New Plugin: Genesis Simple Headers

March 18, 2011 By 20 Comments

Earlier this week I was installing some of the Genesis child themes (aff link) on a WordPress multi-site network. I quickly realized that I had a problem on my hands. If more than one site wanted to use the same theme, they wouldn’t be able to use a custom logo because uploading the logo to the theme directory would make it the only logo available for all network sites using the same theme. So, I spent spent some time retrofitting half a dozen themes to use the WordPress headers functionality to replace the logo on each individual site.

Then it dawned on me… Why not just build this as a plugin? That was, of course, followed immediately with “why didn’t I think of that first?”

Obviously, if you are running a single site you can simply FTP in and upload the file to your server. But, if you have clients who you’d like to keep away from FTP and make it simple for them to upload a new header once a day (if they so choose), then the Genesis Simple Headers plugin will do the trick.

You can Download Genesis Simple Headers here.

To install, download the plugin, unzip it and upload the entire ‘genesis-simple-headers’ folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder. Then activate it from the WordPress plugins menu. It requires that you have Genesis 1.5 installed and if you aren’t currently using a Genesis child theme, this plugin is totally useless.

Once it’s installed, go to the Appearance tab and click the Headers menu option. You will be given the opportunity to upload a file to replace the logo. The page will also tell the size of the image to upload (if you upload a different sized image, you’ll be asked to crop the image prior to saving).

All current Genesis Child Themes are handled in this plugin with the following two exceptions
- Prose: The functionality is built in to that child theme already.
- Family Tree: I’ll add this one when I can figure out how best to go about it.

Let me know what you think of the plugin!

Cheers!

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A Change at 9seeds

February 4, 2011 By 13 Comments

Normally when we have BIG NEWS to announce, we’re really excited to share it with the World. Unfortunately, today’s news isn’t like that and has been one of the toughest posts I’ve had write.

I am sad to announce that on February 14th, Shayne Sanderson will be leaving 9seeds.

We know you have questions. Heck, we have a ton of them, too. But, let me answer what seem to be the two most important; why? and what now?

The Why
Things change. Situations change. Building a business is hard work and sometimes that can cause issues in other areas of your life. Shayne feels it’s best that he step away, refocus himself and his energy and try something different. We know that everybody loves a bit of drama. You are going to be sorely disappointed. There just isn’t any.

The What Now
Todd and I spoke at length about our plans for 9seeds. We are both really happy with the direction things are going and have every intention to continue on our path. We will continue to take on new development projects and we will most definitely continue working on our own plugins.

Shayne has been in integral part of the growth of 9seeds over the past 16 months and we are going to miss having him on our team. Over the past two years Shayne and his wife Abbie have become part of our family. Both Todd and I have assured him that we are friends first and business partners second. Losing him as a partner hurts, losing him as a friend would be devastating.

Best of luck my friend.

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New plugin: WP Chargify

February 2, 2011 By 10 Comments

Early last year we were contacted by Jason Glaspey who was looking for a custom WordPress plugin. He wanted a plugin that would let a site admin hide content from the general public but make it available to paid members. While there are several plugins like that already available, this one would be different in that it would use Chargify as the payment processor. We agreed to the project and he hired us to build WP Chargify.

Shortly after delivering the finished product, circumstances beyond Jason’s control forced him to shelf the project. Even though we had been paid for the project, we were still bummed since we like to see the plugins we write get used. After a few months went by, we didn’t really expect anything to happen with the plugin. We had basically written it off. Until last month…

Last month we were contacted by two people who both had copies of the plugin. Jason had sent them our way saying that if they needed help, we were the guys to contact. After we helped them both out, Jason and I talked about the project and what the next step might be for the plugin. After a short discussion, we both agreed that making the plugin available to the WordPress community was the best thing to do!

Here are some questions you may be wondering:

What does that mean?
Jason, the original owner of the code, is making the plugin a free, open source plugin. So that means, the WP Chargify plugin is available for you to download, use, modify or whatever else you want to do with it.

Will more features be added?
We (9seeds) will manage the plugin project, but it is being released as-is and at this time we have no plans to continue development on it. However, if you make any enhancements to the plugin that you think others could use as well, you can submit the patch to us and we will be happy to merge it in and release it at our discretion.

What if I find a bug?
You are welcome to submit a bug ticket and hopefully somebody in the community will be able to assist. We will be monitoring the forum as well. If you need help in a more urgent fashion, you can contact us and we’ll be happy to provide an estimate.

Why would you release it if you don’t plan to support it?
This plugin isn’t going to be for everybody. Hopefully another developer will find it, be able to make use of it and eventually take over continuing development on the project. If we can give that developer a head start with the code we’ve already written than it’s totally worth it.

If you are a developer and interested in being part of the development team for WP Chargify, be sure to let us know!

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See you in Phoenix

January 25, 2011 By 4 Comments

Back in October of 2009 I had the pleasure of presenting at WordCamp Phoenix. Unfortunately, thanks to some really bad planning on my part, I wasn’t able to stay and enjoy the event as I had to hop a plane to New York 2 hours after my presentation. See? I told you it was bad planning!

This coming weekend is WordCamp Phoenix 2011. Last time around there were 500+ people. From what I hear, this year is even bigger. I’m really excited to have the chance to go back and attend the event properly.

If you are attending the event this weekend, it’s going to be pretty tough to avoid the 9seeds crew. Not only are we a Bronze Sponsor for the event, but you’ll also find Shayne presenting on Saturday and 3 of us (Me, Shayne and Todd) will be taking turns helping out in the Genius Bar. You’ll also find us staying late at the after party, and, I’ve heard rumblings of a 10×10 challenge happening at In n Out burger. (I’m not at liberty to confirm or deny the 10×10 challenge. Nor can I take responsibility for any clogged arteries that may occur.) On Sunday we’ll be making our way to Gangplank and taking part in the festivities.

We hope to see you out there.

Cheers,

John

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WP Affiliate Manager adds Paypal Mass Pay

January 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Huzzah! The holidays are finally over! Now it’s time to get back to work. We have a lot going on at 9seeds, and you’re going to be seeing several updates to some existing plugins, along with a couple of new ones we’ve been working on. So let’s get started!

Introducing WP Affiliate Manager version 1.3

In version 1.3 you’ll find a handful of new features highlighted by the addition of Paypal MassPay which will allow you to pay all your affiliates at the same time. For sites with a large number of affiliates, this is a HUGE time saver!

Along with the new plugin update, we’re also updating the wpaffiliatemanager.com website to include a bunch more information about the plugin and how it works. We’ve also added a blog where we’ll provide detailed information about each new release, starting with a post about today’s release.

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