Upgrading WordPress to Version 2.6

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I have just upgraded my WordPress sites to the latest WordPress version which is 2.6. The process is fairly simple. Following is a summary of the steps for upgrading. For a more detailed version, please refer to the WordPress Codex site.

  1. The first thing to do is to back up your existing WordPress site in case something goes wrong! Check out my earlier blog on WordPress Database Backup below for details.
  2. Next get the latest WordPress zip file and download it to you computer. Extract the files after downloading it.
  3. Connect to your site using a FTP program.
  4. Delete your old wp-includes and wp-admin directories.
  5. Take care to preserve your old wp-config.php file in the root directory! Do not delete it. This file contains current settings for your existing installation eg database sign-in information. Compare your existing file with the new installation file wp-config-sample.php. Copy your settings (// ** MySQL settings ** //) to the sample file and rename it to wp-config.php. This is the new wp-config.php file you should upload.
  6. Copy the CONTENTS of the new wp-content folder (including the contents of the plugins and themes sub-folders) to the old directories. DO NOT copy the entire folder or sub-folders as this will overwrite all your customizations and added content!
  7. Copy all other WordPress files to your server, overwriting old files in the root directory.
  8. Login to your WordPress admin page at www.your-domain-name.com/wp-admin. You will be asked to login again. If a database upgrade is necessary, WordPress will automatically detect it and you will be asked to upgrade the database. Click on the link provided and follow the instructions and your database will be upgraded to be compatible to the latest version of WordPress.
  9. Clear your cache if you have enabled caching so that your changes will appear to users more immediately.

Your WordPress installation is now successfully upgraded!

WordPress Database Backup

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It is strongly recommended that you backup your WordPress database on a regular basis and especially before an upgrade.

There are various means of backing up your WordPress database. You can check out http://codex.wordpress.org/Backing_Up_Your_Database for a list of the various methods of backing up your database.

However, if you are like me and prefer to do it the quick and easy way, I would recommend the WordPress Database Backup Plugin (wp-db-backup.php) by Austin Matzko. You can download it from the WordPress.org website at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-db-backup/.

Here are the steps to backup your WordPress database using the plugin:

  1. Download the “wp-db-backup.2.1.5.zip” file to your computer and unzip it.
  2. FTP the “wp-db-backup” folder to your WordPress wp-content/plugins directory.
  3. Login to your WordPress site wp-admin administration dashboard.
  4. Click on Plugins.
  5. Scroll to the WordPress Database Backup plugin and click “Activate”.
  6. Next click on Manage and then Backup.
  7. Select the tables you want to backup. Some of the tables are selected by default.
  8. Select the Backup Options
    What to do with the backup file:
    – Save to server (wp-content/backup …)
    – Download to your computer
    – Email backup to _________________

    Schedule:
    – Never
    – Once Hourly
    – Once Daily
    – Once Weekly

  9. Click Submit

If you select Save to Server or Download to your computer as the Backup Option, you can click the “Backup” button to generate the backup file immediately.

Once you have backup your database, Restoring your database from backup is then possible if something goes wrong.

Amazon Store Front

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You can build and customize a complete Amazon.com Associate Store with 1000’s of items across 1000’s of categories in just minutes. I did just that with an amazing software called Associate-O-Matic. Check out my two new store fronts at:

Internet Hypermart : www.internethypermart.com

Video Games Hypermart: www.videogameshypermart.com

The program is powerful, yet has an easy-to-use admin control panel. Absolutely no programming or database is required. It can be installed on multiple servers, with an unlimited number of domains, so long as the Amazon.com Associate IDs you setup inside Associate-O-Matic are registered to you. You can build a single store (or many of them) or add a shopping area to your existing website. Major categories include: Apparel, Baby, Beauty, Books, Computers, DVDs, Electronics, Gourmet Food, Health/Personal Care, Jewelry, Kitchen, Magazines, Music, Office Products, Outdoor Living, Camera & Photo, Software, Sporting Goods, Tools & Hardware, Toys, VHS, PC & Video Games, Wireless.

Check it out for yourself at:

Associate-O-Matic

Understanding Sleep And Sleep Disorders Website

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I have set up a content website on Understanding Sleep and Sleep Disorders at www.understandsleep.com using WordPress.

It is targetted at those who seek to have a better understanding of the Science of Sleep and the various Sleep Disorders that they may be suffering from. It is also a platform for those who may want to share their experiences regarding their sleep problems for others who may face similar situations.

Installing Self-Hosted Version of WordPress

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Although my Netfirms account already has the WordPress application available for installation at the click of a button, I decided to install the self-hosted version of WordPress for several reasons:

  • I wanted more control over the WordPress application. The WordPress application provided by Netfirms is the WordPress MU (Multi-User) version and there are some limitations (though not critical) for the user who may wish to tweak the application.
  • I wanted to have the latest version of WordPress which is Version 2.5.1
  • I wanted to check out how easy it is to install the self-hosted version of WordPress.

This blog is now running on the self-hosted version of WordPress version 2.5.1.

For those of you who would like to try it out, here is how you do it in your Netfirms account. For those using other web hosting providers, the steps should be very similar except for the cPanel settings. Continue reading →

Internet Hypermart

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I am trying out using Amazon’s aStore feature to create an online store on my blog. You can check it out on the Internet Hypermart Tab.

I have created the following Shopping Categories:

  • Ultra Mobile PCs
  • Handhelds & PDAs
  • Notebooks
  • Desktop Computers
  • Computer & Video Games
  • Digital SLR Cameras
  • Cell Phones
  • Baby Products

The nice thing about the aStore is that once I have set it up, I can change the products or Categories in Amazon. I do not have to make any changes on my website.

Advanced Search Engine Optimization Workshop

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Advanced Search Engine Marketing Skills SealI have just completed the 5 days Advanced Search Engine Optimization Workshop certified by Search Engine Workshops from the United States and conducted by Fabian Lim of Asia Search Engine Academy. The Workshop was held at the Singapore Management University from the 25th to 29th April, 2008.

Being a Marketing professional with more than 30 years of marketing experience, I was amazed by the techniques taught and the tools available to apply pure marketing principles across the entire marketing process!

Starting from the basics, we were taught how we can accurately determine market demand by studying the buying audience online searching behaviour. Then using the tips and techniques taught, we learnt how to precisely segment our market and go after those niches that we give us the best ROI.

And of course the workshop covered topics on how we can optimize our websites and other techniiques for driving traffic to our website. We are even coached on how we should write good sales copy in order to increase our conversion rates.

As you can see, the topics cover the whole marketing process. Many of the processes, e.g Marketing Research, that we can achieve online would have taken months to complete in traditional offline marketing and would have cost a bomb. Furthermore, the results would not be as accurate.

One of my favourite moments at the workshop is the live hot seats sessions that Fabian conducted. We are able to see him give constructive critiques of actual websites of the students and learn from the mistakes made.

Advanced SEO Certificate

And the icing on the cake must be the fact that the workshop is certified by Search Engine Workshops of the U.S.A. and we were able to graduate as an Advanced Search Engine Marketing Strategies professionals.