Web Concepts

I have shown you in the past how to promote yourself with a twitter search widget, but now I have found another solution to get the same task done.  If you are a user of HootSuite, you can now create embeddable columns that you can then take from your HootSuite account and embed via your own web site. 

This tutorial from their web site explains the basics on how to get it done:

I have given thought to creating a Twitter landing page here on the Lunartics blog, so (as an example) this would be a great way to feature content from @lunarpages, or show who’s talking about Lunarpages, or… well, the possibilities are really endless. 

Related Tips and Tricks:

• Grab a Number of Cool Google Gadgets
• Promote Yourself with the Twitter Search Widget
• Real-Time Blog Traffic Widgets

&copy Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

The gadget team over at Google have made it really easy to grab any number of tools they have featured there and display them on your web site.  At the time of writing this, they have over 175,000 little boxes of information to share with your own visitors.

To get started with adding your own, first visit the Google Gadgets page.  You can either try searching for the one that fits your needs, or browse through the various categories.

For example, if we wanted to add Bejeweled to our web page, you could visit this link, and then click the “Add to your webpage” button.  You can then select the title for the box, the width and height, and then the border for it.  Once you are happy with your edits, hit the button labeled “Get the Code” to get the right code to use.

Copy the code from that web site, and paste it into your web site.  You are done!  Now you have a very cool gadget that could add form and functionality to your web site’s overall experience for a user.

Related Tips and Tricks:

• Cool Embeddable Widgets for Your Web Site
• Add a Hosting Affiliate Banner to WordPress
• Make it Easier for Google Searchers to Find You!

&copy Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Looking for something to add to your web site to add a little more interactivity?  How about the Twitter search widget?  This is a service I just found out about, and I do have to say it makes for an interesting web site highlight.

All you have to do is go to the Twitter Search Widget page, then customize the type of widget you would like to create.  Here is an example of the Lunarpages search widget I just created:

You can even use advanced Twitter search operators too, to make your results even more customized. Give this tool a shot, and give the Twitter-ers out there something to browse through.

Related Tips and Tricks:

• Get a TwitStamp!
• Cool Embeddable Widgets for Your Web Site
• 25 Most Popular Twitter Plugins for WordPress

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don′t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

Lunarpages is already the ideal solution when it comes to Virtual Private Server hosting, both of the Linux and Windows flavors, so what else makes VPS web hosting with Lunarpages so great?  The Intense VPS Hosting Management.

What features are included with the Managed Intense service?

• Free setup of APF Firewall and Root Kit Check on the server
• Up to date notifications of exploits on popular third party software
• Upgrades of php, apache and administration panels for security per user authorization (we will send notice and you can decide if you want the upgrade to be performed)
• One free third party script installation per billing year
• Free installation of upgraded control panel
• 24×7𝘭 Phone and Help Desk support
• Dedicated Support staff
• Access to Lunarpages customer account page:
  • Ticket Manager
  • Reboots
  • Bandwidth
  • Knowledgebase
  • Billing Options

As you can see, you get tons of great coverage, and more bang for your buck.  Now for both the Linux and Windows VPS hosting services, the price of the Managed Intense service is usually $24.99 per month, however we will (for a limited time only) allow you to try it out free for 30 days! 

If you are searching for that perfect middle ground when it comes between shared and dedicated hosting services, don’t forget about the great benefits of getting your Windows VPS or Linux VPS hosting plan with Lunarpages!

Related Tips and Tricks:

• A Dedicated Design Resource for Web Designers
• Stopping Spam – Favorite Web Development Freebies (Part 3 of 5)
• New VPS Hosting Beta Program

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - Also, don’t forget to follow @lunarpages on Twitter!

Original post by Mitch

By Mitch “The Photo Bug” Keeler

If you are looking to add a few images to your blog, WordPress has more than a few plugins ready to help you get it done.  From image enhancements to full photo blogging power, here are the ten best photo and image related plugins for WordPress.

 NextGEN Gallery - NextGEN Gallery is a full integrated Image Gallery plugin for WordPress with a Flash slideshow option.

