WPML also makes any WordPress theme multilingual and gives you the tools to build unique multilingual WordPress sites. WPML was created by ICanLocalize, a professional translation service, specializing in website translation and software localization.

So when we want to marry CMS and marketing, we always turn to wp4im.com – WordPress 4 Internet Marketing! This great site has a very comprehensive review of plugins for anybody interested in marketing, review sites, product review, e-commerce plugins, WordPress shopping cart … you name it. This site also features a great WordPress review site plugin.

The simple fact wp4im.com runs on WordPress speaks volumes about their credibility on this topic, which is why we love to read their reviews so we can off on the right foot instead of deep searching WordPress.org or other sites.

Another reason we use wp4im.com is that – like the best WordPress users our there – the site is kept simple, clean but effective. While some experts in marketing abuse WordPress with too much visual clutter, WordPress 4 Internet Marketing is all about being focused and straight to the point.

We’re not only adding wp4im.com to our favorites links – no kidding – we’re adding them to our RSS readers and the people we will follow on twitter with much attention.

Now for those who would want to create a Wordpress theme, we recommend the Ultimate Wordpress Theme Tutorial at ThemeShaper.

WordPress themes are easily modified and the Codex offers a wide range of functions you can code into the heart of the site. Start with 10 Useful WordPress Loops Hacks. We also recommend this handy Wordpress Cheat Sheet. Resources are also aplenty, but our favorite article so far has been Steffan Antonas’ 100+ Killer Wordpress Resources.

First off, we deleted all bloated log files. Might sound stupid – logs contain critical information -  but you can’t work with gigantic log files when pressed with time. What you need is to get the server back up and running. By the time we created some space by removing some of the access_log files from various directories, we noticed the space available was back to normal levels, but decreased by 3 or 4 megabytes per 10 minutes. Not a good situation.

More forensic analysis was needed. Time to watch the system closely. We soon discovered one error_log file would grow incredibly fast when one specific site was loaded in the browser. We immediately downloaded the log, opened it while it was still manageable and there was the problem: one specific plugin was creating error upon errors. Some wordpress table was likely damaged or dropped during a Wordpress upgrade so the plugin would send multiple requests to the server and bloat the error_log.

No time to investigate further, this was not an essential plugin, delete, delete and remove!
If you server starts crashing after little or no increase in traffic, investigate methodically, you’ll find out sooner or later the cause. In this case, a simple PLUGIN brought down an entire server by plugging the plumbing …

The issue was first reported by Lorelle on WordPress after it was discovered that an attack is exploiting security holes in previous versions, creating a hidden Admin account and drilling right down to the database level.

Lorelle writes:

There are two clues that your WordPress site has been attacked. There are strange additions to the pretty permalinks, such as example.com/category/post-title/%&(%7B$%7Beval(base64_decode($_SERVER%5BHTTP_REFERER%5D))%7D%7D|.+)&%/. The keywords are “eval” and “base64_decode.”

The second clue is that a “back door” was created by a “hidden” Administrator. Check your site users for “Administrator (2)” or a name you do not recognize. You will probably be unable to access that account.

All Wordpress users are advised to upgrade to the latest version of WP (2.8.4). Those already affected will likely need to export all content with the built-in XML WordPress exporting utility, uninstall and reinstall WordPress and re-import the content.

By changing the mode of a file, you are giving permission to various groups to be able to read, write or execute a file.

Most use number codes for chmod commands, but those who wish to learn more can check out the myriad of tutorials out there for more advanced commands.

Each digit in the command is a binary representation of:
rwx (read/write/execute).

A chmod of 755 means:
111(7) – Owner can read write execute
101(5) – other in the group can execute or read, no write
101(5) – rest of world can read and execute, no write

A chmod of 777 means:
111(7) – Owner can read write execute
111(7) – other in the group can read write execute
111(7) – rest of world can read read write execute

When installing WordPress, some directories need to be changed via chmod. Some plugins require the /wp-content/ folder be made writeable. In some cases, this may require assigning 755 permissions or higher (777 on some hosts). The same is true for /wp-content/cache/ and maybe /wp-content/uploads/

For those who don’t have access to MS Word, nor any other sophisticated word processor, they can always use an online tool such as Texalyser.net

Gunning-Fog and Flesch-Kincaid are readability indicators that are essential for those gearing content for specific audiences. For more information on readability indexes, you can consult each separate Wikipedia entries, but for the sake of brevity, here is a brief introduction.

