Not just that. You will also learn about how key architectural decisions are taken while creating a software. My decisions aren’t perfect, but explaining my motivation behind them will allow you to examine them more clearly.

First comes the specification

Before we jump on to creating anything, we need to have a decent idea about how it’s going to work.

Our objective is to show different ads for different blog categories at the end of each post. I do not want to rotate ads within a single category. Also, I only want to show ads on single posts.

We won’t be creating a complex WordPress plugin that has its own custom database. Sure we can do that, but we want to be up and running with a simple solution for now. We could later create a grand plugin. But for now, it isn’t needed.

That’s the beauty of software. You can achieve the same end-result in various ways. That’s why we have commandline as well as GUI tools. All of them are useful.

Specification: How will we take the input?

To keep things simple, we will write our advertisements in .html files. Our PHP file will then only have to 'include' the appropriate advertisement file depending on the current posts’ category.

Advertisements are normally distinct from other elements of the page. They may have their own DIV styled differently. However, the style will be shared by all advertisements.

That means, all the ads will follow a particular “template.” For this, we’ll have a header and footer common to all ads. Our .html files will be loaded between the header and footer section. By changing what goes inside the header and footer, we can stylize all the ads as we want.

Specification: Convention over configuration

Now, we have all the ad files. We’ll assume that our PHP file will somehow manage to fetch the categories to which the current post belongs.

However, how will our PHP file know which advertisement file to load for a particular category? We can surely use a configuration file, mapping each category to its respective .html file. However, that sounds tedious.

We’ll rather use a convention instead of a configuration. If you’re a Ruby on Rails guy, or have worked on any web framework for other languages, you might be aware of this term.

We’ll assume that if we have a category called WordPress, then its advertisement will be stored in a file named wordpress.html. Another convention that I’ve added here is that the filename will always be lowercase, regardless of how the category was typed. We won’t be replacing spaces with dashes. It’s not necessary for now.

What if a post has multiple categories? Then, our script will choose the first category in the array of categories returned by WordPress. This can be unpredictable, but the fault is not with the script, but with the blogger who may have used categories recklessly.

Also, if a category does not have a corresponding advertisement file, our script will do nothing (display nothing).

Coding the actual script

This is the part you had been waiting for. I should say that the parts that you read before are more important than the script itself. It tells you why the script is designed the way it is.

The design decisions behind the script ultimately decides its user-friendliness and end-user efficiency. Ok, enough of this. Let’s move to the code.

<?php
$categories = get_the_category();
$fileName = strtolower($categories[0]->cat_name) . '.html';
$filePath = dirname(__FILE__) . '/' . $fileName;

if (file_exists($filePath))
{
	?>
	<!--begin common ad header-->

	<div style="border: 1px dotted; background-color: #EEFEEF; padding: 10px">

	<!--end common ad header-->
	<?php include $filePath; ?>
	<!--begin common ad footer-->

	</div>

	<!--end common ad footer-->
	<?php
}

That’s the whole code. Now, I’ll break it down into parts and explain each of them thoroughly.

$categories = get_the_category();
$fileName = strtolower($categories[0]->cat_name) . '.html';
$filePath = dirname(__FILE__) . '/' . $fileName;

In the above lines, my intention is to get the absolute path to the advertisement file that we wish to display.

To do that, I need the list of categories to which the post belongs. I do it using $categories = get_the_category();, wherein get_the_category(); is a function made available by WordPress. It returns an array containing the current post’s category data. Since I’m going to 'include' this script inside the template’s single.php, my script will have access to this WordPress function.

Observe the second line. Like said in our specification, we’ll use the first category returned by WordPress (in case of multiple categories). The cat_name property of an array element contains the category’s name.

According to our convention, I convert the category to lowercase and append the .html suffix.

In the third line, I get the absolute path to the advertisement file. dirname(__FILE__) gives me the directory of the current script (this script). I then append a forward slash and the filename.

Even though Windows uses backslash, the forward slash works on it too. Unix based systems need forward slash to work. So in this case, I use a forward slash knowing that it’ll work on all systems.

The reason I’m getting an absolute path is because I want the file to be loaded from the directory where advertisements are stored. Though very highly unlikely, conflicting filenames in the include paths of PHP (or any other language) can cause hard to debug errors.

That’s why I think its better to be explicit. The main reason for using absolute path is security. That comes into picture if you’re taking the filename as a parameter from the user. In that case, he may provide a filename as you may expect. But he can also provide you with a relative path, or an URL, which PHP will happily resolve and display!

if (file_exists($filePath))

I only want to display ads if there is a matching ad file for that category. If the ad file doesn’t exist, then we’ll assume that the blogger didn’t want to display ads for that category. So, our script will do nothing in that case.

