Royal Deer Design » WordPress

Twitter Releases Official WordPress Plugin

Sheuli — Mon, 09 Mar 2015 13:36:21 +0000

If you are ready to grow your audience on Twitter’s social media platform, we have good news. The official release of a Twitter plugin for WordPress is now available. The installable package is ready for sites running WordPress, allowing users the ability to easily connect with the social network.

Some of the functionality included with the new Twitter plugin include:

Generate Twitter cards directly from web pages
Generate Twitter cards directly from web pages
Choose widget themes that match site design
Add Tweet buttons to blog posts and follow buttons on web pages
Use Twitter Analytics to track and grow your audience

The plugin is available in 28 languages.

Don’t Just Hide Your WordPress Site – Secure it As Well

Sheuli — Thu, 18 Dec 2014 13:45:43 +0000

If you are looking for a 100% secure, totally safe and completely hack-proof website, you only have one option – disconnect from the web. As long as you remain online and connected to a network with at least one other computer, you are vulnerable.

30,000 websites are hacked every day, with the costs to businesses averaging $8700.

One option some choose to protect their site is to hide that they are running WordPress. Some do this for security reasons while others simply don’t like the perception that WordPress is not a professional content management system.

Whatever the reason, security through obscurity is not the best – or at least not the only – step you should take when securing your website.

Here are some basic security measures to protect your online presence:

Update the operating system with the latest patches and security implementations
Update wordpress with the latest versions, and do the same with all plugins
Use strong passwords and consider a two-step authentication process
Rename the admin account
Lockdown file permissions on the wp-admin directory

Some additional steps you can take include:

Hire a third party vendor to evaluate your site for security holes
Implement third party software for added security
Buy insurance against any potential losses from hackers
Use a separate, secure service for processing credit card payments

Following the “ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” philosophy, make sure you backup your website so that if an issue occurs, you will not lose data and can quickly revert back to a stable version of your site.

The bottom line is that WordPress is a secure system when properly implemented and maintained. Under most circumstances, hiding WordPress is not necessary, but if you still want an added level of super-security, Code Canyon provides a Hide My WP plugin which implements a series of measures to conceal the fact you are running WordPress.

Whatever actions you take to implement security, at the end of the day you are responsible for your own safety and giving your users confidence in your ability to protect them and their data. Following basic rules of security and using multiple layers of defense, will go a long way towards keeping your site safe and secure.

Speed Up Your WordPress with WP Super Cache

Sheuli — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 01:39:26 +0000

Just a short post in which we would like to share some stats from how using WP Super Cache plugin can speed up your WordPress site.

Website tested (Royal Deer Design’s client): Agneyasingh.com
Tool used for testing: tools.pingdom.com

No caching:

Caching enabled:

Website tested (Royal Deer Design’s client): Agniputrafilms.com
Tool used for testing: tools.pingdom.com

No caching:

Caching enabled:

Meet Benny – The New WordPress 4.0

Sheuli — Mon, 08 Sep 2014 01:23:07 +0000

Rising to prominence as the “King of Swing” in the mid 1930’s, Benny Goodman is one of the most popular bandleaders of all times. WordPress has released WordPress version 4.0, codenamed Benny, in honor of Benny Goodman. From media management to writing and editing enhancements that improve the content management user experience, Benny includes a number of great new features.

Easier Content Creation

One of the first and most welcome additions with Benny is the improvement to the tool bar and publishing options, which remain on screen regardless of how far down you scroll. This makes writing, editing and publishing much quicker and easier, especially when working with long form content.

Improved Media Embedding

Media is an important part of any website, but with previous versions of WordPress media must be added and then previewed or published in order to see the results. Benny changes all that, and now you can see embedded media directly in your post.

Better Plugin Browsing

Plugins are one of the best and easiest ways to extend the functionality of WordPress, yet the process of searching for and through plugins could be difficult. WIth the addition of a plugin browser, Benny now allows you to search through plugins in a simple and visual way, and user reviews are instantly available to help with your plugin decision making process.

Easier Media Handling

Following through with the improved visual process, the media library has also been updated to allow for easy drag and drop, along with an infinite scrolling grid to search and edit your media content. Video and audio files are playable in this view, and a detail view is also available for quickly editing media.

These updates and enhancements, along with hundreds of other improvements, will go a long way to making an easier and more seamless process to create, manage and publish web content.

WordPress 4.0 Beta 2 is Now Available

Sheuli — Wed, 06 Aug 2014 01:26:06 +0000

If you are ready to try the latest and greatest WordPress beta release, then look no further as WordPress 4.0 Beta 2 is now available via the WordPress plugins. If you are feeling adventurous, you can select the “bleeding edge” option. You can also download a copy of WordPress 4.0 Beta 2 here.

Some of the changes with WordPress 4.0 include:

A grid view for the media library
Visual changes to the plugin experience
Formatting function changes along with the ability to select a language during the installation process

For a more complete list of changes and enhancements, check out this Beta 1 blog post.

As always, there is the option to post in the Alpha/Beta forum for any bugs you have found, or you can create your own bug report here.

Happy testing, and make sure to backup before you begin!

WordPress releases “Parker” for 3.8

Sheuli — Wed, 08 Jan 2014 13:45:19 +0000

In honor of Charlie Parker, a bebop innovator the new version 3.8 of WordPress is now available for downloading or updating your current WordPress dashboard. One of the main new features about the new update is the great looking new modern design. No more overbearing gradients or multiple shades of grey, but instead bigger, bolder, and colorful design.

