How to get the most out of StudioPress and Wordpress

[Rebecca Diamond]

Many times, I see questions like
"How can I sort my categories?"
"How can I add a calendar?"
"How can I put extra advertisements on my site?"
etc.

There are always going to be several options, but I want to point out an invaluable resource: The Wordpress Plugin Directory http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/
You can access it by that link, and I've also had great result from googling "order my categories wordpress" or "calendar for wordpress", etc. Many times that will bring up even more plugins than are listed in the Directory.

As always, take a backup of your site before installing something new! But plugins can help you take the StudioPress themes and make them truly your own - something that meets the unique needs your site has.

Also, when I was first delving into wordpress, I had more questions than answers (still do some days!) I found out that I could dig in and find out how things worked by googling the term that was confusing - for example, searching for "<?php posts_nav_link(' — ', __('&laquo; Previous Page'), __('Next Page &raquo;')); ?> wordpress" brings up the Wordpress codex article on how to style next and previous page links, which can lead to some really creative implementations.

Another fantastic resource is Firefox browser with the Web Developer plugin (http://chrispederick.com/work/web-developer/) - it has a function that allows you to hover over any spot on your site, and see what it is. That eliminates going through the style sheet and guessing which title tag is in your sidebar, homepage, or body and making changes - it takes you right to the source, literally. That one add-on has saved me hours of frustration.

Of course, I've learned lots by being a member here, searching the forums, and asking questions. Combine this forum with the other resources and, well, I have yet to come across anything that StudioPress themes can't handle!