WordPress Version 3.1 admin bar
I
f you have updated your WordPress to version you may have noticed that there is an admin bar that appears across the top of your screen. This admin bar is set to appear in the version 3.1 default settings. It is only visible to the admin when logged in so don’t worry, you visitors can’t see it. The purpose of having the admin bar there is to quickly be able to move to different parts of your dashboard with fewer clicks. For example if you want to add a new post or a new page, you can click on “new page” and be taken directly to the new page section of your dashboard.
Some may find this beneficial however most feedback I have seen it has caused some confusion and let’s face it, when we are viewing our site we want to see a nice clean view of what our visitors are seeing. So, to turn off the admin bar go into your Dashboard. Goto “Users” and select the admin the user and look for “Show Admin Bar.” Simply uncheck “when viewing site” and save and now it won’t appear.
If you haven’t updated to 3.1, you should because there are some important security updates.
Fantastico Error
If you have worked with WordPress long enough, for one reason or another, you have probably started your site over from scratch. So you either log into your cpanel or ftp and totally delete everything. Now you go over to your Fantastico Menu and you are all ready to once again install WordPress onto your domain.
All is going fine, until you see this error message, “You cannot install more than one script in the root directory of a domain.” Wait a minute, I just got done deleting all files, how can this be? So you go back into your ftp or cpanel and look again and sure enough, there is nothing there. What gives??
Don’t worry there is a simple fix. It appears the previous script was not properly removed. Here is what you need to do:
1. Log into your ftp or Cpanel file manager.
2. Go to your HOME directory and look for .fantasticodata
3. Next find this php file installed_in_root.php and delete it.
That should do the trick. You are now clear to re-install WordPress!
WordPress to Twitter and Facebook
Everyone wants to get their blog as much attention as possible.
One way is to tie your blog into the social media sites. The heavy hitters are of course Twitter and Facebook. I have tried numerous plug-ins in an attempt to make an automated connection between my blogs an associated twitter and Facebook accounts. None of them have fully satisfied me.
I have found a better solution through the use of HootSuite.com.
You can setup a free account on this service. It allows you to manage multiple social media accounts from one dashboard and send a message to one or all of these accounts with a couple clicks of the mouse.
Even more importantly from the automation standpoint, it will take a RSS feed and echo it out to the social media accounts on the schedule you select. I can take the RSS feed from my WordPress blog and have new posts echoed to Twitter and Facebook – all automatically.
WordPress 3.0 Visit Site Option
If you have recently upgraded to WordPress 3.0 you surely seen plenty of changes.
In previous versions at the top of your Dashboard, next to the name of your blog, there was a button that would allow you to visit your site. In WordPress Version 3.0 that button has mysteriously disappeared. You can still view your post, but where is the view site button?
Don’t worry, you can still view your site after making your posts and or changes.
Simply click the title of your blog, found in the upper left hand corner, and presto! It has the same effect as clicking “visit site” and takes you to your website.
Allowed Memory Size Exhausted Error
many people are running into this error when attempting to upgrade their WordPress website to version 3.0. It is caused by a memory limitation on their site as to the amount of memory that can be used. Many sites are setup with a 32 megabyte limit. Version 3.0 now includes the functionality that was once in WordPress MU as well as the new default theme. All together it exceeds the 32 Mb limit.
The easiest solution is to install a plug-in called Memory Bump. While this plug-in is active you can set your memory limit as high as 256 Mb. Without this plug-in you would be forced to hand edit configuration files on your site. If the plug-in does not work for you then you are up against a hosting service defined limit and you will need to contact them to get the issue resolved.
Blank Page Error
Some people have run into the issue that once they upgrade their site to WordPress 3.0, they go to look at their site and all they get is a blank page. Not an error page or a 404 page not found, just a blank page. More often than not this is a case of having a plug-in that is incompatible with version 3.0.
There are steps you can follow to verify and fix this.
- Start by logging into your hosting control panel (cPanel for most folks). This will verify that your host computer is up and running. If you can’t log into your control panel it is time for a call to your hosting company.
- Next step is to try and log into your WordPress dashboard. If you go to http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin and the log in page is displayed, WordPress itself is fine. This means it is either your theme or your plug-ins. Once you actually log in things could go funky because the plug-ins provide part of your dashboard.
- Now we need to get down to checking plug-ins (the most likely culprit). Through FTP or your control panel file manager find your plugins directory under wp-content. Rename the plugins folder something else and see if the problem is resolved. If it is then we have confirmed that one of the plug-ins is misbehaving.
- Once you know for sure that it is a plug-in it is time to find out which one. Make a new folder under wp-content named plugins (the old one is still named something else). One at a time move the folders under the old plugins folder into the new one. Check your site after each move. When the site stops working again you know which plug-in is the culprit. Delete that plugin folder and move the rest of the plug-ins over to the new folder. It wouldn’t hurt to continue to do them one at a time while checking the site after each move. You never know, there could be more than one that has a problem.
- Then find another plug-in or an updated version of your old plug-in that does what you need.
Unable to create directory – Is its parent directory writable by the server?
This is a common error that occurs when trying to upload themes, plugins and images. If you install WordPress via Fantastico or a one click install script permissions are usually set correctly via that process.
However, if you install WordPress manually via FTP sometimes permissions are not set correctly.
And thus “directories” are not always writable.
Here are two ways to fix this problem.
Via WordPress Dashboard
- Login to WordPress Dashboard
- Click on Settings > Miscellaneous (Settings > Media in WP 3.0)
- Look for “Store uploads in this folder”
- Make sure path is: wp-content/uploads
- Click Save
- Try to upload original file again.
If that doesn’t work then via FTP
- Login via FTP
- Click to wp-content directory
- Change permissions on /uploads and sub folders to 777
- Return to site and attempt original upload
- If works return to FTP and change permissions back to 755
