.sociable img {
float: none;
width: 48px;
height: 48px;
border: 0;
margin: 0;
padding: 0;
}

You may need to change the numbers to create the size of icons that you prefer.  You can experiment by making the numbers larger or smaller depending on your needs.  Be sure to preview your work to ensure it suits the needs of your WordPress blog.  It is also important to ensure that you just change the sections for the width and height and nothing else in order to keep the icons looking their best.  Once you have updated and saved the changes, you will need to reload your blog.  Once you do this, you will see the new, larger sized social media icons:
 

Once the larger social media icons have been added to your blog, readers will be able to share your posts with their own network of social friends simply and with ease.  Their eye will be drawn to the large icons and they can clearly click on the social network of choice, add their usernames when prompted, and automatically share your blog entry on their site within the matter of seconds.  The formatting of these icons coincides nicely with your WordPress blog, allowing for large icons to appear that are easy to display, navigate and use.

Overall, Sociable is a fascinating tool that you can use for your WordPress blog.  It automatically comes with small-sized icons.  These icons are okay for some, but many blog owners find that the larger icons generate a greater response.  Luckily, Sociable is fully customizable and can meet the needs of any blog owner.  This means that the larger icons can be created in the matter of seconds just by following the directions above.  When you insert these big icons onto your blogs, you will generate more traffic to your site and help you increase readership.  This takes very little effort and can really add to your WordPress blog!

1. Subscribe2: This plug-in is a comprehensive subscription management system for your WordPress blog.  It allows you to send e-mail notifications to your subscribers via post or in an e-mail.  This also allows readers to automatically subscribe to your blog by entering an e-mail address.  With this system, you have control over notifications and can quickly and easily manage your subscribers and your communications with them.  Overall, this plug-in is the best for managing your subscribers and sending newsletters with important notifications for your WordPress account.  You can download this plug-in at the following site: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/subscribe2/
2. Newsletter: The Newsletter plug-in allows you to manage your subscriptions to your blog and create newsletters directly from your blog.  It enables you to use either a single or double opt-in subscription process is a simple and configurable subscribe and unsubscribe process.  The newsletter can be created automatically with the blog content and themes and can also be customised with each of your subscriber’s names.  This is a simple and easy plug-in that is great for all levels of WordPress levels.   Download this useful plug-in here: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/newsletter/
3. iContact: This WordPress plug-in doubles, triples, or even quadruples the number of subscribers on your  newsletter.  This is a great newsletter marketing tool that is both strategic and effective, ensuring your message reaches the inbox of many!  This plug-in works wonders from the very first day and will continue over and over again for the duration of usage.  This is one of the most effective and impressive plug-ins available.  The only downside is that it is not free on a long-term basis, however, the free trial is enough to make a large impact on your WordPress account and worth considering after your trial is over. You can begin using iContact with a trial version by visiting this website: https://www.icontact.com/lp/index.php
4. Post Notification: This is a simple yet useful plug-in that can handle thousands of different subscribers.  It has a great deal of features including different languages and translations.  It can also send mail through html or text with several different options.  The recipients received personalised messages depending on your settings, and it even has a Captcha option.  One of the best things about this plug-in is how customisable it is, all in a package that is absolutely free!  Visit the following website in order to download this great plug-in: http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/post-notification/
5. PHP List: This is an interesting plug-in that fits the PHPList into your WordPress, giving you an added mailing list power as well as a beautifully designed theme with extra options and features. This is one of the better plug-in options if you are looking for something different for your WordPress.  You can download this for free at the following site: http://www.funkypenguin.info/project/wp-phplist

That list should give you a good starting point for setting up a WordPress mailing list and these plugins will definitely save you time and make managing it more efficient, helping you to get better results!

1.  Magazeen: This theme offers a sleek, clean, and functional look. The theme itself provides a great first impression to all who view it and is a great way to begin a new site or revitalize an existing one.  It is a designed in a way where the newest posts are automatically updated to the top of the homepage with a neat arrangement of recent posts.  There are also automatic thumbnails created that will help visitors navigate and explore your site.

Overall, Magazeen is one of the best WordPress themes you can select which is both professional and attractive.  You can download this theme for free and without restriction at the following website: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2009/02/23/magazeen-free-magazine-look-wordpress-theme/

2. SimpleCart: The SimpleCart theme is one that is great for various e-commerce businesses.  It is a great way to promote and sell your products online and provides a great way for your customers to be able to checkout.  It is different from the other WordPress themes in that it is specifically aimed for business, but it is sure to please.

