Michtine Labs Blog

Hosting Accounts Sold Out!

We have sold out of available shared hosting accounts! Thanks to everyone for the fast and overwhelming response.

New Hosting Accounts Available

We have restocked out shared hosting servers and are once again accepting orders for new shared hosting accounts. To thank you for your patience, we are offering the first 50 new shared hosting accounts 50% off your first two months of hosting!

New accounts are available while supplies last, however long that may be.

Michtine Labs Sells Rack Unlimited Shared Hosting Assets

Today we announced the sale of the shared hosting assets acquired via the Rack Unlimited acquisition to Computer Solutions & Repair.

Clients affected by this sale should direct all questions to Computer Solutions & Repair. They have assured us they will maintain the pricing and service you have become accustomed to.

All of us at Michtine Labs wish these clients the best with their new home.

Clients not acquired by the purchase of the Rack Unlimited assets are not impacted by this sale.

WordPress Most Popular Plugins

Looking for the must have plugins for your WordPress site? Plugins are little programs that increase functionality of WordPress websites. Every plugin is different and can add features to your website. All of the following plugins are extremely popular and have been downloaded many many times by many many users. You can find plugins by going to Wordpress Plugins and searching for the ones you want.

Akismet comes installed with all WordPress installations and helps you fight spam. You need to go to WordPress.com and register for a user name in order to get your Akismet API (Application Program Interface) key to use with Akismet. Once you get your API key, you may enter it from the plugins area of the WordPress dashboard.

All in One SEO Pack plugin delivers SEO optimization for your blog. Some values are set up by default. It is important to leave them checked unless you know what you are doing. All in One SEO Pack plugin sets “no-index”, “no-follow” values to the categories of the blog and archives to help prevent spam. This plugin sets the formats for all titles in your blog: Page Title, Post Title, Category Title, Archive, Tag and other. If you want certain pages to be excluded from search engines (hidden), list them in the “Exclude Pages” box. This plugin helps search engines by filling in all the values search engines are looking for, so they successfully index your blog.

Google Analytics for WordPress If you don’t already have a Google Analytics account you can get one free from Google. Google will assign a unique ID for your website that looks something like UA-XXXXXX-XX. Google Analytics plugin enters the necessary code including the ‘UA’ number. It will track as much information as you want it to track. It can get very sophisticated but it does not have to be.

Google XML Sitemaps helps you create a sitemap so search engines can find and understand your content. Once generated, the sitemap provides links to all pages, categories and posts. It notifies search engines about updates on your site.

Yet Another Related Posts Plugin associates the current post with other posts about the same subject. When the visitor arrives to your blog to find something he or she is looking for, it makes sense to show him everything you’ve got. It keeps people longer on your website. It improves your SEO.

Contact Form 7 Every site needs a contact form. An incredible amount of work was invested in this plugin. It is translated in 46 languages. This plugin is customizable and has anti-spam features.

Now you have a pretty good idea about the best WordPress plugins. It is time to install them on your blog. Go to the Plugin area from the Administrative panel in your WordPress installation. Click on the ADD NEW option. Then enter the name of the plugin and search. Once it is found, install it. That’s it!

WordPress Custom Header & Background For Twenty Ten

Personalize your WordPress install with a custom header and custom background in just a few easy clicks! No longer do you have to use the default theme and have your blog look like every other WordPress site. Follow these easy steps to customize your WordPress installation.

The new WordPress theme Twenty Ten is installed with all copies of WordPress 3.0, the newest version of the very popular blogging and website software. Twenty Ten features easy to use dropdown menus and some other features new to WordPress 3 which make it easy to customize the appearance, to make your site, truly your own.

Two of these new features make it easy to change the header image and the background color of your site. These two changes will help set your website apart from the thousands of other websites that use Twenty Ten.

Changing the header image involves finding a suitable image and uploading it with the WordPress editor. Changing the body background color involves using the Background Editor in the Appearance section to select and save a new background color.

The first thing to do when changing the header image is to find your choice of image. You can use your own digital photos from your camera, scan your photos or search for free images from stock photography web sites.

The images need to be at least 940 pixels wide and 198 pixels high, because if they are smaller than that, the image will be stretched out of proportion to fill the header space. It works best to use images that are either that width or bit wider and taller.

If you have an image editor, you can make header image the correct size without using the WordPress built-in image cropper. But if you need it, WordPress makes it easy to resize images with the built-in image cropper.

Once you have your new background image, go to the WordPress Dashboard, and then to “Appearance,” and then to “Header.” This is the “Custom Header” page. Your current header image is displayed. Below the current image is the area where you can upload your new custom image. Choose your new header image by clicking “Choose File.”

You will then see a dialog box that will let you select an image from your computer. After selecting your image click “Upload” to import your image into WordPress.

In the next window, you can drag the cropping frame around your photo if it is wider than 940 pixels. (If it is smaller, remember that you will get some distortion in the image.) Once you have cropped the image, click “Crop and Publish.” You will return to the previous page and see a preview of your new header image.

Now, click the “Visit your site” link at the top to see the new header on your live site. (If you still see the old header, reload the page in your browser.)

You can repeat the process if you don’t like the look of your new custom header image.

The other way to set your WordPress website apart from many others is to change the body background color. That is the area outside of the header area and content box. In the same Dashboard Appearance menu, go to “Background.”

Although the top box on the page says “Background Image,” we will be changing the background color in this example. You will get a preview of the color in that box. Below the “Background Image” box t is “Display Options” and a color picker. That is where you select your new background color. Click on “Select a Color” and you will see a color picker.

Click on the approximate color you want in the outer color ring, and then fine tune it by moving the pointer around within the inner circle. You will then see the color change in the Preview box above.

You will also see the CSS color code change in the box right above the color picker. This is the style sheet code that determines the color. If you are familiar with the color code of your preferred color, you can enter the code directly. After pressing your enter key the color will appear in the preview window.

When you have a color you like, click “Save Changes” and your color selection will be saved. Then click the “Preview Changes” link at the top of the page to see the new background color. (If you still see the old color, reload the page in your browser.)

If you don’t like the color or want to adjust it, work with the color picker again, save your changes and then reload your site again.

The header images you uploaded are stored in the standard WordPress Uploads folder, and the background color you picked is stored in the database. If you upgrade the Twenty Ten theme in the future, you won’t lose your customizations.