How would you feel if someone could view the contents of all your directories which do not contain an index.html, index.php, or other index file? Personally, I feel like my privacy has been invaded. Time to shed some light.

How’s your setup? Let’s test. From your browser’s address bar, navigate to a directory that you suspect may not contain an index file (an images folder is usually guilty). For WordPress users, try something like http://www.example.com/wp-includes. If you see a list of files, then others can see this too. I don’t like this. Keep reading.

If you host with HostGator or any other host for that matter, I strongly urge you to disable directory browsing. There are a few ways this can be done. You could edit the .htaccess or httpd.conf files but I feel it’s easiest to do this in cPanel.

From your cPanel admin, click on `Index Manager`. Select `public_html` from the list of folders, and on the next screen select `No Indexing`, then click save.

Doing this will keep people from seeing a list of files in your directories. Security is good. Be safe.

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1. Search for Text Inside of PHP Files with Vista
2. I’m with GoDaddy, BlueHost, HostGator!
3. Search in File Contents in Windows

In roughly six months time, I’ve managed to switch my web hosting from GoDaddy to BlueHost and have ultimately ended up with HostGator. Here are some thoughts concerning my journey.

I hosted my websites with GoDaddy for several years before making my first hosting switch last September. At the time, I was satisfied with GoDaddy’s hosting control panel (which many don’t care for) and I thought the history snapshot feature in the file manager was great. Plus the fact that they would prorate some of their services made them the best fit for me. I can honestly say I was satisfied with my GoDaddy shared hosting account. Then I started having some load issues and the most frustrating thing to me was that others I knew that were on the same plan didn’t experience the same problems I faced. Without getting into too much detail, I began looking for my next web host.

After reading numerous reviews and considering the WordPress Web Hosting recommendations, I decided to make a move to BlueHost. This was one of those changes that made me question why I didn’t make a move sooner. My sites seemed to load quicker, cPanel became my new best friend, and the support was better than expected (live chat makes a difference). Everything was great until my sites started going down almost daily. Had my move from GoDaddy to BlueHost proved not to be a step in the right direction, I probably wouldn’t have abandoned ship so quickly.

I figured I’d give HostGator a shot since they seem to have pretty good reviews and they came highly recommended by a few people I know. The move was very simple especially with the cPanel experience I picked up as a BlueHost customer. I pay a little more per month so hopefully “you get what you pay for.” Before I made the move from BlueHost, I ran some performance tests. I planned on comparing the results against HostGator but there wasn’t much difference in the statistical results. However, it is my perception that my sites load much quicker than they ever have before which I am very pleased about.

In conclusion, I’d have to admit that each web host has their pro’s and con’s (even GoDaddy). When deciding who to go with, you should compare your needs with what each company offers, read plenty of reviews (avoid affiliate review sites), and ask for the opinions of people you trust. There’s one tip I’ll leave with you that proved to be very helpful to me. Get real-time feedback by searching Twitter. For instance, you could search phrases like “bluehost down“, “godaddy down“, “hostgator down“, etc. Try it!

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1. Disable Directory Browsing with HostGator
2. WordPress, GoDaddy, Permalinks, and 404′s
3. Best Firefox Extensions

Time Flies is a iPhone app used to keep track of how long it has been since you did something. Use it to keep track of the things you need to remember, the things you do too often, and all those things that you just don’t do often enough.

I just installed this app and I know it is going to be incredibly useful.

Find out more from the developer’s website or the App Store.

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1. Simple Way to Track 404 Error Pages with Google Analytics
2. Browser Renderings

While reading through the WordPress Coding Standards, I read some good advice to follow when using ternary operators.

To keep things from getting confusing when using ternary operators, always have the statements test for true instead of false.

// (if statement is true) ? (do this) : (if false, do this);
$basketballteam = ( 'lakers' == $team ) ? 'champions' : 'blah';

In the example above, you’ll notice that the variable is on the right side of the comparison. This way, if an equal sign is omitted, a parse error will be thrown and execution will halt. If you can save one bug, do it.

Sometimes visitors to your site may receive a 404 Error or “Page Not Found”. This may happen when they click on a link that no longer exists or perhaps they typed the address incorrectly. If it’s a business website, a 404 Page Not Found could mean lost money but no matter the type of site, visitors hate 404 Errors. Unfortunately, they will typically leave your site instead of try to find the page they were intending to see.

With this understanding, tracking 404 Error Pages and correcting those errors is good practice and should help keep your visitors happy. Best of all, there’s a simple way to setup Google Analytics to track those pesky 404s for us.

Since I’m a WordPress lover, the code below is specifically meant for WordPress websites although the code can be easily modified for any website platform you use.

