The new BuddyPress Followers plugin is now available. It has the potential to significantly change the climate of your BuddyPress site. If you’re active on buddypress.org then you know what the Followers Plugin looks like in action. Here’s the skinny on Followers, in case you’re not clear about the difference between followers and friends. The main difference is that connections between followers don’t have to be approved by the other party. This is similar to the way Twitter functions.

Add the ability for users to follow others and keep track of their site activity. This plugin works exactly the same way that the friends component of BuddyPress works, however the connection does not need to be accepted by the person being followed.

What does the BuddyPress Followers plugin do?

• Adds a new activity stream tab
• Adds Follow/Unfollow buttons to the user profiles
• Adds menus to display the user’s following/followed and total counts

There’s nothing to configure. Just install and activate and the Followers functionality will be added. Then you’ll probably want to navigate to Dashboard >> Buddypress >> Component Setup and disable Friends. If you decide to remove the Followers Plugin and go back to enabling friends then don’t worry; all of your user’s friends have been saved in the database and connections will reappear.

Why Use the Followers Plugin instead of Friends?

Using Followers instead of Friends is ideal for more activities-centered communities where a user is not necessarily creating a defined group of friends. The plugin can help to place more focus on participating in conversations and sharing information than defining relationships. With a little tweaking you can also customize the plugin to use different words for “Followers” depending on the needs of your community. Check out the BuddyPress Followers plugin and please feel free to share in the comments how it is changing your user’s interaction.

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There are several ways that you can set up backups for your site. Plugins can help but it’s really a server job. Plus if you’re dealing with a large site, you’re need something a little more reliable. You can run a script to backup your WordPress site to FTP. Another option is to set up a cron job to automatically backup your WordPress site. If you have a very large database, we have a guide that will help you back it up smoothly without timeouts. Checkout the WordPress codex for more information and tutorials on performing simple backups.

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I found this simple, handy tip over at wprecipes.com. You can set the automatic interval at which WordPress must empty the trash by adding this to your wp-config.php file:

define('EMPTY_TRASH_DAYS', 10 );

The number 10 refers to how many days between WordPress trash dumps. Set a “Garbage Day” interval that is convenient for you and start saving a little space.

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Late last night WordPress 3.0 RC1 was pushed out and we knew you’d need an upgrade guide, since it’s not a one-click process. There are a few steps to getting your WPMU site working with 3.0 but this guide will help to make the process as simple and smooth as possible.

To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade?

It is important to note that many of you will want to wait until the final release is here in order to start upgrading. Taking your WPMU site to 3.0 may not even be an option if your site’s functionality is heavily dependent upon plugins that have not yet been updated for 3.0. However, you’ll need to upgrade eventually, so make sure to bookmark this guide. In the meantime, it might be a good idea to make a duplicate of your site and perform an upgrade to see how your plugins respond. If you want to play around with upgrading, then follow this guide but remember that plugins and themes that have not been updated may affect your upgrade process.

5 Steps to a Smooth Upgrade with Multi-Site Features

Unwritten step 1a is don’t freak out; we’re all doing this together. If you find other useful tips on the upgrade process, please post in the comments.

Before You Even Think About Upgrading: Backup Your Files and Database

You must do this in case something goes wrong. The best thing you could do is reproduce your site and do the whole process on the duplicate site so that you know it’s safe for what you’re running. In the very least, you should make a backup to restore just in case.

Step 1: Delete the /wp-admin/ and /wp-includes/ directories in your current installation.

Step 2: Download WordPress 3.0 (RC1) and upload the files to your site, making sure it overwrites the old files.

Upload all the files in the 3.0 folder and mark them to overwrite in your FTP client.

Step 3: Login as Admin and follow the Update Network instructions.

You should see this message at the top of the dashboard. Follow the instructions for updating your network. The details on the edits to wp-config.php and the .htaccess files are shown in steps 4 and 5.

Step 4: Update wp-config.php to include nonce_salt.

Setp 5: Delete wp-content/blogs.php and update .htaccess file to use wp-includes/ms-files.php instead.

The wp-content/blogs.php file is deprecated in 3.0. Remove it and update your server rewrite rules to use wp-includes/ms-files.php instead.