?>
	<!--begin common ad header-->

	<div style="border: 1px dotted; background-color: #EEFEEF; padding: 10px">

	<!--end common ad header-->
	<?php include $filePath; ?>
	<!--begin common ad footer-->

	</div>

	<!--end common ad footer-->
	<?php

Here, we turn off PHP by typing ?>. We’re outputting plain HTML here. In the common ad header section, we can include the header common to all ads. I’ve used a DIV here as an example.

Similarly in the footer section, I’ve closed the DIV that I had opened. The purpose of common headers and footers now become more clear.

In between the header and the footer, we have <?php include $filePath;?>. This is where we display the actual ad from the file.

Edge cases

We have already take care of the multiple category case. However, what if there is no category assigned to the post? In that case, WordPress automatically assigns the category ‘Uncategorized’. So, we’ll still have one element in the category array. That’s why we don’t have to check if it’s empty.

Moreover, the blogger can create a uncategorized.html file too! It will be shown on all uncategorized posts.

Where to put the script?

You can follow the instuctions that I mention in my other post, Show WordPress Ads Based on Post Categories. Basically, you have to include it in your theme’s single.php file. I recommend that you check out that post to know the specifics.

More architectural considerations

Our script doesn’t provide provisions for disabling ads on specific posts of a category. It also doesn’t allow us to have multiple ads for a single category.

Those may sound like limitations. However, those were the features we never aimed for from the beginning. Unnecessarily having them will only cause more bloat.

However, you can code it that way if you want.

A challenge

Let me give you a task to try out something cool yourself. Instead of categories, use WordPress’ ‘Custom Fields’ to find out which ad to display. It would still work the same way as the script above. But instead of categories, it’ll use a custome field specified in each post.

Why a custom field? A custom field would still allow multiple posts to share the same ad. Change the ad, and all the posts showing the ad will now display the new ad.

At the same time, it allows you more flexibility. You may write about WordPress in a category called WordPress. However, you may want different ads depending on which aspect of WordPress you wrote about.

So, are you up for the challenge?

Conclusion

That was too much writing for such a simple piece of script. But I hope you got to learn a lot in the process. This post was more towards the design decisions behind a script rather than the actual programming of the script. I believe that’s equally important.

If you liked this, I’m planning on writing more posts of this nature.

Let’s say you have a WordPress blog where you write about WordPress, Drupal and Joomla. You put posts related to each of them in their respective category. Now, you want the Durpal posts to show an ad (predesigned by you) related to Drupal, and same for the rest. So, what do you do?

Here’s my little solution to that problem. I didn’t find any good WordPress plugin to solve this. And I wanted the solution to be pretty simple.

Note: If you like PHP and would like to know how this script works, or why it has been designed the way it is, then check out my post: The Making of PHP Script to Show Category-Specific Ads in WordPress.

You will be writing your ads for each category in an HTML file. So, you can have just one ad for each category. There is no feature for rotating ads within a category.

Let’s get our hands dirty…

Step 1: Download The WordPress Ads Zip File

Here is the download link to it: WordPress Category Ads

It only contains one single file, and that’s all that is needed to get this thing working great.

Step 2: Configuring The Script

The displayads.php file has the following code:

<?php
$categories = get_the_category();
$fileName = strtolower($categories[0]->cat_name) . '.html';
$filePath = dirname(__FILE__) . '/' . $fileName;

if (file_exists($filePath))
{
	?>
	<!--begin common ad header-->

	<div style="border: 1px dotted; background-color: #EEFEEF; padding: 10px">

	<!--end common ad header-->
	<?php include $filePath; ?>
	<!--begin common ad footer-->

	</div>

	<!--end common ad footer-->
	<?php
}

Between the <!--begin common ad header--> and <!--end common ad header-->, include the header of each ad. In the above case, I want all ads to be displayed in a box. So, instead of typing out the box in each of the ad, I create a common template for all the ads.

Similarly, I use the footer section of the ad to close the DIV I had created in the header. All the ads will be displayed between the header and the footer section of this file.

That’s all with this file.

Step 3: Putting The Script In The Right Location

Go to your WordPress’ theme directory and open the theme folder you’re currently using. Let’s assume it’s twentyten. So, go inside that folder, and create a new folder called ads.

Put the displayads.php in that folder.

