How to use FTP from the Linux Command Line
You can use the ftp command to talk to an FTP server from the Linux Command Line. Type ftp to see if the tool is installed. If you get a “command not found” message then go ahead and type yum install ftp to make it available on your system. Using it is very straightforward – but I keep forgetting how because I only do it once in a blue moon. So here’s a handy cheat sheet: Logging in to your FTP Server Assuming our site is example.com, simply type this: ftp example.com Connected to example (12.34.56.78). 220 FTP-Example...
read moreHow to use P2 (screencast)
In this video I will show you how to get the most out of the revolutionary P2 WordPress theme. It allows front-page posting and is an ideal solution for jotting down notes or communicating with others. I will explain how to create lists with simple shortcuts, add links, how to embed YouTube videos by simply pasting the URL and some simple customisation options.
read moreHow to add your own widget to the WordPress Dashboard
Now that we’ve removed a few widgets, perhaps it’s time we add our own simple info box to the WordPress Dashboard. For example, we could provide a direct link to our support services. It’s handy for clients to know help is just a click away. Here’s how to add a simple box like that: //Add a new widget to the Dashboard function contact_help(){ echo 'If you have questions about working with WordPress system, contact Jay at noreply@wphosting.tv or call 305-555-1234'; } function register_widgets(){...
read moreBest Practices to Extend Plesk using the SDK
This is a presentation Andrey Kugaevskiy and I gave at Parallels Summit 2014 in New Orleans. We’ll show you what the SDK is and what it can do for you. If you would like to change the way Plesk behaves, or you want to integrate your application or service deep into the Plesk interface, then this session is for you. We’ll discuss the best practices for creating extensions that can be used to differentiate your services from everyone else or to promote your service to all Plesk instances online today. Links from the video: Plesk...
read moreExcellent visual gradient generator for your own CSS…
Excellent visual gradient generator for your own CSS classes http://www.colorzilla.com/gradient-editor/
read moreHow to target a specific row in a table via CSS
This week I needed to make use of another CSS Pseudo element which is – like many of its colleagues – a rather sharp tool in the CSS toolbox. I was using the eMember plugin for a membership site and wanted tweak the signup form. By default it looks like this (I’ve already removed a rather ugly looking border from the table): The site I’m working on will provide a free membership, but that’s a technicality that users can’t change – and let’s face it the entire line reading “Membership:...
read moreHow to replace an Amazon EC2 instance running CentOS and Plesk
In this video I will show you how you can replace a running EC2 instance with a larger one. You may want to do this if you find that you need bigger and better hardware to serve your website, or to move from a development system to a more powerful production system. In this example my EC2 instance is an M1 Small which hosts a single WordPress website with about 500-700 hits per day. In the screencast I’m replacing it with an M3 Medium instance which really isn’t big enough to cope with the traffic. I have since found that a C3...
read moreHow to log into MySQL as root user in Plesk
You may have noticed that there is no MySQL root user on servers running Plesk. That’s because Plesk renames this user into “admin” by default – for security reasons. The password for the admin MySQL account is the same as for the Plesk Panel admin account. Even so, when you try to login to MySQL – remotely or locally – you may be puzzled to find that your admin password doesn’t seem to work. Let me assure you of your sanity and your keyboard skills: it’s because Plesk encrypts the password in...
read moreHow to remove the Jetpack admin menu from subscribers
The Jetpack admin menu is visible to everybody, including subscribers. This may not be what you want. You may even want to hide it from other admins, perhaps once you’ve given a site over o a client and you don’t want him to switch off vital functionality by accident. Here’s how you can hide the Jetpack admin menu in your WordPress back end. Hide Jetpack from Non-Admins (including Subscribers) If you would like your admin users to see Jetpack and hide it from everyone else, add this to your theme’s function.php file:...
read moreHow to replace and add HTML text elements with CSS
In some circumstances you may can replace HTML text elements via CSS. This is useful if you don’t have access to the source files, or if you want to override text in a Child Theme’s stylesheet. There are several approaches to this conundrum, I’ll show you two of them. Both require that you have a class, ID or element that you can target. You then either amend more text to it, or replace the existing text completely via the CSS pseudo-elements before and after. This isn’t always successful though as the original styling...
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