Now that wasn’t so bad, was it? I’d like to thank Pete Mall for his helpful tutorial for upgrading when the 3.0 beta 2 was put out, which put me on the right track for upgrading my sites. The bulk of the process is uploading files and cutting and pasting. Remove it from your list of dreaded tasks now that you know how simple it is. You can probably do this in under five minutes. Start playing around and enjoy all the new features of WordPress 3.0!

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If you’re a developer who routinely hands over WordPress sites to clients, along with a list of instructions on things to ignore (ie. upgrade messages, irrelevant menu items, etc), then you need to consider white labeling WordPress and branding it for yourself. More than likely your client doesn’t care a hoot about WordPress and all its infinite geekery. They will appreciate a simplified interface that helps them get exactly where they need to go. Now you can completely white label the WordPress dashboard and login screen in a matter of minutes with this new free CMS tool:

White Label CMS WordPress Plugin

This plugin was created for developers who want to be able to make the WordPress dashboard easier to use for their clients’ CMS needs, eliminate confusion, and brand the CMS product for themselves.

Features and Benefits:

• Ability to remove navigation menus for user roles of editors and below (perfect for clients!)
• Ability to quickly tailor navigation menus using 3 configurable CMS profiles: Website, Blog or Custom
• Remove all panels from the dashboard
• Add your own ‘welcome’ panel to the dashboard
• Customize the head and footer logos
• Customize the login logo
• Hide the nag update

Quick Start Instructions:

• Download and Install White Label CMS WordPress Plugin
• Go to Settings >> White Label CMS and customize everything through the dashboard

Check out the developer’s video to see the White Label CMS plugin in action:

WordPress is very powerful. However, there’s no need to confuse the heck out of your users. Personalize their experience and not only will they feel more comfortable with the products you create for them, but they will value the product more. More details can be found on the plugin’s homepage where you can also offer suggestions for what you’d like to see in the next version.

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Welcome WP Google Fonts. The developer, Adrian Hanft, notified us of this new plugin since we posted a tutorial on How to Use the Google Font Directory With WordPress and BuddyPress. This new plugin has the ability to select fonts directly and assign CSS from the plugin’s page in the WP dashboard. I am a huge fan of simple solutions and this one helps WordPress users who cringe at the thought of editing a template file. Check out a screenshot of the control panel (click to enlarge):

Download WP Google Fonts

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Welcome WP Google Fonts. The developer, Adrian Hanft, notified us of this new plugin since we posted a tutorial on How to Use the Google Font Directory With WordPress and BuddyPress. This new plugin has the ability to select fonts directly and assign CSS from the plugin’s page in the WP dashboard. I am a huge fan of simple solutions and this one helps WordPress users who cringe at the thought of editing a template file. Check out a screenshot of the control panel (click to enlarge):

Download WP Google Fonts

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Whether you’re customizing a theme, creating one based on a framework, or starting from scratch, you’ll probably need a few references along the way to remember everything that needs to go into a WordPress theme, not to mention adding advanced customizations. I decided I would share a small corner of my bookmarked resources for developing a WordPress theme. It’s handy to have all of these in one place instead of dozens of unannotated bookmarks to sort through. These will save you several hours if when you start to dive into WordPress theme development.

1. Interactive WordPress Theme Development Checklist

This is one of my favorite resources because it shows an interactive countdown of your process as you check items off the list so you can monitor your progress as you go along.

Download Checklist

2. WordPress Theme Development Frameworks

For a quick guide to frameworks that you can use to develop themes, check out this resource. You may find that using a framework will speed up the development process and save you the trouble of gathering all the skeleton code again.

Check out Frameworks

3. 23+ Excellent Tutorials For WordPress Theme Developers

This is a collection of tutorials for adding dynamic elements to your themes, such as multiple WordPress loops, getting the first image from a post to display, using cron to schedule events, making a theme backwards compatible, and many others.

Browse Tutorials

4. WordPress Theme Development PDF Checklist

Because different tools suit different people, if you prefer a printable PDF, then grab this one from WPToy.com.

Download PDF

5. Using XAMPP for Local WordPress Theme Development

Visit Tutorial

6. Create a Basic WordPress Theme Options Page

This is a helpful tutorial series for getting started with options pages on WordPress themes, which will help your users take advantage of the flexibility that you build into your theme without having to dig through the code.