The design of the SimpleCart is simple, attractive, and professional.  It is easy to navigate and can be customized based on your preferences.  It contains the best number of options and the best option for those who need an attractive online checkout solution.  Download Simplecart for free at the following site: http://www.chris-wallace.com/2009/07/17/simplecartjs-a-free-wp-e-commerce-thematic-child-theme/

3. GTD: This WordPress theme is one that is designed specifically for the private blogger.  It contains a simple design and color scheme with many great features for your own personal blogging needs. It is one of the best personal themes available today and can be downloaded at the following website: http://templatic.com/freethemes/gtd-%E2%80%93-private-blog-theme-for-teams-to-collaborate

4. Bueno: This theme contains a minimalistic design that is still filled with structure.  It does not have any of the fancy extras that many readers find distracting and gets right to the point, the content!  It is perfect for all types of bloggers who want a simpler feel.  Overall, it is the best theme to select for those who already have a site enriched with strong content.  It might show weakness in sites without this content, however, or those that are empty.  This theme can be downloaded by visiting the following link:  http://www.woothemes.com/2009/11/bueno/

5.  The Morning After: This theme is a “magazine style” in WordPress and includes custom headers, backgrounds, and post types.  The theme is a rejuvenated version of one of the best existing themes and available for free at the following site: http://www.woothemes.com/2010/06/themorningafter/

6. Magazine Basic: This WordPress theme offers one or two customizable sidebars and is one of the best options for SEO.  A free download can be found at the following site: http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/magazine-basic

7. TwentyTen: Used as a default WordPress theme, TwentyTen offers a modern look and is one of the most user-friendly options of the bunch.  Download this theme at the following address:  http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/twentyten

8.  Simplo: This WordPress theme offers six different color schemes and offers an easy setup with several different theme options.  This theme is great for all levels including beginners and has an attractive yet clean look.  Download Simplo for free here: http://wordpress.site5.net/simplo/

9. Upstart Blogger Minum: This is a clean, ad-friendly, quick, and easy to install WordPress theme that is perhaps the easiest to download and utilize.  Find this theme for free here: http://www.upstartblogger.com/wordpress-theme-upstart-blogger-minim

1. Firebug is the number one web design plugin available for Firefox due to the large variety of web development tools it makes available to each user.  Included in the Firebug download is the ability to edit, debug, and monitor any webpage live, utilizing CSS, HTML, or even Javascript.  It is the most advanced web design tool available in the industry today, enabling you greater control over your website.
   Firebug is an essential add on for any web developer and boasts the best rating on the market.  It is extremely user friendly, secure, and safe.  There are even free tutorials available to help you get a handle on the program and reach full potential with your website.  Firebug is completely free and open source and can be quickly and easily downloaded using the following link: Firebug Download
2. Web Developer is a useful site that adds a menu and toolbar with a plethora of different tools and features that can prove to be extremely useful.  It is considered to be a fundamental plugin for any experienced web designer and provides not just one service but an entire toolbox of unique features.  This toolbox is simple to use and user-friendly and helpful for all levels of web design.
   The only downfall to this plugin is that it is not compatible with all forms of Firefox and only works with 1.0-3.6 so be sure to be aware of your own version of Firefox before you begin your download.  You can download this free program at the following site: Web Developer Download
3. Aardvark is an exciting web design tool used for cleaning up a webpage as well as developing a webpage.  It is likely the most user-friendly product of all and can help you select any element of a webpage and perform any number of actions on them.  This includes removing elements like unattractive and annoying ads, isolating elements, increasing the readability of a page, or reorganising the structure of a page.  The commands are simple and easy and offer a wide range of options and control.  Overall, the program is superior in quality and one of the web design programs you’ll likely use the most.
   The only problem with Aardvark is in troubleshooting.  Whenever a problem does occur, it is often difficult to find a quick solution.  This often has to do with the experience of the web designer in question, yet it is important to remember that all levels of expertise can use Aardvark. The program can be downloaded for free here:  Aardvark Download

These are some great addons to get started with, if you have any suggestions for other useful addons for web design please let us know by commenting!

Tip #1: Consider Your Audience

One of the biggest mistakes that designers make is taking their creative freedom and going crazy with it during the design process. While some designers have the amazing ability to create a truly unique and incredible website, in the end, the site still has to appeal to the audience that it is being marketed towards. It can be tempting to create a unique design and go with it, but if the audience is not receptive to the design of the site, the page will inevitably fail.

