How to Migrate a WordPress Installation

For blogger who self-hosts the WordPress blog publishing system on a web hosting server with own registered domain name, sometimes, you may decide to reorganize the blog link URL to make it tidier or to reflect new focus or theme of the blog. If you decide to change the URL or link location of your WordPress blog due to changing of domain name (such as from http://www.old-domain.com/ to http://www.new-domain.com/) or the blog to another directory location (such as from http://www.domain.com/ to http://www.domain.com/blog/), there are some steps that should be done to ensure the proper migration and no breaking links.

The tricky part when moving WordPress blog to another location is that WordPress is using absolute path in URL link instead of relative path in URL link location when stores some parameters in database. Within blog posts’ contents itself, users may also use the old URLs when creating reference backlinks. All these values in the database will need to be changed when WordPress is moved. The following guide will show you which database fields that has references or values related to blog’s URLs that you want to modify. Note that this guide is not about how to move WordPress blog from one server or host to another new hosting service.

Once the blog has been moved (all files copy over in case of moving location or server or new domain name properly propagated across Internet for new domain name), the first thing to change is to tell WordPress the new blog location (wp-config.php should be no changes, and .htaccess file should be also no changes. If for some reason mod_rewrite rules for friendly URLs no longer works, you can always regenerate the .htaccess file via WP Administration’s Update Permalinks page). This value can be changed via WordPress Options page, but if you no longer able to access to old blog URL, you have to modify the value via MySQL database.

Note: The guide uses SQL statements based on MySQL replace() function to modify the database. To run SQL queries, login to MySQL database that houses WordPress tables via phpMyAdmin or login to the DB server and run MySQL client as root.

To update WordPress options with the new blog location, use the following SQL command:

UPDATE wp_options SET option_value = replace(option_value, 'http://www.old-domain.com', 'http://www.new-domain.com') WHERE option_name = 'home' OR option_name = 'siteurl';

After that you will need to fix URLs of the WordPress posts and pages, which translated from post slug, and stored in database wp_posts table as guid field. The URL values in this field are stored as absolute URLs instead of relative URLs, so it needs to be changed with the following SQL query:

UPDATE wp_posts SET guid = replace(guid, 'http://www.old-domain.com','http://www.new-domain.com');

If you have linked internally within blog posts or pages with absolute URLs, these links will point to wrong locations after you move the blog location. Use the following SQL commands to fix all internal links to own blog in all WordPress posts and pages:

UPDATE wp_posts SET post_content = replace(post_content, 'http://www.old-domain.com', 'http://www.new-domain.com');

Browse through WordPress blog to check if everything is okay. You also need to re-login to WP Administration as authentication cookie has now became invalid due to different domain.

 

Aviary Debuts HTML5 Photo Editor

Creative web app powerhouse Aviary has just announced its latest product, an HTML5-powered photo editor.

Like Aviary’s other apps, the HTML5 photo editor — code named Feather — is easy to use and surprisingly powerful. Beyond its use of HTML5 (as opposed to Flash, Silverlight or other RIA frameworks), what sets this app apart is that it’s designed to be portable and embeddable.

Aviary already has a very solid Flash-based image editor, Phoenix. It’s been around for over two years and has a wealth of features. So what makes Feather different and special?

On its blog, Aviary discusses the the rationale for building Feather. First, Aviary says that it knew it wanted to be able to reach out to the world of creativity happening outside of Aviary.com. Because Feather is portable and embeddable, developers can directly integrate it into their sites and apps. That means that users don’t have to leave one page or experience in order to complete a task and then shift back.

Furthermore, as powerful as Phoenix and some of Aviary’s other image tools are, many third parties who use Aviary’s products were requesting a simpler tool. You don’t always need to have a full-fledged photo suite. If a website just wants to make it easy for a user to upload a product photo and maybe add a caption, they probably don’t need to the ability to create multiple layers, make magic wand selections and add different type of brush effects.

So with Feather, Aviary decided to take the most popular functions of Phoenix and put it in one portable package. Plus, third-party developers can customize what features they want to include or exclude. The great thing about being in HTML5 is that the tool is easier to integrate and embed into third-party solutions. Aviary also says it has plans to open source the editor and create a mobile version too.

