I considered writing my own php script where I would have separate pull-down boxes for the day, month and year to assure that there was no mistake as to the actual dates. That would take a little extra format massaging to create the date in MySQL format, so I looked for scripts that others had already written. Who wouldn’t?

Formatting dates can drive a person crazy. Does ‘06-08-2000′ mean June 8th or the 6th of August? Writing for the Web should be universal. The month-day format that we tend to use in the U.S. is confusing to everybody else who uses the day-month format, and vice-versa.

Writing by hand I like to use this format ‘12-Mar-2000′ so there is no ambiguity, but that format needs to be converted to ‘YYYY-MM-DD’ format when sending dates to MySQL.

So, what are my requirements for such a Date-Picker Script?

• easy, intuitive for the user
• easy for me with output in MySQL format (YYYY-MM-DD)
• unrestricted license would be nice

I tried a few different date picker scripts and decided upon SpiffyCalendar because it’s the most advanced, yet easily modified to suit my purposes. Also, there is an established support system via a Yahoo! user group. That’s really nice, and unexpected.

Here’s the scripts I tried and the pros and cons for each…most weren’t as user-friendly as SpiffyCalendar.

PHP Calendar

PROS
• I like the look of this calendar, but it’s difficult to determine how to modify the calendar other than for css of calendar appearance.
• Date output is already in MySQL format: YYYY-MM-DD

CONS
• Can’t select year from calendar unless you click back or forward to the actual month.
• Ugly and excessively long query strings in links.

DatePick

PROS
• I like the little calendar icon.

CONS
• Can’t select year from calendar unless you click back or forward to the actual month.
• Timestamp is included. Don’t need it.
• Relies on javascript and pop-up window to select date.
• Calendar doesn’t update well when moving from month to month. Part of the calendar doesn’t get loaded in so all days are not selectable. Have to manually widen window to see all days.
• Can’t select year directly, have to click through months to get to next year.
• No directions on how to modify output.

DateTimePick

PROS
• I like the little calendar icon.
• Can modify output via provided directions.

CONS
• Can’t select year from calendar unless you click back or forward to the actual month.
• Relies on javascript and pop-up window to select date.
• Calendar doesn’t update well when moving from month to month. Part of the calendar doesn’t get loaded in so all days are not selectable. Have to manually widen window to see all days.
• Can select year directly, but calendar doesn’t update well.

SpiffyCalendar

Sign up to the Yahoo! Group to download the script.

PROS
• Calendar pops into page, not a separate window.
• Can modify output via provided directions.
• Can get help at Yahoo! Groups.
• Unrestricted license.
• Can refresh page containing calendars as link is not modified after picking a date or two.
• Highlights holidays, although will have to remove Dec 1st developer’s birthday. (OK, modified holiday array in script on lines 86-87.)

CONS
• Format of date will have to be modified for MySQL. (OK, Added "cal1.dateFormat="yyyy-MM-dd"; after instantiation in header for calendar named ‘cal1′.)
• Relies on javascript.
• Had to modify the images folder location in the .js file to an absolute address, although things worked fine on my local server with a relative address.

I’m sure there are plenty of these date-picker scripts floating around the Web. Do you have a different one to share with us? Leave a comment!

WP-Cumulus displays your tags and/or categories but in a visually-striking way. A rotating cloud of words is presented instead of a plain old list.

Here’s an example of WP-Cumulus in action:

Move your cursor over the display and the rotation will change direction and speed. Click on a word once it has a box around it to get a listing of posts containing that tag or filed in that category. Pretty cool, eh?

The only caution here is that you must be running WP 2.3 or later. WP-Cumulus will not work with earlier versions.

Installation follows the typical plugin format. Simply download the plugin, unpack it, and FTP the plugin folder, called wp-cumulus, to your wp-content/plugins directory.

There are three ways to display your WP-Cumulus cloud:

• In a page or post like above, using the key [WP-CUMULUS]. Features can be modified under Settings/WP-Cumulus.
• In your theme anywhere that you insert <?php wp_cumulus_insert(); ?>, probably in a sidebar. Just make sure the sidebar is big enough to display the cloud nicely.
• As a widget, via ‘Design’->’Widgets’. Edit the widget to modify the size of the cloud and the colors used for the text and background.

Really nice, don’t you think?

If you’re not running the latest version of WordPress, why not? There’s no reason not to - in my mind at least. You and your data will be safer when you run the most up-to-date version.

