What you’ll need:

• WampServer downloaded and installed (I am using version 1.7.3)
• Fake Sendmail
• GoDaddy email account (I tried Gmail and Yahoo email accounts but couldn’t get them working.)

Go ahead and install WampServer. I just installed mine to the root of the c: drive so it makes for easy access (For example, “c:wamp”).

Next download Fake Sendmail. Fake Sendmail, aka sendmail.exe, is a simple windows console application that emulates sendmail’s “-t” option to deliver emails. Extract the sendmail.zip file and move the folder here: “c:wampsendmail”.

We need the GoDaddy email account because sendmail.exe requires an smtp server to perform the actual delivery of the messages. Now let’s configure some settings in the sendmail.ini file located here: “c:wampsendmail”.

• line 14 | smtp_server=smtpout.secureserver.net
• line 18 | smtp_port=80
• line 38 | auth_username=youremail@goeshere.com
• line 39 | auth_password=yourpasswordgoeshere

There are a few lines that need to be commented out/uncommented so I am providing a text version of the sendmail.ini file: sendmail.txt. Once your file looks similar to mine, save and close the sendmail.ini file.

Only one step left and that’s to make a change in the php.ini. Access the php.ini using this method below.

Search for sendmail_path and set it to “c:wampsendmailsendmail.exe –t”.

Save and close the php.ini file.

You must restart WampServer for the changes to the php.ini to take effect.

Having the ability to send test emails is great especially if you frequently work on scripts that require email generation. At least I think so (I’m smiling).

I read a post on ProBlogger.net a while back that debated whether or not to have hyperlinks open in new windows. Up until that point I always set my links to open in new windows. A point was made in the article that we should let the visitor decide how they want to handle the hyperlink and set the link to open in the same window by default. If the visitor wanted to open the link in a new window, they could. At the time, this sounded rational but now I realize it isn’t.

Your goal should be to keep visitors on your site for as long as possible. In order to do this, you can’t take a chance that the visitor may not know how to handle the hyperlinks. All you have to do is set the link to open in a new window. Open links in new windows. Set the target to blank. Set the target=”_blank”. Do it.

I know you are thinking… you did what? But it’s true. I have reached a milestone in my life. I just created my first ever WordPress theme. I am also very pleased with how it turned out. It took me about 8 hours to complete but most of that time was spent waiting on the trial version of Photoshop CS3 to download and fixing an annoying CSS issue. I am sure there will be some bugs that I need to fix but so far, so good.

I would like to thank Small Potato for his very basic tutorial titled “So you want to create WordPress themes huh?” If you are new to WordPress or just want a fresh, clear view of stepping through a theme then I suggest you start with his tutorial.

I would also like to thank Photoshop CS3 for making my first theme beautiful. I couldn’t have done it without you. Wink.

Next on the agenda:

1. Validatation of XHTML & CSS
2. Checking design in different browsers with help from IE NetRenderer
3. Finding and fixing any bugs

I’ve always known colors had meaning but I didn’t fully understand what each color represented. When designing, I usually just use the color combinations I like the most and not the colors that communicate appropriately. For instance, I like blue with grey, orange with grey, green with grey, crimson with grey, and so on. Can you tell grey is my favorite color when doing web design? And who knew a color could mean so much? I sure didn’t but am learning.

Here is a brief list of colors matched with their interpretation. For a well thought out explanation of colors and meaning read more about how color can affect your blog.

• Red – Energetic/Anger
• Blue – Calming/Trust
• Green – Living/Money
• Orange – Vitality/Fun
• Black – Serious/Sinister
• White – Purity/Cleanliness
• Purple – Royalty/Creativity
• Yellow – Warmth/Happiness
• Brown – Natural/Unclean
• Pink – Feminine/Sentimental