The theme has been heavily modified, and looks very different from the original. However, one look at the source files verifies that it is indeed built on NetWorker.

The website in question is apparently the official site of Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and boasts protection under Crown Copyright.

After receiving quite a few emails, I’ve since had several journalists this morning from London email me and request comment. Before responding to any journalists, I sent an email to the company in charge of developing the website(New Media Maze) to try and work this out privately. They claim that they tested the NetWorker theme, but then rebuilt it from scratch. Although they rebuilt it from scratch, they failed to remove the credits in the CSS file that name the theme “NetWorker” or to change the theme folder which is named “NetWorker-10″(Networker version 1.0). They say this “slight oversight” would fulfill the Creative Commons license anyway. Uh…….

You can read further into this here:

• Prime Minister’s Website Breaks Copyright Law
• Has Downing Street Claimed Copyright on Stolen Code?
• 10 Downing Street Website Knock-Off and Rip-Off
• Number 10 and the Creative Commons

Unfortunately, this sort of thing is becoming way to common on the web. What I don’t get, is how can a Web Design firm (which I assume is respected) make these kinds of mistakes?…especially on a website that will have such a high profile?

For an update to this post, please read My Regrets about Copyright Dispute.

The situation has made me realize that no matter how great a tool the Theme Viewer is, to use it exclusively for offering themes is putting the availability of my themes completely in someone else’s hands. I have several new themes that will be available soon, and I’ve been waiting several weeks for the WordPress Theme Viewer to open back up for designs. I hope to continue using the site in the future, however, they will still be available here.

I’ve set up a demo site which will feature the previews of each theme. When you go to my “Themes” page, for each theme is a screenshot, a preview link, and a download link. Hopefully, this will also make the process easier for those interested in downloading…..one less click.

If any technical issues pop up with this new set up, please let me know.

This past week, I introduced you to a new design I created for my wife’s embroidery business. I had built the site with XHTML and CSS on static HTML pages. I asked for constructive criticism, and I got what I asked for pretty quickly. Based on the feedback I received plus several ideas of my own, I’ve made several major revisions. Here are the changes:

• site is now built on WordPress 2.2
• changed the domain from .info to .org – (.info address is forwarded to .org)
• new item pictures that are more consistent with each other
• did away with the sidebar – same links are in the horizontal nav bar
• h1, h2, etc. are being used more appropriately
• front page photos now click-thru to the appropriate pages
• added dialogue to the contact form

At some point, I may still change the site over to a shopping cart system such as OSCommerce. Presently, I believe this set-up will serve the purpose of the site. I also think using WordPress opens up some new possibilities, all of which I’ve yet to grasp. WordPress is such an awesome system, the possibilities are endless.

Embroidery and More

If a reader is interested in a theme, they can check it out right here rather than going to a different website.

Since I haven’t had access to that site, I’m looking into what type of set-up I’ll need here on Antbag.com to offer my themes for download and preview. I have a little collection of completed themes that are now ready, but I haven’t offered them due to my reliance on the Theme Viewer. I think this will be a positive change. If a reader is interested in a theme, they can check it out right here rather than going to a different website. Hopefully, the Theme Viewer will be back up to full functionality before long. I would like to offer themes both here and there. The Theme Viewer is great exposure.

On another note, I believe I read that they were having trouble with the “10 most downloaded themes” section. Whether they’re having issues or not, my NetWorker theme is one of the themes listed in the top 10……….so I consider that to be good exposure!

With blogging’s rise in popularity, the sidebar has become a place for much more.

The far majority of websites and blogs have at least one sidebar. The primary purpose being to provide deeper navigation into the website. With blogging’s rise in popularity, the sidebar has become a place for much more. The sidebar is a great place to put information and links that will benefit readers by providing them quick access to useful info. I got the idea from a post on bill2me.com to make a list of what I think are the essentials.

First, I want to list a few things that are found in many sidebars, but are wasted space in my opinion.

• Calendar
• Archives(by date)
• meta(site admin links)

Having said that, yes, I do include those things in the default sidebars in my themes. Why? I guess because that’s the normal thing to do, and that is what people expect to find in a theme. I haven’t really considered doing any different, since most WordPress users use sidebar widgets anyway. All three of these elements can be useful in certain types of sites, but in general they don’t really add value.

So, what are the more important things to include? Well this really comes down to opinion and personal preference. What I find to be crucial, you may think otherwise. Here, I’ve made a list of what I think are the 5 most essential items to include in a sidebar, and why.