Actually, I did think of one exception and that would be if you use a must-have plugin that isn’t yet updated to run with the latest WordPress, you might want to wait it out for the updated plugin to arrive before updating to the latest WP. I wouldn’t wait too long because it is known that older versions of WP are targets for the dolts out there who are trying to separate you from your money and identity. Check the plugin’s FYI box for version compatibility.

Sometimes your installation of WP won’t be affected by the security or other issues solved in the next release and that depends on the features of WP that you rely upon. For instance, updating from 2.6.2 to 2.6.3 wasn’t necessary for my blogs because I wasn’t using the feature that had a security issue fixed. Not updating to 2.6.3 wasn’t a security risk, so I could put that off because I know another version is on its way shortly.

You can get all the info on the latest updates by scrolling down into your WP Dashboard and reading the WP news links.

Besides being assured that you have the latest and most secure version of WordPress, you’ll get all the tweaks for a smooth ride.

Updating to the next version of WP isn’t that bad. Once you run through it a couple of times updating your software is pretty darn easy.

Here’s the quick steps to a better WordPress experience:

• Backup your database. You probably should be doing this anyway, right? Did you know that a plugin will automate backing up your WP site? One click backup - how easy can you get?
• Backup your other pages, those not produced by WordPress, by FTPing a copy somewhere. You do have a place for extra storage, don’t you? If not, try Mozy Online Storage. They’ll give you a few free GB to store anything you like so you don’t glum up your local hard drive.
• Deactivate all plugins. With the latest versions of WP this is a one-click step.
• Verify that the first three steps were done successfully.
• Download the latest WordPress software and unpack the zip file.
• Delete the old WP pages, EXCEPT wp-config.php, the wp-content folder, the wp-images folder, your .htaccess and robot.txt files.
• Upload the new WP files. Check if there are plugins or themes that you might use with newer dates in the new wp-content folder. Upload any newer files.
• Run the upgrade program by visiting http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php, and clicking on Upgrade.
• Sign-in to your WP Dashboard and verify the permalinks are set to your liking.
• Activate plugins, as needed.
• Feel satisfied that you’re now safely running the latest and greatest WordPress blogging software.

It’s not difficult to run these updates, and you should be backing up your great content anyway, right? To stay on top of the most recent changes in WP, check out the WP news items in your Dashboard.

Poke around Apache.com, or better yet, read about Apache mod_rewrites in particular.

Need to learn about PHP? RTFM found online: PHP Manual.

So, why is WP Super Cache so popular? Simply put, it will speed up your blog.

WP Super Cache creates a static html page and serves that up to visitors of your blog instead of the dynamic php pages. Visitors who are logged in to your blog, or who have left a comment, will see the dynamic php pages instead of the static, cached pages. By creating and using a static page that is cached the activity on your server will be reduced and it will run faster.

Installation Tips for WP Super Cache Plugin

• Assure that the Apache mod mime and mod rewrite modules are installed.
• WordPress fancy permalinks must be enabled.
• PHP safe mode should be disabled.
• Backup your .htaccess before installing the plugin.
• Upload the WP Super Cache folder to your plugins directory, where it will create a ‘wp-content/plugins/wp-super-cache/’ directory.
• Activate “WP Super Cache” on the WP plugins page.
• Go to Settings->WP Super Cache and enable caching.
• Visit the installation page for WP Super Cache to assure that the newly created .htaccess files - there are 2 of them! - were created properly.

In my case the .htaccess file in the root directory could not be modified as the permissions on that file were set as read-only. I had to manually add the lines of code from supercache to the existing .htaccess file. The second .htaccess file “wp-content/cache/.htaccess” was created correctly by supercache.

Now, after you’ve installed and activated the WP Super Cache plugin, when your blog gets really popular your server should be able to better handle the influx of new traffic.

Search engines may or may not consider Meta statements when listing your sites in the search engine results pages, but if they do wouldn’t you want your blog’s meta data to be the best it can be? Since search engines send traffic to your blog, you should be satisfying those search engines by providing them with the most accurate information about your blog.

To be the most effective Meta statements should be page-specific, so that each page has a meta title, meta description and meta keywords that reflect the content of each page. Using the All in One SEO Pack plugin for WordPress blogs simplifies the creation of post- or page-specific Meta statements.

After you have installed and activated the All in One SEO Pack plugin, scan down the write a new post page and look for the All in One SEO Pack feature. Click on the right-pointing triangle to open this feature.

All in One SEO Plugin Feature for WordPress

Fill in your keyword-laden title and description making sure not to get too wordy. List your keywords for that post separated by commas.

If there is some reason to turn off this plugin, you can do it per post by ticking the box next to “Disable on this page/post”.

