This is a post I don't want to write but I must.  I have been advocating BackUp Buddy by IThemes as your best backup solution.  It isn't.  I've tried and tried to use it and it has big problems with its restore capability.

I won't go into all of them but there are many.  Some of them are 'known issues' according to the plugin developer.  WHAT?  This is not a free plugin so – Fix It!!  This restore problem is not new – it has been going on since its initial release.  They keep promising to fix it and they haven't.

The bottom line is this – do not use this plugin.  Stick to WP DB Backup by Austin Matzlo.  It is free and in the WordPress Repository.  Just put 'wp db backup' (without the quotes)  into the search box on the Plugins -> Add New screen in your dashboard.  Before you install it make sure Austin's name is in the description you will see when the list of plugins appears.

This plugin only backups up your database so you still have to backup your theme and plugins folder the old fashioned way – by FTP.  But, once you get your theme pretty well set you don't have to do that regularly.  Schedule the database backup for however often you want.  If you post often, once a week should do it.

It's worth the extra work to do the manual backup of your theme and plugins folder.  You want the security of KNOWING the data will restore in case you need it.  And in case you do need to restore, your host should be able to help (or I can for a fee) unless you host with GoDaddy.  If you do – best of luck..

Please help me get the word out by pressing the 'Like' Button – and I'd love to hear what you think.  Leave a comment.

Cathy Perkins – The WordPress Wizard

Yes – there are 2 ways to do it.  The first is with a plugin but I bet you'll like my way (the 2nd way) better.

The first way is with a plugin called Spectacu.la Page Widget from Spectacu.la WordPress Themes.  This plugin allows you to create a page (with all the editing capabilities of the editor) and then include it in a text widget.  There are a few downfalls.  You have to save the page and it IS added to the page navigation so you must remember to exclude it from navigation.  The second drawback is that it includes EVERYTHING – so if you have something like the Share This plugin, that icon will show up in the text widget created with Spectacu.l so let's talk about the 2nd way.

The second way is to use the page/post editor to create what you want to appear in your text widget.  Go to the Source (or html) view and copy everything that's there and paste it into your text widget.  Poof – you have a nicely formatted text widget without knowing any html.  You can save your page/post as a draft until you get the widget looking just the way you want it and then delete the page/post if you want – or keep it in draft form.  One thing – if you want to put a video (or anything presized) you must make sure it will fit the width of the widget.  It will not automatically resize.  A small price to pay to get a really good looking widget.

Another advantage to using 'my' way is that you don't have yet another plugin using overhead.  That is a VERY good thing.  Remember – I am all for plugins that add to your site but not to unnecessary plugins.  This easy procedure will ensure that you have good looking text widgets without using extra resources.

Give it a try and let me know your results.  I bet you will really like to create cool looking text widgets with this little secret.

Cathy Perkins – The WordPress Wizard

I love Twitter Tools! That is I did until this morning when I noticed there is an upgrade available.  Since I'm on the cutting edge I upgraded to Twitter Tools version 2.4 and that's when the fun started. 

The screen said I needed to update my Twitter Tools settings.  No problem!  Until I got to the settings page.  It's totally new.  It asks you to create an API and gives a link to go do that.  So far so good.  Then I got to the page to create this API and didn't know how to fill in the first blank.  It asks for the Application Name and then says it's what comes after the 'via' in your Twitter Stream.  Well, what comes after 'via' depends on what application I'm using – Twitter, Tweetdeck, etc.  Then it informs you that you cannot use the word 'twitter' in the application name.  What??

After much gnashing of teeth I figured out that it wants you to CREATE the name.  Here is the… Read More→