Already Everloop, Fashism, Shopify and other companies have signed up to integrate Feather into their apps.

 

Google Quick View will make Website Design more Important

content from: shinyshiny

Rolled out to the UK today, Google Quick View lets you see a glimpse of a webpage before you click on it. It’s just a little tweak to the Google search results page, but some web gurus are saying it could have a serious impact. Particularly in the area of web design.

Previously, factors like the name of your website and the blurb under the title were the key factors in whether people clicked on your site rather than another. Now your web design could have a role to play too.

If your site looks busy and confusing in the quick view, readers may be put off and choose another site that looks better.

Let’s also bear in mind that it’s not just whether it looks better in general, it’s whether it looks better in the thumbnail view of the Google Preview, where you’ll only be able to see the general shape.

So in the battle to get precious hits, design is no longer just a thing to consider.

CEO of web marketing company Greenlight says that the new feature could spell the end of link aggregation sites which could see traffic plummeting. Jim Warren explains the scenario:

“For example, a good quality site ranks 3rd for a search term and a low quality affiliate site ranks 1st. The affiliate site uses dynamic templates with content pulled from elsewhere on the web and no design considerations whatsoever. The high quality site has been tailor made to reflect the type of users it attracts and provides a unique service. To the average searcher using Google’s preview ‘Quick View’, it is clear the affiliate site does not provide what they need or at least does not catch their attention. However, the page ranking in 3rd seems to be of much higher quality and may actually be what they are looking for. Google sees time and time again that previews of both results are viewed but the site in 3rd gets 90% of clicks – a clear sign it is what users are looking for.”

 

Planning Your Web Design Project

Content taken from:  coolcreation

Many entrepreneurs are taking their business online to give it a global dimension and to make themselves available where their customers are searching for them. Some web design projects are completed smoothly while others face problems during the design and development phase. There could be various reasons why web design projects meet with problems. One of the major reasons could be lack of planning. Lack of planning could be at the service provider end or at the customer end.

As a customer there are few factors that you should take into consideration that will help you launch your website in the most hassle free way. Firstly, you need to make certain that you have selected the right web design company to work with. There are numerous service providers and not all of them offer the same quality of service though all of them invariably promise the best services. It is your responsibility to pick the right service provider.

Secondly, you need to chalk out all the steps of your web design process. Here one of the major concerns is the cost involved. You will have to set aside your budget right in advance. This will ensure smooth flow of the project. If it is a large project then the payments will be made in parts as per the progress of the project. Rather than trying to source the successive payments as you go, it is best to have your funds ready in advance so that you can ensure that there is no delay from your end. This approach will save you from a lot of problems. In case for some reason you are unable to get the money ready for one of the payments, then you project will be stalled forever and the funds that you have already invested will get locked in your web design project. So plan your funds well in advance.

The next important factor is to have your specifications clearly drafted before you approach your web design company. If your specifications or requirements should change constantly during the design and development process then your deadlines will also change accordingly. This will also unnecessarily delay the process. So you should freeze your requirements before you start the designing process. This will also ensure that your web design costs are frozen. You should make all your research before you go to your web design company to put together detailed specifications and stick to it through out the process.

Working with a website design company that operates in your time zone is always advisable so that you can easily communicate with your web design company during your working hours without having to wait deep into the nights for your web designer or to wake up early in the morning to catch up with your web design company.

You will be able to resolve most of the problems that erupt during the web design process by careful planning. Proper planning will help you address all possible problems well in advance.

3 Important Aspects of Social Design

Creating social networking websites is getting easier each day. However, designing successful social networking websites has three major requirements:

1. Uniqueness
2. Lots of creativity
3. Lots of patience (time)

If a social networking website is designed based on these three aspects there is no doubt that the project will be a grand success. Here, in this article, you will find the necessity of the three main factors of social networking web design.

