your email.
- ability to completely restore my site (they have great instructions & video tutorials in addition to the best support).
- ability to migrate my site. So if I wanted to move to a different host, or if I wanted to build a new site and get it all ready while leaving my old one up, this makes it easy.
- a malware scanner to let me know if something bad is on my site. It also gives me several screens full of details about what versions of software I’m running, links, any errors and even if my domain is blacklisted
- server information that lets me know if my host is up to date on their settings and software
Server Readout (partial results)
If you’ve invested time and/or money in a website or blog, why wouldn’t you take the same precautions as you do with the data on your hard drive? (You do have your hard drive backed up, don’t you?) There are so many things that could happen…your site could become infected, an upgrade could go very wrong, a plugin could mess things up…spend a few bucks for insurance and peace of mind, you’ll be glad you did.
Interview With Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Posted by: | CommentsIf you’ve used WordPress, you’ve probably heard of Lisa Sabin-Wilson, WordPress rock star and author of the popular WordPress for Dummies (the 3rd edition is coming out in June). She also wrote BuddyPress for Dummies, a book about delving into the social side of WordPress by creating your own on-line community from within WordPress. This book came out just this month (April, 2010).
Lynn Dye & Lisa Sabin-Wilson
Lisa was here in Oklahoma City last weekend (4-23/24-2010), for the ithemes Builder Bootcamp. She kicked off the Bootcamp by sharing how WordPress came to be as well as her background with WordPress. Something she said has really stuck with me,
“WordPress is free…and priceless at the same time.”
A simple statement that says much. Think about the flexibility and professional, or whimsical look that can be obtained by a start-up business or an everyday blogger by using WordPress.com for free or WordPress.org, where you obtain your own hosting.
I asked Lisa how she came to write her first ‘Dummies’ book. She was at SXSW (South by Southwest) in 2006 and met, quite by chance, someone from Wiley Publishing. During their conversation, it became evident to the Wiley representative that Lisa knew her stuff and she asked Lisa if she’d be interested in writing a book about WordPress. Until then, writing a book hadn’t entered her mind. In fact she mentioned to me that her 8th grade English teacher would be shocked to know she had written any kind of book!
The writing process is interesting to me, so Lisa explained that with Wiley and the ‘Dummies’ series, there are definite guidelines and formats to follow that took time to adjust to. She is grateful to all the editors, proofers and staff who guided her through that process. Now with 3 editions of WordPress and the first BuddyPress book under her belt, things go more smoothly.
I asked if any new books are in her future and she said she will be doing another book for Wiley. The title is still under wraps until July, but it is WordPress related and should come out in December—just in time for Christmas!
Lisa Gives Back to the WordPress Community
Lisa is active in the WordPress community and believes in giving back. She’s the chief organizer of the Chicago WordCamp and is invited to pretty much all the WordCamps. I learned that no travel expenses or honorariums are given to most speakers at these WordCamps. She’s grateful that she has built a business from WordPress that supports her and her family and she enjoys traveling around the country to meet fellow WordPress enthusiasts.
Her business is WordPress focused. Lisa started her web design business in 1998. When she started using WordPress in 2003, she realized its potential and now, her business, E.Webscapes offers a wide range of blog and web services. I asked how she maintains a business along with her volunteering to attend so many WordPress related functions. She has a talented staff along with a virtual/personal assistant who work with her to make it all work. She also maintains a more personal blog at justagirlintheworld.
You can read my thoughts of the ithemes Builder Bootcamp directly below this post. I was thrilled when I read ithemes was going to do a bootcamp right here in Oklahoma City. Then when I found out Lisa was coming, that just made it all the better. I found her to be very approachable and I along with many others benefited from talking with her during the breaks and getting our books autographed. Thanks for coming to Oklahoma City, Lisa–we look forward to your next visit.
What I Learned at the ithemes Builder Bootcamp
Posted by: | CommentsLast Friday and Saturday (April 23-24), were spent in tech bliss (and overload), at the first ever ithemes Oklahoma City Builder Bootcamp. Here are a few things I learned…
Dustin Bolton, Chris Jean, Matt Danner, James Dalman
1. Builder is even better than I originally thought. I purchased Builder the minute it was available (sign up for their email newsletters, you could probably snag a discount coupon on product releases {sorry @jamesdalman, I had to mention coupons}). I listened/watched some of their demos and on-line workshops and thought that this is going to be great for we non-geeks to use. Being at the workshop and seeing the staff explain and demo the features taught and/or reinforced the Builder skills I had been developing.
2. There’s a distinction to be made with Builder and the Child Themes. We think about Builder being a theme, but really, when using Builder, we upload and activate a particular child theme and that child theme is actually the theme being used. That’s the way I was doing it, but I didn’t really understand the genius behind their thinking.
3. Rename Child Themes before tweaking them. I’ve not been brave enough to do this yet, but if I do, I’ll be sure to save the original child theme and then rename the child theme I want to revise. They said that the child themes usually don’t need to be upgraded and that the major changes/fixes/enhancements they make will be in the Builder theme upgrades. (I hope I got that right!)
4. Delete your inactive plug-ins – they are a security risk.
5. Chris Jean @chrisjean is a genius. He’s the author of Builder, he answers all my novice-type questions so kindly and on my level, and he’s one of the few guys I know who can multi-task! I mean this guy is always working on code while doing other stuff! (p.s. to Chris—remember my request for a feminine/lighter color child theme!)
6. Lisa Sabin-Wilson @LisaSabinWilson is very approachable, knowledgeable and gives back regularly to the WordPress community. She was at our Bootcamp and enhanced everyone’s experience by being there and participating. She let me do a short interview with her, which I’ll publish later this week.
7. Getting to know fellow itheme students. There were people here from CA, TN, NM, MO (Duct Tape Marketing folks), MN, MT and elsewhere there. A valuable serendipity was exchanging contact information with these people and hopefully keeping in touch with them.
I want to thank the ithemes team for hosting the workshop right here in Oklahoma City. It’s wonderful to have this premium theme company leading the OKC tech community. I got to meet Cory Miller @corymiller303 for the first time and found him to be as genuine, passionate and dedicated as I thought he would be. I also got to visit with James Dalman@ jamesdalman for awhile about what he does and the new Web Design Services iThemes is starting to offer. I found out his other role at iThemes is body guard for Cory Miller 
So to Cory Miller, thank you for deciding to hold this Bootcamp in OKC. I’ve been around some of your team at our local WordPress meetups and have found them to always be helpful, gracious and patient. It was evident at the bootcamp that there is a special camaraderie you all share. The team was available and willing to help any and all this past weekend. It was a great experience and I’d recommend any future Bootcamps you decide to put on.
Please read David North’s post of what he learned at the Bootcamp. David is the OKC WordPress Meetup group organizer. Anyone in the local OKC area is invited to the monthly WordPress meetups. We meet the last Monday each month.
