There is a new framework in town, this one is called BuddyMattic. Developed by Ron Rennick with help from Daisy Olsen, BuddyMattic is a theme framework based on Thematic that can be used on WordPress, WordPress MU, and BuddyPress. The unique feature of this theme is that BuddyPress functionality is included in the framework and is activated whenever BuddyPress is detected. I had the chance to ask Ron a few questions regarding BuddyMattic.
The designs for BuddyMatic, do they have to be child themes based on Thematic?
No, buddymatic includes a sample Buddymatic child theme and child themes can be created by changing the sample child theme. For example, in creating the Coffee with Friends child theme that is included with Buddymatic, Daisy Olsen started with the Buddymatic sample child theme.
In a WordPress or WordPress MU blog without BuddyPress enabled, Buddymatic and Thematic are interchangeable and any child theme can be switched from one to the other by changing references to the template (and any includes) from one to the other.
Could you go into a little more detail regarding the BuddyPress detection/activation and how the design incorporates that functionality?
Buddymatic relies entirely on WordPress / BuddyPress hooks & templates to add the BuddyPress functionality. In every function added via hooks, there is a check to see if BuddyPress is active.
Anytime BuddyPress updates, does that mean the framework has to be updated as well?
Generally, no. An example of where a new version might be required would be custom content support in WordPress themes when that functionality is added in 2.9. That type of change should only be on major releases of WordPress and/or BuddyPress.
For those using BuddyPress and having a hard time coming across decent free themes for the project you’re in luck. A new site has launched called FreebpThemes.com which so far contains six different themes for BuddyPress. Out of the choices provided, Avenue K9 looks to be my favorite from a design perspective. It’s pretty easy to figure out who is behind the site but it’s nice to see a dedicated person developing and releasing BuddyPress themes for free. I’d say sooner rather than later, BuddyPress will have a theme repository that mimics the one for WordPress.
Over the weekend, I finally had a chance to sit down and beta test a new theme from iThemes called Builder. The theme aims to blow the walls off of Flexx and take theme development to the next level.
I won’t dive into a lengthy review here but in the Builder theme, users can easily build Layouts. In the time span of 5 minutes, I created a layout that mimics the one I’m using on WPTavern.com complete with the widget spots.
Created this layout in just a few minutes
After building my layout with clicks of the mouse and not having to touch one bit of PHP code, the only thing left for me to do is style the layout through CSS. This is the type of theme framework I can get behind which doesn’t require me to know hooks or filters, etc although I’m sure those are built in. One of my wishes for WordPress was to one day, be able to use a WYSIWYG theme creation tool where I could whip up a theme using standard elements. Although Builder and Elastic are not exactly what I had in mind, they are pretty darn close and both impress me quite a bit. They really empower the end user to create things instead of relying on a developer.
Between Builder and Elastic, I’m wondering if it’s possible for a theme developer to put himself out of business by creating and releasing something that for the most part, removes the developer from the equation. Let’s discuss.
Can A Theme Developer Put Himself Out Of Business?
Back on November 18th, I released the interview I conducted with Matt Mullenweg during WordCamp New York. The audio in the interview was terrible and even though I tried for 30 minutes to fix it, I just couldn’t figure it out so I released it as is. Special thanks goes out to Sallie Goetsch of PodcastAsylum.com who edited the MP3 so that it now has Stereo sound and comes across much better than the original. I’ve since replaced the recording on Talkshoe with the new one in case you want to listen to it again with better audio quality.
Just wanted to give everyone a heads up on what I have planned for WordPress Weekly this month. On December 1st, I’ll be interviewing Raphael Mudge who is the lead developer of the After The Deadline plugin/service. AtD is the most recent acquisition by Automattic which is a contextual grammar and spell checker. It goes deeper than that but I’ll save it for the interview. If you have questions you’d like me to ask Raphael, please add them to this thread in the forum.
On December 8th, there will not be a show as I’ll be attending one of those Christmas parties that work is putting on.
On December 15th, I’ll be interviewing Jacob Goldman of C. Murray Consulting. We’ll be talking about their work involving WordPress and custom development. I recommend reading their case studies page.
December 29th will feature an interview I’ve been working on for quite a while to get established and that is with the WordPress MU Gurus Andrea and Ron Rennick who I had the pleasure of meeting in person at WordCamp New York. Two awesome people. Of course, we’ll be chatting about WordPress MU.
That’s it for the month of December. The Aaron Brazell WordPress Bible interview has been rescheduled to January 26th which is shortly before the book hits stores. Keep an eye on the WordPress Weekly section of the forum as I always provide an opportunity to submit interview questions for upcoming guests.
About a week ago, GravityForms version 1.3 was released to paying customers. This new version includes a number of additional features such as:
Email Notification Routing – Now you can set up notifications to route to different email addresses based on rules that you define. Use one form to route form submissions to sales, marketing, customer service department or wherever you would like.