Here’s the code to use

<script type="text/javascript">

	var _gaq = _gaq || [];
	_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-XXXXXXX-X']);
	<?php if ( is_404() ) { ?>
	_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/404.html?page=' + document.location.pathname + document.location.search + '&from=' + document.referrer]);
	<?php } else { ?>
	_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);
	<?php } ?>

	(function() {
		var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true;
		ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';
		var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
	})();

</script>

Be sure to replace UA-XXXXXXX-X with your Analytics Web Property ID.

Basically what’s happening above is we use the WordPress is_404() conditional tag to check if there’s a 404 error. If an 404 Page Not Found error occurs, this code is output:

_gaq.push(['_trackPageview', '/404.html?page=' + document.location.pathname + document.location.search + '&from=' + document.referrer]);

And for all other pages, this code is output:

_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

And it’s really as simple as that.

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1. How to Install Google Analytics on WordPress
2. WordPress, GoDaddy, Permalinks, and 404′s
3. JavaScript: 3 Ways to Use document.write

Problem

By default, Windows will not search the contents of certain file types. This makes it very frustrating for anyone trying to locate the occurrence of words or phrases within a group of files.

A Few Details

First off, I am running Windows 7 and since I am a PHP developer, the solutions I provide will allow you to search the file contents of PHP files. However, this should work for other file types that Windows has trouble searching within.

A while back, I solved this problem and was able to search for text inside of PHP files but that was when I had Windows Search Indexing enabled.

Now, I’ve installed a fresh copy of Windows 7 and disabled Search Indexing in hopes of improving my system’s performance. To get this to work it requires you make a few minor changes to the Registry but please use caution when doing so. Incorrect changes to the Registry can cripple Windows.

Solution

1. Press ‘WinKey + R’ and type regedit then hit ‘Enter’.
2. Expand the ‘HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT’ list and scroll down until you see ‘.php’.
3. Right click on ‘.php’ and select New >Key.
4. Rename the newly created key ‘PersistentHandler’.
5. With the ‘PersistentHandler’ key selected, set the value of (Default) to
   ‘{5E941D80-BF96-11CD-B579-08002B30BFEB}‘ without the single quotes.
6. Exit out of the Registry.
7. Restart your computer.

The end result will look something like this…

Search in File Contents

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If you’re looking for the best WordPress real estate themes then you’ll be glad you found this collection of the themes I put together. You may be wanting more of a corporate real estate site or even your very own personal site that lists the real estate properties that you deal with. Either way, in the list below you’ll find real estate WordPress themes that satisfy both desires.

Practically ALL of these real estate themes have different color options to choose from, lifetime support & upgrades, are search engine optimized, and are extremely affordable. These reasons alone will help differentiate yourself or company and allow you to rise above the competition. But don’t take my word for it, see for yourself!

Main Street Theme

Main Street Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

AgentPress Theme

AgentPress Real Estate Theme by StudioPress

Price: $99.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Broker Theme

Broker Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Bel Air Theme

Bel Air Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

deCasa Theme

deCasa Real Estate Theme by ThemeShift

Price: €39

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Homeowner Theme

Homeowner Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Open House Theme

Open House Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Real Estate Theme

Real Estate Theme by ThemeForest

Price: $35

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Real Estate Theme

Real Estate Theme by ThemeForest

Price: $25

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Realist Theme

Realist Real Estate Theme by ThemeForest

Price: $25

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Smooth Theme

Smooth Real Estate Theme by Gorilla Themes

Price: $79.95

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

Villa Grande Theme

Villa Grande Real Estate Theme by ThemeForest

Price: $30

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

WP Pro Real Estate Theme

WP Pro Real Estate Theme by ThemeForest

Price: $25

Demo & Information | Download | Preview Theme

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Lately I’ve been doing a lot of studying, specifically on the topic of affiliate marketing. I have been recommended by several people to buy the book Cashvertising by Drew Eric Whitman. I’ve heard nothing but good things about this book and am excited to sit down and read it. Can’t wait to apply what I will learn to my marketing endeavors.

CA$HVERTISING: How to Use More than 100 Secrets of Ad-Agency Psychology to Make Big Money Selling Anything to Anyone

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I needed to get just the post slug for a project I have been working on. I found several sites that had similar ways of getting the post slug but I came up with an approach that utilizes WordPress’ get_permalink() and PHP’s basename().

The common approach:

$post_obj = $wp_query->get_queried_object();
$post_ID = $post_obj->ID;
$post_title = $post_obj->post_title;
$post_slug = $post_obj->post_name;

My approach:

$slug = basename(get_permalink());

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There have been several times in the past that I can remember designing something and thinking that using a silhouette image would be cool. I often abandon this idea because I can never find what I am looking for and for the price that I want it… FREE.

Finding free silhouette images just became a little easier. I now have “85 Free High Quality Silhouette Sets” to choose from, thanks to Hongkiat.

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