The need of Uniqueness

Everyone using the Internet will be aware of the fact that the Social Networking arena is overcrowded. Hence uniqueness of the social networking websites is very much essential to stand out from the crowd. To make your social networking website design unique, you will have to spend lots of time in analyzing the aspects of other popular social networking websites like Facebook, Myspace and Orkut. You have to offer the users of your social networking website with something different and useful that most of the other popular social networking websites do not offer. One of the reasons behind the popularity of facebook is the handful of useful applications. There is a cool application called “Compare me” which allows users to compare themselves with the peers. Providing such cool, interactive social networking applications in your own website will attract more people.

The need of Creativity

Creativity is very much essential for designing social networking websites. The above said uniqueness in social networking web design can be achieved only by vivid creativity. So where does the creativity come from? Creativity comes as a result of extensive research. With lots of social networking websites out there, learning what to do with your social networking website is very easy.

The need of time

Both the above said aspects involved in designing social networking websites depend upon time. The more the time you spend in designing your social networking website, the more will be the success of the same. Researching what the competitor social networking websites are offering and coming up with creative ideas to make your social networking website look unique will eat up much of your time.

Bottom line

If you lack anyone of these there aspects of social networking website design, it’s better to get some professional help rather than do it by yourself. There are many professional social networking web designers with hands on experience in the same. All you have to do is to express you requirement and they will take care of everything- from planning to effective social networking web designing. There are some unique social networking web design companies who offer promotion of your website along with designing. These Social networking web design services offered by the experts with strategic thinking will guide you to the path of success. Professional Website Design

 

Content taken from: naga-news

 

How To Migrate a WordPress Website

Moving you’re blog to a new server? Need to know how to transfer all of your files without losing all of your database information such as comments and posts? Then look no farther, this article will be the answer to your prayers.

For this article, site A will be your current site, and site B will be the new site. Here’s what you will need to start.

1. FTP access to your servers, both on site A and site B. I recommend FireFTP for Firefox.
2. Access to your MySQL database, phpMyAdmin.

PART A:
First we need to download a file that holds the text of your site, such as posts and pages

1. Log into your WordPress admin panel on site A
2. Under tools, select Export
3. Download Export File

PART B:
Next, you need to make a complete backup of your site. You can get away with just backing up the Themes, Uploads and Plugin folders, but I prefer a full backup.

1. FTP into site A
2. Download everything into a folder on your computer.
3. Locate the wp-config.php file that you download with the rest of your site and delete it.

PART C:
Now you need to export the MySQL database. Using phpMyAdmin, access the underlying WordPress database for Site A

1. Log into your admin panel of the server, or however you access phpMyAdmin. For anyone using cPanel, this would be located at http://yoursitedomain.com:2082
2. Open up phpMyAdmin and use the export tool to download a SQL export file.
3. We now have to edit that file. Open it up in a text editor (I recommend notepad++) and replace every reference to siteA.com and change to siteB.com. This can be quickly accomplished with notepadd++ by going to Search -> Replace. Once you entered the correct replacement data, select replace all (it’s a large file so and could take up to 30 seconds to finish).

PART D:
Now you need to set up site B.

1. Create a new database for site B
2. Using phpMyAdmin, select the new database then use the import tool to upload the mySQL file you just downloaded and edited in PART C.
3. Now FTP into site B and upload the entire backup you made in PART B. If you only backed up the Themes, Uploads, and Plugins folders, then install a fresh version of WordPress first, then upload those folders. If you backed up the entire site as I recommended, then just upload everything.

PART E:
We’re almost done!

1. Navigate the the url of site B and because I had you delete the wp-config.php file, you should be confronted with a WordPress input fields.
2. Enter the name of your new database, username, password and leave the other fields default. Click save and that’s it! Remember that the database and username is appended to the account name in cPanel. So if your account is called test and your database is called wp with a username of Dylan, then the database entry and username entry would be test_wp and test_Dylan respectively.

UPDATE: This article has been featured on ezinearticles.com

Disclaimer: All data and information provided on this site is for informational purposes only.The author of this article, Design By Pixel, and Harmonic Design are not responsible for any loss of data, corruption, or harm caused by any information posted.