One nice thing about using Meta descriptions is that search engines may use your carefully written description in the Meta statement, instead of grabbing the first few words of your post, when describing your site in the search results listings.

Use the All in One SEO Pack plugin to entice new site visitors by writing your own Meta statements instead of leaving it up to chance.

Plugins reside in the plugins directory inside the wp-content directory of your WordPress installation.

To install a new plugin for WordPress all you have to do is FTP the plugin’s folder to the plugins directory.

Download and unpack the plugin from the WordPress Plugin Directory, then upload to your site. Pay attention to the Installation tab on the plugin’s page in the WP directory. Some plugins need a few extra steps to be completed, but most follow the standard installation.

WordPress Plugin Installation Steps

You may be directed to the plugin’s homepage for further instructions on how to install that particular plugin.

Also, you’ll need to activate the plugin before it will function. Go to the plugins tab from the WP Dashboard, find your new plugin in the list of inactive plugins, and click on Activate.

You’re all set! Your new plugin may have a management page, so check the Manage Tab of the WP Dashboard for a new link for managing your new plugin.

When you pick up a new plugin from WordPress, check the FYI box at the top right of the plugin page.

WordPress Plugin FYI Box

Note the version of WordPress that is required for your plugin to work properly, if at all. Also, it may be important to note the highest version of WP that is compatible with the plugin.

The Plugin FYI Box also gives links to the author’s homepage and the plugin’s homepage so that you can find out a lot more about the plugin.

Plugins are bits of software that modify the out-of-the-box functionality of the basic WordPress blog.

What does Akismet do? The Akismet plugin catches comment and trackback spam.

We all need a way to deal with spam left in comments or we’d spend waaaay too much time reading and deleting the hundreds and thousands of machine-generated comments.

Akismet proudly keeps track of the number of spam comments it has arrested from your blog. One of mine has been saved from over 32,000 spammy comments, so far!

One of the great things about Akismet is that once you set it, you can forget it. At first I checked to see what comments were being caught as spam, but I got over it real fast. Once in a while a spam comment slips through, but not very often. Just mark it as spam and poof! - it’s a goner.

In order to run the Akismet plugin you will need to get a WordPress.com API key. All you have to do is sign up for a WordPress account. Part of that process is to check your email for details.

After you have your key - it’s listed on your profile page - enter it on the Akismet Configuration page that you can reach via the plugins tab of your WordPress Dashboard.

Stay tuned for more WordPress Plugin reviews.

Start talking about popular features of any practical device and it interests me a little more. Popular with respect to people means glitz and glamour, but popular with respect to machines means useful and practical. I’m more of a granola girl, so the practical stuff is waaaay more interesting than the glitzy fluff.

WordPress has already claimed the winning votes to become the best blogging platform anywhere. But what about all those different ways that we can extend the basic blogging software?

What are the most popular, er..useful, plugins for WordPress blogs?

Looking at the WordPress Plugin Directory, the top 6 plugins listed as the most popular include:

• Akismet
• All in One SEO Pack
• WP Super Cache
• cforms II - contact form
• NextGEN Gallery
• Google XML Sitemaps

These popular plugins are all rated 4/5 stars or better by the people that use them and each has been downloaded hundreds of thousands of times. Sounds good to me!

I’ll be reviewing a number of WP plugins in the upcoming weeks, so stay tuned!

I’m sure the answer to that question is a big fat NO. And that’s because each blog is unique!

I looked through my blogs, including blogs that I write for fun and ones that I maintain for clients, to see which plugins are common to all. The list is a short one.

• Akismet - best spam catcher of them all
• FeedBurner FeedSmith - best way to manage your blog feeds
• MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer - best way to ping your blog

Akismet comes along with WordPress by default, which makes it the de facto standard way of managing spam comments and trackbacks left on your blog. Piece of cake. Get your WordPress.com API Key so you can set up Akismet now.

Register your blog with FeedBurner via the FeedBurner FeedSmith plugin and you’ll be able to see how many people subscribe to your blog feed and other crazy statistics about your site visitors. FeedBurner makes it easy to analyze your site traffic.

MaxBlogPress offers several plugins worth checking out, especially the MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer. Pinging your blog lets the world know that you have something new on your site, which is a great way to get your message out there. Trouble can arise when you edit blog posts, or post-date your blog entries, as each time you publish your content or save edited content the ping service gets hit again. Multiple pings in a row may look like blog spam and you really don’t want your blog properties to be associated with spam in any way, shape or form. Use MaxBlogPress Ping Optimizer to take control of pinging your blog.