Awesome New Parker Features

Here are a few awesome features to look forward too!

Modern aesthetic – get a great new uncluttered design that is simple to use and nice and clear.
Clean typography – imagine being able to read friendly text on any device. The Open Sans typeface will be a dream come true to view, even on your mobile device.
Refined contrast – a great looking design should never sacrifice legibility. The new design is not only easy to read, but the navigation is better than ever.
WordPress will also be accessible on smartphones, tablets, notebooks, and desktops.
Vector based icons are scaled to your screen with will give you high definition at a high speed.

WordPress also takes great pride in making sure Parker is also tailored to each user. New perks such as eight new admin color schemes make it fun using your dashboard. Also, choosing a new theme is better than ever. Widget management used to be complicated, but now it’s a simple “drag” or a “scroll” and you have a handle on your widgets.

The leader for this new release is Matt Mullenweg. There were also 188 contributors adding to the release of Parker 3.8.

WordPress Will Be Releasing Two Versions Concurrently In The Near Future

Sheuli — Thu, 22 Aug 2013 00:10:27 +0000

Any user of WordPress at this exact moment is thrilled to hear this amazing news. WordPress is a great platform for many websites, and is used around the entire world for business websites, blogs, and even as newsletters. WordPress 3.6 was released just recently therefore, the news of version 3.7 and 3.8 on the way is great news for those of us that rely on WordPress so heavily. This platform is one of the most popular platforms to ever be used. Even websites with huge amounts of traffic are WordPress based.

Wordpress 3.7

This particular version will only have a timeline of 2 months. It will be the faster turnaround ever. Here are the goals for this version’s release.

Language packs
Auto-updates for minor releases
Enhancements to help strengthen user password. Being able to really put the lock down on your WordPress site or blog is an improvement.

Wordpress 3.8

Here are the suggested ideas about the version 3.8 of WordPress.

An overhaul of widgets
Featured content – imagine being able to manage the information of which posts are featured and being able to control the location. The theme will determine the presentation of the information.
Improving the content editing experience – this is always a huge bonus!
Getting dashboard help
Global turn off comments
Explore the front-end posting/art direction with the possibility of using the existing customizer.
Re-imagine the WP.org theme directory for a better experience

At the moment there are two teams of WordPress designers and coders working to get these new versions ready to go. If you currently use WordPress, then you will know just how exciting this will be for all of us that rely so hugely on this amazing platform. In a short about of time the new versions will be ready to use. Tentatively speaking it was released that October 7th or around the week of the 7th of October is when all WordPress users will be able to start using the newer versions.

The Top 5 Reasons Why WordPress Is The Best Option When Building A Website

Sheuli — Wed, 22 May 2013 01:53:13 +0000

WordPress is widely popular for blogging purposes, but many people do not know that WordPress is also one of the most solid website building platforms used. WordPress is responsible for powering huge websites such as CNN, Radaronline and People Magazine.

Here are 5 good reasons you should use WordPress for your website.

WordPress is not going anywhere, because it’s reliable, stable, and solid. Anyone using WordPress will praise how easy it is to use and it is also very user friendly. WordPress was reported last year with approximately 8.5 million users. The following year the approximate number of WordPress users was 14.7. Those numbers alone speak of how well liked WordPress is.
WordPres sis not just for blogging. WordPress has come a long way, and now is able to accommodate business sites, job boards, sites featuring classified ads, and even celebrity gossips sites. Anytime a feature needs to be enhanced, WordPress has more than enough plug-in’s to apply.
Another huge benefit for many people is the cost of WordPress. This powerful CMS system is open source, which means it is open to the general public and anyone could modify the code to make it even more customized. The community of people using WordPress is working together to assist building even more customization where it is needed.
The support worldwide for WordPress is amazing. Any developer can work on a WordPress based site, and be able to make changes or create new additions with community support. Any time the site experiences a bug or needs a quick fix, it is always done in a timely fashion.
The functionality of WordPress is as simple as changing a Word document. The need for complex or advanced website skills is no longer necessary. The dashboard on WordPress can help you navigate and figure out what content you want removed or added. It is just that simple.

If you are not familiar with WordPress and all of the features it can offer, now is the perfect time to check it out. WordPress is changing the world with the functionality, features, and the great support system from the WordPress community.

WordPress 3.5.1 Hits the Market

Sheuli — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 06:38:38 +0000

WordPress is constantly creating new versions of their CMS to maintain their place as a top ranking website platform. On January 24th, 2013 WordPress announced their newest version, version 3.5.1. Update 3.5.1 focuses on general maintenance, ultimately fixing over 35 issues.

This update also helps heighten security on the platform that millions use to build their personal and business websites every year. Below is a list of just a few of the resolved bugs and security updates featured in WordPress 3.5.1. For more detailed information about this update please see the official WordPress news page:

In past versions server-side request falsification and port scanning (often using pingbacks) were possible. WordPress’s security researchers fixed this issue and removed any potential areas of vulnerability.
Cross-site scripting issues were fixed and removed by WordPress’s security team.
JavaScript utilized in the admin area of WordPress was updated to ensure that it always works properly.
Post updates were made to ensure that given media (videos, photos, etc.) are not deleted once posted.
Editor was updated to ensure that aspects of HTML coding are not changed or deleted unexpectedly.
Media manager corrections were made to guarantee that there are no longer compatibility and workflow issues.
Plugin warnings that appear when a plugin is potentially being misused were updated.