Today, WordPress accepted “Featured Posts” into their plugin directory allowing for me to offer automatic updates within WordPress. So even if you do have 0.2 downloaded, please head over to the plugin directory and download Featured Posts.

You’ve probably seen websites with featured posts or breaking news at the top and wondered how to do it. Well now you can easily add it to the front page of your WordPress blog or any category.

Why might you want to do it?
Sometimes you want your visitors to see a post but want to continue adding new content at the same time. For example, you are running a contest and want your visitors to see it first thing, but you want to continue writing about your regular subject. A great way to help your visitors see it is to use featured posts. You just type in the id of your post within the plugin options page and all your regular articles will be displayed normally.

How easy is it to install?
Extremely easy! Just download the file, upload it to your directory and head to the options page. There you enter the post ID you wish to be displayed and whatever image you wish to be shown.

When installing, DO NOT PLACE featuredposts() INSIDE THE LOOP! Read about the_loop here.

The image is taken directly from the post’s gallery.

Full instructions on how to install Featured Posts is located within the readme.txt file.

Wonder what it looks like on your frontpage:

Can I change how it looks?
You can also easily change the look and feel of the plugin within the separate CSS file so you don’t have to dig through the plugin to find it. This can be extremely useful if your site is using obscure percentages or you want to change the size of the featured posts box.

You can read up on how to change the looks more specifically here.

Do I have to show an image?
No, but it does look better with one. To not show an image just unselect “display image” within the plugin settings page. After doing so you may need to change the CSS though, otherwise the featured posts plugin will probably leave whitespace underneath.

How do I show the plugin on my homepage only?
<?php if (is_home()) { if(function_exists(’featuredposts’)) featuredposts(); } ?>

How do I show the plugin on a specific category?
<?php if (is_category(’5′)) { if(function_exists(’featuredposts’)) featuredposts(); } ?>

Want to try Featured Posts?
Check Featured Posts out at the official WordPress directory

Known bugs:
Currently, if a post does not have an image and the ‘display image’ box is ticked then Featured Posts will not display. Simply untick the box and save. This will be fixed in the next update.

The text within the settings page on what PHP code to use is incorrect (it is missing parenthesis). The readme.txt file has the correct usage. It is:

if (function_exists(’featuredposts’)) { featuredposts(); }

Past versions:
0.1

Change log
0.2 to 0.2.1:

• Now listed as compatible with Wordpress 2.8
• Deleted rest of $ol_flash

0.1 to 0.2:

• Changed headfeaturedposts() to echo “alternate stylesheet” instead of “stylesheet”
• Automatically select image from post to display
• Renamed posts_add_pages() to featured_posts_add_pages().
• Renamed posts_options_page() to featured_posts_options_page() and changed add_options_page() to recognize it.
• Deleted $ol_flash
• Removed “Featured Posts” text.
• Added activate and deactivate switch for database
• Can now choose image size within wp-admin.
• Now chooses whether to use thumbnail or full image to display based on image size.
• Can now use a custom description.
• Changed text below wp-admin form.
• Changed README.txt to include better directions and use WP standards.
• PHP code now has better formating and comments.
• Can now choose excerpt length.

Screenshot

The settings actually allow you to change several aspects of GalleryShot SW. Here is a list of what can be changed within the settings panel.

1. Number of images displayed.
2. The image size.
3. The image size on mouse over.
4. The categories you wish to display the images from.
5. Whether or not to display a link back to impNERD.

Of course, no sidebar plugin would be complete without it being widgetized. Within the widgets panel (Appearance/Widgets) you may easily add the plugin and set a title along with select whether or not to display a link to impNERD below the widget.

$2 or 2,000 EC credits.

GalleryShot SW has been tested in WordPress 2.6+

Why $2? For a few reasons: 1) Only people serious about using it will download it. 2) It will stay semi-unique. 3) Since it is relatively inexpensive, any updates to the plugin will not be free. I know, horrible, but it must be done.

Installation

1. Upload entire folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
2. Go to your plugins page and activate plugin.
3. Go to Settings/GalleryShot-SW and change your settings.
4. (optional) Add <?php if(function_exists(’gs_sw’)) { gs_sw(); } ?> to where you wish to display it.–no more than one will show and it must be outside the_loop in the template. It *may* work, but it isn’t recommended.
OR
5. (optional) Use the widget setting within design/widgets instead of editing your template. You can add a title from the widget options. The rest, change within the plugin settings.

Recommended size

The recommended size is 24 x 24, but other sizes work just as fine as long as the width and height are smaller than the size set for thumbnails.

You’ll be taken through many aspects of SEO including:

• Beginners SEO
• Finding Keywords
• Using Keywords
• Gaining links
• Social media
• Duplicate content

And receive a list of quality SEO tools and must read blogs and forums to learn the from the best.

So what are you waiting for? Download impNERD’s SEO Guide: Search Engine Optimization Tools & Tips now by subscribing through email or RSS!

If you are already a subscriber, don’t feel left out. You can get yours by just clicking “Download impNERD’s SEO Guide” at the bottom of the RSS feed:

Why use HomeImages?

To easily add images to your homepage. It gives the design a bit more eye candy which will (hopefully) add more click-throughs to your posts.

Download

Current version: HomeImages v0.1

Files included in download:

• homeimages.php
• README.txt

How to Install

1. Upload entire folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
2. Go to your plugins page and activate plugin.
3. Go to options/HomeImages and change your settings.
4. (optional) Change the CSS settings at the bottom of the plugin file to fit your needs.
5. Add <?php if(function_exists(’homeimages’)) { homeimages(); } ?> to where you wish to display it inside the loop.

