jQuery is essentially a web designer’s dream. It’s a javascript library that makes it easy to write javascript code for web designers (at least that’s the way I see it). It’s built to be similar in structure to the way cascading stylesheets (CSS) are written. We here at iSynergy Webdesign use jQuery quite often to do many scripting events and effects.

What we’ll be doing today is setting an auto rotating CSS that swaps out after a certain amount of time. This effect can be used for a variety of things, such as changing the background along with some text styles.

See an example of the jQuery rotating CSS using setInterval.

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Once again, another post about the Sociable WordPress plug-in, which has, apparently, been taken over by a group called BlogPlay. This time, it’s about HTML Validation. If you use the sociable plugin, you’ll notice that it doesn’t validate if you use it on category post lists or any page that compiles a list of posts. This is because the link uses an id rather than a class to identify the link. Valid HTML does not allow duplicate ids. As such, having multiple sets of sociable links on a page invalidates the page. There’s an easy fix to this, which was already incorporated into the previous URL Shortening and Google Tracking modifications we did. However, I forgot to mention that part and how to do it. This post, hopefully, will rectify that oversight.

Using Sociable 3.5.1, if you look within the file, sociable.php, on line 777, note the following string of code:

$link .= ' id="'.esc_attr(strtolower(str_replace(" ", "", $sitename))).'" ';

Simply change the “id” to “class” and voila, it’s fixed. Your final code should look like this:

$link .= ' class="'.esc_attr(strtolower(str_replace(" ", "", $sitename))).'" ';

That should validate now and work just as it did before.

Note: If you modified the sociable.php, then the line number where the code appears may be different, simple do a search of the line of code to find where it is located.

That’s it. You’re done.

Back in August, we wrote a little tutorial on how to update the Sociable WordPress plugin by Joost de Valk to use a URL shortener and add Google Tracking. We’ve updated our download for the recent release of 3.5.1.

To download the latest package: sociable-bitly-mod-3.5.1

See the original post here: URL Shortening and Tracking in WordPress: Sociable Plug-in

The WordPress Multibox Plugin is another great plugin for WordPress. We don’t use it here on the official iSynergy Webdesign blog, but we do use it in a few other implementations for clients. It’s great because, unlike most lightbox effects, it works with things other than images. It can add overlay effects to videos, pdfs, and any other web-based content.

However, there’s a minor problem with the multibox.js script. It appears to break within Firefox when the overlay effect is placed on only 1 object on the page (which happens quite often in individual posts). It has to do with the playNextButton and playPreviousButton objects that show up in slideshow mode. When there’s only 1 object with the overlay effect, the two buttons become undefined and end up breaking the overlay script.

To fix this, we’ll have to modify the js file within the plugin. Depending on which mootools version you’re using for the plugin, go into the plugin folder and navigate to either mtv111 (for mootools 1.11) or mtv120 (for mootools 1.2) and open either the multibox.js (for mootools 1.11) or multibox-1.3.1.js(for mootools 1.2).

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The Sociable WordPress plug-in is a great extension and we use it here at the official iSynergy Webdesign blog, but it’s still missing a few key features.

Tracking

One key feature is the ability to track the data of how many shares are made through sociable. Using Google Analytics, it’s possible to set up event tracking as a means to keep tabs on the data.

To do this, go into the sociable plug-in folder and open the social.php file in a text editor. Go to line 703 or look for the following code (for 3.4.4):

$link .= " href=\"javascript:window.location='".urlencode($url)."';\" title=\"$description\">";

or the following (For 3.5.1 and 3.5.2):

$link .= " href=\"".$url."\" title=\"$description\">";

Add the following into the anchor tag:

 onclick=\"pageTracker._trackEvent('Sociable', 'Shared Link', '".$title."');\"

The code should look like this after (for 3.4.4):

$link .= " href=\"javascript:window.location='".urlencode($url)."';\" title=\"$description\" onclick=\"pageTracker._trackEvent('Sociable', 'Shared Link', '".$title."');\">";

Or like this (for 3.5.1 or 3.5.2):

$link .= " href=\"".$url."\" title=\"$description\" onclick=\"pageTracker._trackEvent('Sociable', 'Shared Link', '".$title."');\">";

And that’s it. As long as you have Google Analytics set up on the page already, it should start tracking events for sociable links.