In linguistics, the Gunning fog index is a test designed to measure the readability of a sample of English writing. The resulting number is an indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading. That is, if a passage has a fog index of 12, it has the reading level of a U.S. high school senior. The test was developed by Robert Gunning, an American businessman, in 1952

The Flesch/Flesch–Kincaid Readability Tests are readability tests designed to indicate comprehension difficulty when reading a passage of contemporary (late 20th century?) academic (US?) English. There are two tests, the Flesch Reading Ease, and the Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level. Although they use the same core measures (word length and sentence length), they have different weighting factors, so the results of the two tests do not always correlate: a text with a higher score on the Reading Ease test over another text may have a lower score on the Grade Level test. Both systems were devised by Rudolf Flesch

1. Contact Forms. Our first choice, for simple integration is Contact Form][
Our rating : 4 / 5

However if you want a lot of options and functions, our recommendation is Dagon Design Form Mailer. This awesome plugin has so many features we strongly recommend you visit their site. Attachments, multiple forms on multiple pages, captchas … With just a bit of code, you can build some pretty extensive forms for your site. Our rating : 5 / 5

2. RSS – We have had extensive experience with UTF / ISO RSS aggregators. Do read our entry on the subject. In the meantime, we recommend KB Advanced RSS Widget
Our rating : 4.5 / 5

3. Menus are essential for the look and feel of your site. Our all time favorite being : Menubar. If you’re adventurous, do go and edit the template files for each style and create your own look and feel for your site. Create multiple menus, control linkage. Our rating : 4 / 5

4. The WordPress editor – Don’t even think of starting a blog without this plugin. Not the easiest to install, as there is content in multiple folders. However it really is worth the trouble : TinyMCE Advanced. Our rating : 5/5

5. Live statistics ? If you want them tucked away in your admin panel, then do try StatPress. We’ve had nothing but great stats with this tool before we download our access files and run 123LogAnalyzer.

Most wordpress plugins for RSS do not give you the option to activate UTF / ISO filtering of feeds. The solution is to install KB Advanced RSS for widgets that pull RSS Feeds.

However if you wish to create a page or post in WordPress with an integrated feed, you will need to install FirstRSS Plugin for WordPress – But before you upload, you must duplicate / rename the plugin folder and rewrite the code to have the choice between two versions of FirstRSS plugins : one for ISO feeds, one for UTF.

But how do you force UTF coding to an ISO feed on an UTF WordPress site ? Simple, use the function utf8_encode(); where it matters !

If rewriting FirstRSS, make the following changes :

ORIGINAL FirstRSS Code

$disp .= “\t<big><a href=’$link’>$title</a></big><br />\n”;
if ($copy != ”) $disp .= “\t<small>$copy</small><br />\n”;
if ($desc != ”) $disp .= “\t$desc<br />\n”;
$disp .= “\n\t<br />\n”;

// For each item…
foreach($rss->items as $item) {
$title = $item[title];
$link = htmlentities($item[link]);
$desc = $item[description];

if ($title != ”) $disp .= “\t<b><a href=’$link’>$title</a></b>\n<br />”;
if ($desc != ”) $disp .= “\t$desc\n<br />”;
}

Modified code

$disp .= utf8_encode(“\t<big><a href=’$link’>$title</a></big><br />\n”);
if ($copy != ”) $disp .= “\t<small>$copy</small><br />\n”;
if ($desc != ”) $disp .= utf8_encode(“\t$desc<br />\n”);
$disp .= “\n\t<br />\n”;

// For each item…
foreach($utf_rss->items as $item) {
$title = $item[title];
$link = htmlentities($item[link]);
$desc = $item[description];

if ($title != ”) $disp .= utf8_encode(“\t<b><a href=’$link’>$title</a></b>\n<br />”);
if ($desc != ”) $disp .= utf8_encode(“\t$desc\n<br />”);
}

Don’t forget to rename the function as two identical functions will cause an error. We chose to rename the function $rss to $utf_rss