 Flickr Photo Album - This Flickr plugin for WordPress will allow you to pull in your Flickr photosets and display them as albums on your WordPress site.

&nbspShutter Reloaded - Darkens the current page and displays an image on top (like Lightbox, Thickbox, etc.), but is a lot smaller (10KB) and faster.

 Random Image Selector - Selects a random image from a specified folder, and provides.

 Yet Another Photoblog - Convert your WordPress 2.5+ installation into a full featured photoblog in virtually no time.

 Lightbox 2 - Plugin used to overlay images on the current page into neat Javascript-powered overlay popups.

 SEO Friendly Images - SEO Friendly Images automatically adds alt and title attributes to all your images. Improves traffic from search results and makes the tags w3c/xHTML.

&nbspThumbnail Viewer - A minimalist image viewer with an effect similar to Lightbox JS, only much faster with a whole lot less Javascript.

&nbspPhotoXhibit - PhotoXhibit provides an interface to set up gallery widgets using Picasa / Flickr / SmugMug / Wordpress Uploads and jQuery.

 Page Flip Image Gallery - Flipping Book plugin helps you to create Image Gallery with Page Flip effects on your WordPress blog.

As an extra bonus, be sure to check out our contest themes too:

• Lunarpages WordPress Contest Themes - Series One
• Lunarpages WordPress Contest Themes - Series Two
• Lunarpages WordPress Contest Themes - Series Three
• Lunartics - Free WordPress Themes

Now maybe you shouldn’t add ALL of these plugins to WordPress, but pick out the ones you like and let us know how they work for you.  If you are looking for a great place to host your WordPress powered blog - the Lunarpages Basic hosting plan makes a perfect choice.

&copy Lunarpages Web Hosting - Great web hosting with unlimited disk space and bandwith for only $4.95 per month? Check out the Fall Special!

Original post by Mitch

By Mitch “Doesn’t Write About House Plants” Keeler

When it comes to blogging, there are a lot of tools out there to help you out, if you know where to look.  One proverbial rock that is worth uncovering is Firefox and the many blogging add-ons it provides.  Here are some of the best blog-related Firefox extensions out there.

ScribeFire Blog Editor - ScribeFire is a full-featured blog editor that integrates with your browser and lets you easily post to your blog.

Deepest Sender - Deepest Sender is a client that will allow you to post to blogs from directly within Firefox.

DashBlog - DashBlog lets you quickly collect videos, images, text/quotes, songs and screen-captures from any web page and publish them to your blog (word press, blogger/blogspot, tumblr) and/or twitter.

Live Writerfox - Blog it from Windows Live Writer (our review of Windows Live Writer).

Clipmarks - Instead of copying and pasting links, Clipmarks is like adding a pair of scissors to your browser, letting you capture exactly what you want others to see (text, images or video).

What Firefox add-ons do you use to get your blogging job done? For more help with getting a blog started, be sure to check out our Basics of Blogging Guide.

&copy Lunarpages Web Hosting - Great web hosting with unlimited disk space and bandwith for only $4.95 per month? Check out the Fall Special!

Original post by Mitch

by Tiara Rea

Ready to vote for Round 1 of Lunarpages WordPress Theme Design Contest? Voting for Series 3, Round 1 starts today!

Need a reminder of some of the awesome prizes totaling nearly $2500? Visit out contest description and WordPress Theme submission page to see what’s up for grabs, to read the rules, and to enter. Remember, you can submit as many entries as you want, and the more WP themes you enter, the more chances you have to win.

Below are Lunarpages Top 5 themes for round 1 voting. We will take into consideration the community vote and also staff votes and declare a finalist from this round on August 11th based on this week’s votes.

Pop Star by n252

Executive by autobazar

E-Storage by Roger

Levitron by Mike

Landscape by 𚺬

Good luck everyone!! Keep these awesome WP theme entries coming and vote on your favorite choice below!! ;D

© Lunarpages Web Hosting - $25 off Web Hosting! Coupon Code: blog25

Original post by Tiara