Note: you can find event tracking in Google Analytics under: Content > Event Tracking

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Creating a website can be a difficult but rewarding process for your business. It takes time, creativity, and dedication to push out that first website and once it’s done, you can just leave that part of the business behind you, moving onto other goals. Then again, nothing lasts forever.

Even if you design a website for your current goals and vision, it’s always difficult to anticipate the entire future growth and expansion of your business. As your business changes, you can make minor updates and keep the website fresh, but at a certain point, it may need a complete redesign. When is this point?

Some signs that show it’s time for a website redesign include:

Business Growth and/or Change

Businesses change over time. Maybe your business’ goals, visions, mission statement, products, services, and/or size have experienced a shift. As a result, your website should change in order to accommodate the differences within your business. The website should always be a reflection of the current state of your business and should be restructured if necessary to represent it.

Website Look and Feel

If your website hasn’t been updated in a decade, it’s highly possible that the look and feel of the website (as well as technologically) could be out of date. Aesthetics change over time. What may seem hip and modern 10 years ago probably isn’t the case anymore. Some signs of an outdated website include:

• The website is served up in frames (loaded in multiple individual panes within the browser) – Framed websites are not bookmark friendly nor are they search engine friendly.
• Depending on the website purpose, it uses a splash page with a “click to enter” link in order to get to the main website – In most instances, splash pages only hinder users from getting to the real content that they came to your site to see.
• It uses a tiled background that obscures the foreground text – If the text is important, it should be as clear and legible as possible.
• It contains a message that suggests that the website is “best viewed in [insert browser name]” – Most of the time when a message like this is displayed, it is because the website isn’t designed to be cross-browser compatible. Modern browsers still have some incompatibility issues, but modern website design can be made to work in all major browsers with little incompatibility problems.

The majority of the above are signs of an unprofessionally designed website. As such, your business could lose credibility if it appears outdated.

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Blog World Expo
October 15-17, 2009
Las Vegas Convention Center
http://www.blogworldexpo.com/

The 2009 BlogWorld & New Media Expo will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center, beginning with the exclusive “Social Media Business Summit” conference on October 15th and continuing with the BlogWorld & New Media Expo and Conference October 16th-17th. This is first and only industry-wide tradeshow, conference, and media event dedicated to promoting the dynamic industry of new media including: Blogging, Podcasting, Social Media, Online Video, Music, TV, Radio, Gaming, Entertainment and Communities.

Sign up before July 1 to save, use TWEET20 as your coupon code for 20% off.

Social Media in the Enterprise
June 17, 2009
The Palace Hotel, San Francisco
The social web is radically changing the way businesses market, communicate and support customers. The ability to create meaningful and sustained engagement with customers is easier than ever, but doing it successfully is no easy task.

SMX Advanced 2009 – Seattle
June 2-3, 2009

Attend SMX Advanced for:

• Exceptional content so compelling, you’ll want to implement what you’ve learned before leaving the conference. Super-charged sessions on PPC, SEO, social media marketing and other hot button topics will help you flourish today, tomorrow and in the future.
• Invaluable connections made possible by the ultimate mix of structured networking opportunities and social events. Meet new contacts, reconnect with colleagues – SMX makes it easy to interact and exchange ideas with other industry thought leaders.
• Essential conveniences to help you juggle your every-day responsibilities while maximizing your conference time. Always available and free Wi-Fi; hot lunches, snacks and beverages all day; access to all presentations and tools to pre-plan your custom itinerary – SMX has got you covered.

ad:tech San Francisco 2009
April 21, 22, 23
San Francisco, CA

ad:tech is an interactive advertising and technology conference and exhibition.
Worldwide shows blend keynote speakers, topic driven panels and workshops to provide attendees with the tools and techniques they need to compete in a changing world.

To find more information about ad:tech, or to find more information about their conference, visit:
http://www.ad-tech.com/sf/adtech_san_francisco.aspx