Tip #2: Keep it Clean

Clean layouts are the easiest ones for viewers to navigate while actually being able to take in the information that the site is presenting. Most professional web designers have mastered using whitespace (areas without content) to help emphasise other important parts of the site and other information that needs to be highlighted. For individuals with slightly less experience, the best practice is to limit the amount of embellishments that are included when designing the site. It can be incredibly easy to go overboard with amazing decorations and graphics; new designers need to keep in mind that they should only use one or two intricate elements to make sure that they are not introducing too many design elements to the site and taking the focus away from the purpose of the page.

Tip #3: Make it Convenient

Loading a site with a massive amount of graphics, scripts, and flash files can make a site more visually appealing or entertaining but will increase the amount of time it takes to load the site. To make sure that site visitors are not getting frustrated and/or bored with the amount of time it takes to load a site, web designers should cut down on the amount of graphics and other items that take more time to load. Additionally, designers should learn the best ways to use the coding language they are writing the site in; optimizing the code can help to minimise the amount of time it takes to load and site, which makes visitors much more interested in visiting the site again and again.

Tip #4: Plan Ahead

Web designers should sit down with a white board or another thought-organising medium and plan every aspect of the site that they will be designing down to the tiniest aspect. It can seem tedious and trivial, but this putting this kind of forethought into a webpage can make the design process much smoother than it would be to try to work things out as the design progresses. A lot of designers overlook this and end up regretting it after they get started with the design.

Tip #5:

It is incredibly important for designers to stay up to date with current trends in web design; web page viewers notice the “new” and “cool” web designs and are drawn to sites that make an effort to adapt to the changing times. There is an enormous amount of sources available online who evaluate and map out current trends in web design. Additionally, a lot of designers are proud of their work and create tutorials that can help fellow designers understand their process for designing sites. Some current trends in web design are oversized logos and headers, sketched and hand-drawn design work, huge images, interactive designs, and many more.

1. Pricing – The Thesis WordPress theme is one of the more expensive themes available today. Two options are offered in terms of pricing. There’s the $164 “Developer’s Option” which includes the unlimited use of Thesis on sites that you own as well as the ability to install Thesis on sites for clients.  The $87 “Personal Option” offers use of Thesis on just one live website, with the ability to purchase an upgrade to the Developers Option at a $77 price.
2. Support- Both options come with lifetime Thesis upgrades, as well as access to the members-only Answers and Forums section.
3. Community- The Thesis theme community is alive and bustling. Multiple websites are dedicated to Thesis tweaks, and feature tutorials to further help you make your blog unique and specific to your personal needs.
4. Flexibility- No programming is necessary in order to chance many of the Thesis theme’s layout. Number of columns, width of columns, font type, and font size is all capable of being changed on the fly.
5. Features- With the Thesis theme, plug-ins like “All-In-One SEO Pack” are made obsolete. Tasks such as the customization of blog and post titles, post meta-tags, as well as category and tag pages are made simple with the control panel. From the control panel, you can also easily integrate analytics code. The Thesis theme makes it easy for you to tailor your blog just the way you’d like to, even if you don’t have extensive programming knowledge.

The Thesis WordPress Theme has the capability to completely transform your blog into a monster. The deep customization options and the SEO features are the main selling points for Thesis. Give it a look for yourself, and decide if it fits your personal needs. If not, then you still have more more high-quality themes to choose from! That’s the beauty of publishing your own blog in today’s world. With all the tools, plug-ins, and utilities available to you, it is possible to craft your blog to your exact specifications. It’s just a matter of finding what you like, and tweaking it to reach its full potential.

1. All in One SEO Pack – The All in One SEO Pack is definitely the #1 must-have WordPress plugin for any blog owner. This plugin gives you full control over search engine optimization by allowing you to edit your post’s title tags, meta keywords, and meta description. This information determines what your blog’s homepage will look like in search results.
2. WP Super Cache – WP Super Cache makes your blog load lightning-fast. All it takes is a simple installation. This is a must-have for those blog owners who receive a large amount of traffic.
3. Akismet – Akismet serves as spam protection for your website. It monitor’s your website without the use of annoying captchas. This actually comes packaged with WordPress, you just need to be sure to activate it!
4. Google XML Sitemaps – Google XML Sitemaps is a tool that automatically updates your website’s sitemap anytime you post new content. The sitemap is submitted to all major search engines automatically! After installation, you will never need to bother with it again. If you don’t trust the automatic sitemap submission, there is a manual submission button as well. It’s usually a good idea to use the button to be sure that the sitemap is updated!
5. Google Analyticator- The Google Analyticator plugin gives you full access to your website’s traffic stats right on your dashboard. This is extremely convenient because you are not forced to have to edit your template code before you can see stats!
6. Contact Form 7 – A form where traffic can contact you is absolutely a must-have. Contact Form 7 is a simple yet customizable contact form that allows inquisitive readers to get in touch with you.