CREATE AN AWESOME WORDPRESS THEME OPTIONS PAGE (PART 1)
CREATE AN AWESOME WORDPRESS THEME OPTIONS PAGE (PART 2 – IMPLEMENTATION)

7. Create an Advanced Options Page for Your Theme

This tutorial will help you create a theme options page with more advanced features, such as changing layouts, hide and display different elements dotted around the theme, enter ad codes, footer text, adding tracking codes, Feedburner URLs, and anything else you want.

Visit Tutorial

8. Free eBook: Beginner’s Guide to WordPress Theme Development

This eBook is a collection of tutorials on the fundamentals of WordPress theme creation. You can also download the themes used in the tutorials so that you can follow along as you learn.

Download Free e-Book

9. How to Create a jQuery WordPress Options Panel

Want to add a little bit of sexy JavaScript to your options panel to make it more enjoyable to use? This tutorial will walk you through the process.

Browse Tutorial

10. How to Create a WordPress Theme From Scratch (Complete Video Series)

If you’re more of a visual and interactive learner, then this video series is for you.

Video Series

11. WordPress Visual Cheat Sheet

This is one of my favorite resources. It’s a beautiful, well-designed PDF to help you get acquainted with standard WordPress tags and how to use them.

Download Cheat Sheet

12. How to Make a Child Theme For WordPress: A Pictorial Introduction For Beginners

If you enjoy lots of screenshots and step-by-step instructions, bookmark this resource. Sometimes visual references will help to make things click while other tutorials may not make as much sense to you.

Browse Tutorial

13. Add a Style Switcher to your WordPress Theme

Browse Tutorial

14. WordPress PSD Framework

This PSD contains many of the elements that you will reuse when designing WordPress themes and creating wireframes. Save yourself a little bit of time and start with this one, add to it, or create your own.

Download PSD

If you prefer to wade through the codex while creating a theme, then check out the WordPress guide to theme development.

Theme Development

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Need to add a whole bunch of blogs at once for a class or directory? We’ve got a free plugin that allows you to do just that. Bulk Create Blogs was recently updated to support sub-directory based sites. This plugin also provides support for LDAP user creation. free downloads section.

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A custom default avatar is something that can greatly increase the visual appeal of your BuddyPress site. I don’t have to sell you on this. When I see those ugly monster avatars littering a BuddyPress site, my first instinct is to leave the page. Aesthetics play a huge role in your site’s ability to keep users around long enough to find out what you’re about. The default avatar is also another opportunity to keep your brand consistent throughout the site.

Banish the Mystery Man, Ugly Monsters, and Trippy Patterns

How to Change the Default Avatar for Members in BuddyPress

Just add this simple little snippet to the functions.php file in your child-theme:

function myavatar_add_default_avatar( $url )
{

return get_stylesheet_directory_uri() .'/_inc/images/pokerchip.png';
}
add_filter( 'bp_core_mysteryman_src', 'myavatar_add_default_avatar' );

I put this together based on Travel-Junkie’s suggestion on the BuddyPress forums.

How to Change the Default Avatar for Groups in BuddyPress

Add this to the functions.php file in your child-theme:

function my_default_get_group_avatar($avatar) {

global $bp, $groups_template;

if( strpos($avatar,'group-avatars') ) {

return $avatar;
}

else {
$custom_avatar = get_stylesheet_directory_uri() .'/_inc/images/pokerchip.png';

if($bp->current_action == "")
return '<img width="'.BP_AVATAR_THUMB_WIDTH.'" height="'.BP_AVATAR_THUMB_HEIGHT.'" src="'.$custom_avatar.'" class="avatar" alt="' . attribute_escape( $groups_template->group->name ) . '" />';
else
return '<img width="'.BP_AVATAR_FULL_WIDTH.'" height="'.BP_AVATAR_FULL_HEIGHT.'" src="'.$custom_avatar.'" class="avatar" alt="' . attribute_escape( $groups_template->group->name ) . '" />';
}
}
add_filter( 'bp_get_group_avatar', 'my_default_get_group_avatar');

Credit for this code goes to BP forum moderator r-a-y. The only thing you’ll need to change here is the name of the image you’re using for the default avatar and it will automatically display.

Simple, isn’t it? Some site admins might think that leaving the monsters / mystery men would motivate your users to upload an avatar of their own. You underestimate the casual internet user. Keep your site’s design unified by changing your default avatars today.

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