Enhanced Address Field – We’ve pumped up the address field for 1.3 with several new options and configurations. You can choose from US, Canadian or International address types, set the default state, province or country, and even toggle the country and 2nd line address fields.
Enhanced Post Custom Fields – We’ve enhanced the post custom fields to let you choose from various field types. Custom fields can now be email, website, phone, multiple choice, drop down lists, hidden fields and more.
Validation for Multiple Forms – We’ve retooled the form markup here and there so multiple forms on the same page will correctly validate as XHTML 1.0 transitional. We know you want nice valid markup and we’ve got your back.
If you have yet to purchase GravityForms, be sure to use the coupon code GFDEV50 when checking out to receive $50.00 off the developer license. As an additional perk to purchasing or upgrading to the developers license by November 30th, you put yourself in the running to win a ASUS EEE PC 1005HA Netbook. Last but not least, if you decide to purchase GForms, I’d appreciate it if you go through the following link as I’ll receive a little kickback. Thanks!
Here it is, the 17 minute interview I conducted with Matt Mullenweg during WordCamp New York this past weekend. I wish I could have recorded everything I discussed with Matt considering I asked him just about every question under the sun regarding this and that as it involves WordPress. In this interview, I was a bit direct in terms of my questioning and if it sounds like I am instigating anything, it’s not the case. Also, there is no bad blood or rivalry between Matt and Jame Farmer or Matt and anyone else. With that said, enjoy the interview and hopefully, it doesn’t blow your ear drums out.
Last week, thanks to the help of BHavesh, I was able to offer readers of WPTavern a pretty cool deal. Five PremiumThemes.net club memberships. The only thing you had to do was tell me how you would use WPTavern.com if it were in your hands. The post received a number of comments and in fact, a couple of ideas mentioned I’m going to try and aim towards.
Each comment was given a number. Since there were 38 unique comments, the numbers range from 1-38. The winners are as follows:
RGregory
Jon Shaw
Benjamin
Brian – CodeClearly
Marlon Burrows
I will be emailing Bhavesh the email address you folks used when submitting a comment and he should be in touch with you regarding your club membership within the next few days. Thanks again for your ideas and a special thanks to PremiumThemes.net for not only offering up a cool prize package but for embracing the GPL as well.
To the winners, feel free to contact me to show me how you’ve put the membership to good use.
In this episode, I had the chance to welcome Alex King back to the show to talk about the WPHelpCenter, his Carrington theme framework and last but not least, his take on PremiumMod as well as his thoughts on building a business around GPL software such as WordPress. When I published my review of WPHelpCenter when it launched in April of this year, I had my doubts as to whether there would be demand for it considering the numerous outlets for support that exist within the community. After talking with Alex King within this interview, it’s clear that there is demand for such a service and it’s doing well.
Ad Copy:
This episode of WordPress Weekly is sponsored by WPClassroom.com. They have announced their next class called WordPress For Beginners that will be held on Tuesday November 24th From 6-9pm EST use the coupon code wptavern to take $5.00 off the price.
WordPress Tavern Listener Poll:
Last weeks poll question was: Should WordPress Change The Blog Nomenclature Within The Backend?
Out of a total of 103 votes, 92 of you said Yes while 11 people voted No.
Jeff – WP Manage Plugins – WP Manage Plugins, is an easy way to give you more control over the plugins section of WordPress. This plugin enables users to disable upgrade notices for specific plugins, hide the plugins page from all users except yourself, hide the wp manage plugins settings page from all users except yourself, automatically email the site admin when any plugin is added/activated/deactivated and much more.
Last Weeks WordPress Trivia Question:
Which forum software was the first to use CSS based layouts rather than tables?
WordPress Trivia Answer:
bbPress. bbPress was originally written by WordPress creator Matt Mullenweg, after he could not find software available at the time that fit his needs. bbPress was the first forum software to utilize a CSS-based layout, rather than the tabular layouts of other forum software available at the time.
This Weeks Trivia Question
What powers the WordPress.org website?
Announcements:
Aaron Brazell aka Technosailor will be on the show next week to discuss his work with WordPress as well as his new book, The WordPress Bible.
This past weekend at WordCamp New York, I had the unexpected opportunity to meet and greet Anil Dash, founder of Six Apart the creators of MovableType. While some may wonder why I would bring an Automattic competitor onto a show about WordPress, I think Anil Dash has a lot to offer outside of blogging. If I were to bring him on the show, I’d discuss the WordPress products that his company offers. I’d also like to talk a bit about Web 2.0, the importance of data portability, some of the lessons learned throughout the lifespan of MovableType and of course, any questions you would submit to me through the forum. Before I setup a date to have Anil on the show, I just want to hear your thoughts.
Would You Like To Hear An Interview With Anil Dash?
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In this episode, I had the chance to welcome Alex King back to the show to talk about the