Why use GalleryShot?

GalleryShot is a great way to gain user attention. Everyone loves images, so when they see something interseting, they click.

Entrecard users: Using the ’support impNERD’ feature gives GalleryShot a perfect fit next to Entrecard. What a nice way to spice up your blog, use virtually no space, and gain more clicks.

What does it specifically do?

Specifically, GalleryShot looks through your gallery and grabs all images uploaded to the 10 latest posts. From there, it lines the images up into a slideshow and displays an image every few seconds (you can edit the amount of time in between displays within your wp-admin/settings/GalleryShot).

Download

Current version: GalleryShot v0.2

Changes:
Changed the way thumbnails are handled.
Added post titles to the GalleryShot. (When you place your cursor over GalleryShot, the post title appears)

Previous versions:
GalleryShot v0.1

Files included in download:

• galleryshot.php (main plugin file)
• gs_bg.png (background image)
• README.txt (install information, license, etc.)

Settings

Not everyone wants the same thing. As such, GalleryShot offers several options to better your experience.

1. Edit the image height and width. Select your own image size to display. The default image size is 125×125 (works best with “Entrecard like” support).
2. Change the amount of time between slide change.
3. Choose to show the support impNERD link or not. By choosing yes, a border and blackbox beneath the slideshow will appear (like the image above). By keeping it unchecked, only the image will appear.

How to Install

1. Upload entire folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
2. Go to your plugins page and activate plugin.
3. Go to options/GalleryShot and change your settings.
4. (optional) Add <?php if(function_exists(’galleryshot’)) { galleryshot(); } ?> to where you wish to display it.
OR
5. (optional) Use the widget setting within design/widgets instead of editing your template.

Update 1: GalleryShot does not create images, only reuses the ones already used by WordPress. ie, if you don’t use a thumbnail in your post, it does not use the thumbnail to resize the image, but the full size. You must also have the PHP GD extension loaded for WordPress to create thumbnails.

Update 2: Fixed thumbnail handling. Thumbnails are now used if GalleryShot is the same size or smaller than your specified thumbnail setting in wp-admin/settings/misc, otherwise the full version is used and resized. You must have the PHP GD extension loaded on your server for WordPress to create thumbnails.

The Ribbons for Change plugin adds a ribbon to the corner of your blog (your choice of which side) using javascript. The ribbon is then linked to the corresponding foundation.

Regular sized ribbons (there are also small versions of each):

Download

ribbons-for-change.zip 0.1

Installation

1. Unzip ribbons-for-change.zip into your plugins folder.
2. Activate plugin within your WP-Admin.
3. Within your WP-Admin go to Settings/Ribbons.
4. Select the ribbon you want to use and click Save.

With the Keyword Snatcher you are able to view your contents’ keyword density within your WordPress admin without ever leaving the page.

Keyword Snatcher Benefits
See the keyword density of any page published by WordPress. This lets you easily identify weaknesses of your pages copy for the keywords you are trying to rank for.

Keyword Snatcher Features

1. Direct installation, no modifications needed.
2. Adds a quicktag to your WordPress write page to easily see your keyword density.
3. Easily close the density report after reviewing.
4. Common search engine stop words excluded.

Download
keyword-snatcher.zip 0.2

Previous versions
0.1

Installation

1. Upload entire folder to your /wp-content/plugins/ folder.
2. Go to your plugins page and activate plugin.
3. Write a new post/page or edit one within the admin page.
4. (optional) If you are using the Visual editor, click the ‘Code’ tab.
5. Click ‘Keywords’.

Changes

0.2
2/19/08 Added stop words.

Notes
Does not currently support the visual editor.

All stop words are taken from SEO Book’s stop words list
If you like this plugin, please consider linking to http://impnerd.com

To Do List

1. Support keyword phrases
2. List by percent instead of alphabetically
3. Complete customization, adding/subtracting stop words, etc.

Just download the plugin, go to Option/Random Ads within your wp-admin and enter your ad code (be sure to separate each with <!–– End Ad ––>)

Download:
random-ads.zip

Previous versions:
0.1

Installation

1. Download the latest version (link is above).
2. Unzip the file into your plugins folder (wp-content/plugins). Be sure to leave all files within the random-ads folder.
3. Go to your wp-admin Plugins and activate it.
4. Head over to Options/Random Ads in wp-admin. Add the ad code you wish to display separated by <!–– End Ad ––>.
5. Press “Update Code” when you are finished.
6. optional: Link to impNERD.com to show your support.

Changes

0.2
3/1/08 Added unset to array to disable additional <!–– End Ad ––>.

Ask any further questions or comments within the comments.

The plugin is also compatible with the newest WordPress, so you can easily add it to your sidebar through the widgets panel.

Preview:

Download: .rar | .zip

Why not create a password generator which is easy to memorize, but changes from left hand to right hand so it is easier to type? Then, I thought, lets go a bit farther and make it not only change from left to right, but from consonant to vowel so it is much easier to memorize.

So here is what I came up with:
Original concept – download
Left hand – Right hand – download
Left hand – Right hand – consonant – vowel – download

To edit:

At the bottom of the php file, there is: mnemonic(6,2); Change the first number to how many letters you wish to have within your password, then the second number for how many numbers.