**Bonus** 7. Comment Luv – Comment Luv is an awesome plugin that allows those who comment on your blog to post a link to the last post from their own blog. The plugin encourages readers to post comments, which leads to more discussion, which leads to traffic!

And there you have it, 6 of the most essential WordPress Plugins. Take the time to check each of them out, and be sure to hunt for other plugins as well. With such a great multitude available, you are sure to find one to fit your needs.

SEO for Firefox is the number one plugin available in terms of quality and usability.  It contains a wide variety of features and can be downloaded absolutely free of charge.  This site is popular with over 130,000 users worldwide utilising this service.  It has many useful features including a complete view of the competition directly within the search results.  Overall, this product is the most useful with the widest range of features to use.  In all, you can receive a £200 value application for free simply by signing up for an account. SEO for Firefox offers so much more than keywords, it offers the ability to delve deeper into the data points through a safe and user-friendly interface.  When it comes to SEO, there isn’t a better plugin.  You can begin your free download here: http://www.seobook.com/free-account/

Foxy SEO Tool is an open source add-on that offers SEO tools as well as web traffic and page analysis for professional web masters.  It provides simple and quick access to various search engine functions as well as state of the art web traffic analysis.  There is an advanced tools menu that offers what is known as a “Search Spider Simulator function” that will read a page identical to that of a search engine without the layout code, a feature that any webmaster will welcome.  In addition, the toolbar offers many convenient links and can easily be disabled if needed.  Overall, the Foxy SEO tool is an above average tool that is great for any search engine optimisation.  It should be  noted, however, that it works best for those with some level of SEO experience and is not the best tool for beginners.  The Foxy SEO Tool can be downloaded at the following website: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/9440/

SEO Quake provides all the web analysis you need in terms of SEO and rank.  It is an impressive tool used in conjunction with Firefox that will help experienced webmasters with their websites in order to investigate SEO parameters of these.  It is continually being upgraded and enhanced in order to provide you with the best results.  It is one of the most effective tools available today and has been endorsed by Mozilla.  This site takes the most effort as far as downloading, however, there is a helpful video located directly on the site that can help you.  Find and download this powerful program here: http://www.seoquake.com/

SEO Doctor is a tool for both beginning and experienced SEO users to find invaluable information for any website you visit.  It also offers diagnostics as far as SEO problems and can even provide you with solutions to these problems.  It is a great tool for all levels of use and will easily become a favorite.  It offers superior performance and excellence and is a great choice.  It is not a true add-on however and serves more as a link, which is still effective but not exactly the same as the other SEO plugins mentioned.  SEO Doctor can be found and downloaded for free at this site: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/102178/

X-Ray is a popular one of a kind plugin that offers important information for advanced web developers.  It contains important SEO information and helps you see more beyond the surface of a webpage.  Although it offers valuable information, it is best suited for the most advanced users and beginners may become confused by the interface.  The product can be downloaded for free or with a two dollar donation at the following website: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/1802/

Ever since the boom of the Internet, the functionality found in websites has advanced rapidly. It started with standard HTML pages and quickly moved to HTML with external styling. Then came server-side code, and websites suddenly became an interactive base for users to engage with. Now we’re at a stage where if your website isn’t using a content management system; you are going to get left behind.

The static web page that once ruled the web is now obsolete – people want up-to-date content, they want interactivity and they want websites to be social. Facebook is ruling the web, so there is a level of social expectation now when users are browsing for information. With so many different website platforms and content management systems to choose from though, where do you start?

Below we examine the advantages and disadvantages of bespoke content management systems to the open-source alternatives that are most predominantly available.

Scalability

A big mistake often made by webmasters is to fall into the ‘current needs’ trap. What this means is that they don’t think about future functionality, scalability or business progression when initially having a new website developed. The danger of this approach is that a couple of years (or even months) down the line, there may be the need for additional changes to the website, and with a bespoke system this can raise a few issues.

Firstly, if it was an external agency that developed the website, the chances are is that you will have to go back to them in order to have the new changes completed (due to the custom nature of the system). If the agency is available to do the work, there will most likely be a charge incurred and a varied time span for completion. If the agency are no longer available, you may have to pay another company extra to first work out how to work with the system, and then to complete the needed changes. Either way it’s time or money you shouldn’t necessarily have to spend.