Step 4: Adding Advertisements for Each Category

Let’s say you have a category called WordPress Themes. Then create a file inside the ads folder called wordpress themes.html. Whatever may be your category, create a file with everything lower cased. Spaces are not to be replaced by ‘-’.

Inside this file, enter your advertisement. You can use any HTML tag you want. Your wish.

In case some of your posts have multiple categories, then this script will show the ad corresponding to the first category in the array returned by WordPress. If a category has no advertisement file, then no ads are shown.

Step 5: Modifying The Theme To Show Ads

EDIT: In case of newer versions of TwentyTen, the file that has to be edited is loop-single.php, and not single.php. The following instructions might still be valid for other themes.

Open your theme’s single.php (here I’m assuming that you want to show ads at every posts’ end).

Find:

<?php the_content(); ?>

and add

<?php include 'ads/displayads.php'; ?>

on the line next to it.

Step 6: Test If It Works

Write up some ads for the categories and view the posts to see if the right ads are being shown. It should work all right. If not, post a comment below!

Conclusion

I know, the instructions look “long”, but they’re not. This thing is very easily installed and is very portable. I hope you find it useful!

Anytime anyone thinks of creating a website, WordPress comes to mind.

However, WordPress is not everything. No, I’m not talking about using any other CMS instead of WordPress. The point is, why use a CMS when one is not required?

Take a personal site having a few static pages, or a personal site of a freelancer offering many services. The site’s pages don’t change much, and WordPress is a total overkill.

This is where standard HTML/CSS proves a better solution. It’s simple, it’s easy and it’s elegant. The way we used to build websites a decade ago is still the best way in many cases.

Now, many complain about having to modify all the pages manually when they make a global change to the site, like adding something to the navigation, footer or header. Now, you can easily combat this by splitting your HTML page into different parts (header, footer, navigation and the actual pages), and gluing them together using PHP.

This drastically reduces your overhead.

Remember, the K.I.S.S. (Keep It Simple, Stupid) principle applies to websites too. Why not take advantage of it?

Unable to create directory /home/USERNAME/public_html/wp-content/uploads. Is its parent directory writable by the server?

To solve this:

1. Go to Miscellaneous Settings in your admin panel
2. The “Store uploads in this folder” will probably have the complete path to your upload folder. Change this to the default value of “wp-content/uploads”. The default value is also mentioned to the right of the same option’s box.
3. Hit save, and try uploading again. This solved the problem for me.

Also, it’s very pleasing on the eyes. The layout looks simple and the content looks inviting. I’ll be doing some custom modifications to the CSS to give it a more unique look.

Anyways, if you’re looking for a good minimalistic theme for your blog, Cutline is a great choice. Look at my blog’s footer for a link to it.

A Quick Note On Theme Clubs

In Theme Clubs, rather than buying individual themes, you buy a membership for the specified time. Mostly, you’ll get access to all the previous themes and any theme released during your membership period. This is better than sites selling single themes, since you get to keep up with trends, can post suggestions and the cost is reduced considerably. You also have more choice and flexibility. Elegant Themes is one of the clubs following this model.

Unique Benefits At Great Price

Here is a list of features Elegant Themes offers. I’ve assembled them for you. You’ll find almost everything one would need before opting for buying a theme or membership to a theme club.

Highly Affordable: Elegant Themes is a highly affordable club for wordpress themes. At $19.95/year, you’ll be getting a lot of themes, as well as future themes released during your membership. You’ll have a hard time finding even a single theme that offers all the features at this price.

Theme-Specific Features: Many themes have features that are unique, i.e. not all templates have it. Some themes might allow for a specific feature, that might not be suited for other themes. The author has taken care that all themes are as unique as possible.

Theme Control Panel: Themes have their own options page that allow for customization. No need to endlessly rip apart the CSS files for simple customizations. Themes also have variations you can choose from.

Advertisement Ready: Blogging has become a business. The themes are advertisement ready, so that you don’t get headaches trying to integrate them into your theme.

PSD Files: PSD files for the themes are also provided. This is for those designer folks who’d like to take the degree of customizations to the next level. All at no extra cost.

Widget Ready: This does not come as a surprise, since most of the paid themes are Widget Ready. It’s always an excellent thing to have.

Valid XHTML 1.0 and CSS, Tableless: This is now considered a must feature by many. If you’ve never heard of it, what it suggests is that the themes follow the standards for web design set by W3C. Themes have smooth tableless designs.

Excellent Browser Support: All wordpress themes support Firefox 3.0, IE 6/7, Opera, Netscape and Safari.