1. Pages / Navigation – Some sites, such as this one, have a horizontal navigation menu right under the header. All sites don’t. It’s frustrating for me to visit a site, and the only means of navigation is either going to the bottom of the page and following the “previous entries” link, or by searching the Archives(by date). The truth is, I probably won’t take the time to do either. So I think providing easy navigation is the most essential. Preferably with a nice sitemap.
2. Recent Posts – I like to display recent posts, because this is obviously the first place a visitor will look when visiting a site for the first time, to try getting an overall feel for the content.
3. Recent Comments – This is important, in my opinion, because it makes it easy for the reader to follow any conversations that are happening on the site. And hey, isn’t conversation what blogging is all about?
4. Categories – This one goes right along with navigation. If a reader is looking for specific information, this makes it easy for them to see if you have anything to offer about that subject.
5. Subscription Options – If you want to build a community of regular readers, it’s much more likely to happen by RSS.

That’s my list. What would you consider the most important elements of a sidebar? What am I leaving out?

Have you tried AJAX lately?

AJAX?….as in that cleaning product?

Of course not. I’m talking AJAX….as in….web application language. Or Asynchronous JavaScript and XML to be more specific. Mike Smullin has created this super cool plug-in that, through the use of AJAX, your page doesn’t have to re-load when someone leaves a comment. There are two options:

1. You can download the plug-in here, and upload to your WordPress plug-ins directory, or
2. follow Mike’s instructions on manually integrating the code in your comments.php file

It’s really smooth. If you want to see how it works, just……leave a comment on this post.

Now that’s low huh? Will I do anything to get comments?

Unfortunately, there are still a few bugs I’ve run into that I’m trying to work out. I *think* I have most IE issues worked out. I’m having a small problem with the header displaying correctly in the Opera browser. I hope to get that fixed right away.

If everyone would just use Firefox, life would be so much easier.

I’ve been interested in Web Design for about the past year and a half……or maybe two years. That was actually the whole reason I built a website in the beginning – way before I got a blog. The day I discovered Blogger, was the day I modified my first blog theme. Ever since then, I’ve tried modifying every design that I’ve had…….and a bunch of them I never even used. In the process I started realizing how a WordPress theme works. So, naturally, I had to make one.

So, why make themes and offer them for free? There are several reasons that come to mind, some more important than others. The main reasons would include:

• Incoming Links
• Practice to Improve
• Creative Outlet
• Fun……….?
• Hopefully to bring me attention

That first one is important to anyone who offers free themes. You get to use the theme in exchange for letting me have my link in the footer. It’s been amazing to me how many people have activated one of my themes – and immediately took my link out of the footer. I’ve probably been guilty of doing the same thing (before I knew better). But, that can be a little discouraging.

As far as bringing attention my way, let me explain what I mean by that. The thought of doing freelance design appeals to me very much. I can only assume if I happen to build a theme that’s a hit(meaning that it becomes popular), then it can only bring opportunity my way. So in essence, attention = opportunity. Opportunity is a good thing any way you slice it!

I hope that sheds some light, if my recent design projects have thrown anyone for a loop. The ideas have been in the works for a long time. I already have two more themes that are almost ready. I may wait a while and spread the release of these out a little further apart. I’m excited about both of them. They’re very different from each other, yet are both very visually stimulating. I’m also *considering* redesigning this site, and offering this design. I’m undecided though, because I get a lot of compliments for it. We shall have to wait and see what the future holds…………

On a separate note, I always enjoy seeing what kind of RSS buttons other sites have, and I’ve seen some pretty creative ones. I’ve made a couple, and this one is my favorite so far. I have to think about the purpose in the first place so I don’t go over the top with it. To me, the point is for it to be easy to find and hopefully even draw the eyes just a little – without being annoying or distracting. Maybe this one fits the bill.

What You’ll Need

The only tool you need is a feedreader. If you are not familiar with feedreaders, there are many to choose from. There are quite a few of them that are free, including my favorite one, Google Reader. Google Reader is very smooth and has a super clean and easy to use interface.

It’s All Good!

If your a little bit cynical and assume the worst, let me put your mind at ease. A feedreader does not deliver spam. The only content that it will deliver to you, is that which you subscribe to. Something else I really like, is the fact that it’s just as easy to unsubscribe from a feed as it is to subscribe to one. It’s all in one click of the mouse. So there’s really no hook.

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