A second issue with being locked into a bespoke system is the turn-around time of having changes completed. Unlike an open-source system where there may be plugins and addons already built and available, bespoke systems will have to be built upon from scratch, with considerations having to be made to ensure validity and security stay intact. This is, of course, unless the bespoke CMS is a high-end custom system that has full support.

Support

Support is a large part of the web nowadays, and most people would struggle to get a lot of work done without some kind of support system in place. A massive advantage of open-source content management systems is that they are built, maintained and supported by dedicated communities. CMS such as WordPress and Textpattern have support forums, detailed FAQs and codex – meaning there are fully reference guides available for even small changes to a system.

As a webmaster, you shouldn’t have to rely on an external agency for small updates to your website, such as textual changes or the addition of imagery. If you find you cannot complete the changes in an open-source system, the chances are there will be someone who had the same issue and an answer will be available on how to fix it. The same issue within a bespoke system may mean you have to go back to your CMS developers and ask for their help – which will be charged, in most cases.

Security

As mentioned above, maintaining the security of your website is a must if you are dealing with confidential information, especially within e-commerce systems. The security of open-source systems are well documented across the Internet, whereas you may find potential flaws in custom systems. If you are in talks with a web development agency about a content management system then asking about the security is a must, including the strength of the administration system, encryption of the database and visibility of private pages.

Evaluate Available Options and Decide

This article may seem very biased toward open-source content management systems, but this is partly down to reputation and past-experience of custom web systems. For large and particularly niche businesses, there will most likely be the need for bespoke solutions that open-source systems literally just won’t cover, so a custom solution will be the only option. However, in larger businesses there are usually dedicated IT teams who can implement and maintain such as system, as opposed to smaller companies who have to rely heavily on external companies.

Whether you are using a bespoke or open-source content management system, it is important to use a dedicated website host that can match the needed requirements.

Author: PackNet, a Manchester telephony specialist delivering VoIP phone systems and VoIP reseller solutions across the UK. PackNet have recently re-developed their website using an open-source content management system.

WordPress 3.0 is one of the most highly anticipated web application releases of 2010; A major version update to the most widely used blogging/cms software that brings with it 1,217 bug fixes and feature enhancements to improve the blogging experience from both an admin and user perspective. We’re going to examine some of the most important changes which will benefit you, the WordPress blogger!

1. New Default Theme – Twenty Ten

Kubrick, the default WP theme for the last 5 years is finally being retired, gone are the days of the blue rounded blog header on a grey background – step in Twenty Ten – a modern theme that embraces clean lines, pushes the content more into the focal point and has a nice smooth new menu system that offers total flexibility. Speaking of flexibility, the theme offers liquid layouts, custom background and header images which can be easily set to be blog wide or per post, this rapid theming is a great improvement over Kubrick and makes it simple to put up a visually stunning blog in just 5 minutes.



2. Custom Post Types

Support for allowing people to define their own custom post types is a feature that many of us longed for, this allows much more flexibility than being limited to just posts and pages, and gives WordPress a platform to launch itself more credibly as a Content Manangement System instead of just a blog. Custom post types let you define for example Products as a type of post, so for a business you can populate these product posts with your range of products, these can then have custom templates designed for displaying these products and will be differentiated from standard blog posts that you may be writing.

3. Bulk Plugin Upgrade

One feature that will be a great timesaver for plugin heavy blogs is the bulk plugin upgrade. This does exactly what it says, you can upgrade all your plugins in just a single click, very convinient and just another way that WordPress is making blog maintainence simpler.



4. WordPress + MU(Multi-User) Merged

With this merge there is no longer a need for a seperate WordPress MU product, straight out of the box (or .zip?) a WordPress installation can be used to power multiple blogs, hassle free. This is most useful for large sites using subdomains to split their content, take for instance a review site that offered reviews for unrelated products (e.g. clothing, music, restaurants) but would like to use the same review templates, plug-ins and features for all reviews, it would save a huge amount of admin being able to update all plugins, features and blog templates from a single installation.

These are the major new features, one enhancement that is worth mentioning is the new user interface, this is even more user-friendly than before, it has been cleaned up so that it is very intuitive as an admin back-end and can be used straight off even by someone who has never blogged before. Almost every change to WordPress makes it a simpler, more efficient platform to admin letting users create, design, manage and style blogs quicker than ever before. WordPress 3.0 is available through Installatron for automatic install on NetHosted, you can get your blog started today!