Rich Customer Experience: Many people don’t look at this aspect, but it’s very important. The author discusses any new theme he is creating, so that customers can give suggestions. It’s like having a friend design themes for you.

And If You’re Still Wondering

Elegant Themes does provide you with the previews of all themes. At $19.95, I don’t think it’s rocket science to take the right descision. Click here to visit Elegant Themes.

Have A Nice Day!Similar Posts:

• Finding Free Quality WordPress Themes Easily – A Difficult Task Simplified

Fantastico is very helpful in getting WordPress or any other software on your server installed within a few clicks. Everything is handled by it. Apart from some security optimizations, you will not need to touch your core WordPress install files anytime later.

But there was something very annoying about WordPress (<2.7) and Fantastico. In some mid minor releases of WordPress 2.6.x, the automatic plugin update feature of WordPress was being perfected, if I remember correctly. In the initial versions, I had to provide FTP information, and when I did, but it didn't work for me. Then started the era when WordPress would notify you about any plugin updates, and install it within a single click.

That was great. But WordPress did not support this for updating/upgrading itself, until 2.7. I realized this new feature only when 2.7.1 was released and I was greeted with a message allowing me to upgrade to 2.7.1 instantly. Whoa! That rocks!

At last, I can stay updated without the hassle of uploading the files manually, and stuffs like that.

So, whats wrong with Fantastico?

Well, its not Fantastico that has the problem. But relying on it for WordPress updates was pretty annoying. Hosts, especially mine, took about a week to make the updates available at Fantastico. It’s bad for security releases of WordPress.

I’m very happy with the new features WP 2.7.x boasts, and that’s the reason I wrote this quite stupid blog post. If you’re hearing, “Thanks!” to all contributors of WordPress, who strive to keep it simple yet powerful.

WordPress Theme Directories Suck For A Reason…

Technology is now in everyone’s hands. You too, might learn how to create a WordPress theme in a matter of days. People simply put every one of their experiments into these theme sites, and such theme sites happily accept them, for they need more content.

Theme directories also get spammed by people who simply want backlinks. And there are numerous other reasons why you’ll spend more time on a theme directory than on developing your own website. But we’re not discussing it here anyways.

Find The Perfect WordPress Theme NOW…

What I’m going to describe is only one of the many methods to get you started. I know you might have also used search engines fruitlessly to land on the perfect theme. This method makes use of search engines, a little differently.

A good theme is often downloaded more number of times. But the factor that separates the good from the bad is the amount of time it’s used, not just downloaded. So here are your steps…

1. Type it up!
   In your favorite search engine, type keyword “powered by wordpress”. Substitute keyword for the niche you want a theme for, i.e. technology etc. I won’t recommend using the word say, “technology”, but rather words that you’re sure a technology blog might contain, maybe a hardware name?
2. Follow the blogs!
   Search engines return results in descending order of relevancy and importantly authority to some extent. So you can make a fair assumption that the top blogs might be more “theme” conscious. Go to the footers of these blogs, and if they’re using a free theme, it’ll mostly contain the reference to it in the footer. Follow it and if you like the theme, download it.
3. One more tip
   If the footer doesn’t contain helpful information, maybe the blog is using a custom or paid theme, or a free theme allowing removal of copyright. Check out the blog’s source, you’ll find the name of the theme in the declaration of the css file used for the page, something like: <link rel=’stylesheet’ href=’DOMAIN-NAME.com/wp-content/themes/THEME-NAME/….whatever’ type=’text/css’/>. Search for this theme name on google, you’ll land up on some more info.

Now There Is A Problem….

Most of the good themes are just used “many times”. It might hardly make a difference to you, depending on your niche. But still, if you really want good and “not-overused” themes, you could have little luck with the free ones. If you care about getting a good theme and don’t mind investing, paid themes are a good choice. A lot of hardwork goes into designing and coding good themes, and thus developers expect at least something in return, which is normally a nominal fee.

Here are some of the so called “theme clubs” that might interest you. You don’t pay for individual theme, but a nominal fee to access the entire collection for a set period. Isn’t that great?

Elegant Themes: Elegant Themes is very affordable at $19.95 for a year’s access. The themes are, well, quite elegant as the name suggests. You get access to all themes currently released and the future themes released during your subscription period. This seems to be a real bargain.

Woo Themes: Is a bit costly at $150 per three months, but is surely worth it. You’ll get access to the already available themes and those released during your subscription.

Know of any others? Write a comment below and I’ll add it!Similar Posts:

• Highly Affordable Premium WordPress Themes At Elegant Themes