WordPress.tv recently aired a wordpress security seminar where Brad Williams talks about how to keep your WordPress-powered website secure from hackers and exploits. A must watch!

We all seem to make the common mistakes mentioned herein, but the first and foremost “insecure” issue is caused by wordpress itself. I would like to see this changed so that when setting up the wordpress for the first time together with selecting the Blog Name Title and email, we should be given the option to set the “Admin” user name instead of the default “admin” as issued automatically by the install script.The screen-cast/slide show in the background of the video isn’t that great and you can hardly make out most of the things he is pointing out. So I’ve included them bellow for your benefit – a good point is to refer to them as you watch the video so that you can see exactly what is being talked about.  Read more... (187 words, estimated 45 secs reading time)

Today saw the release of the next installment of wordpress version 2.8 (WP 2.8.2) and already there are problems being reported. These problems are not necessarily an issue with the new version of wp or bugs, but more so a problem with some webmaster not following the simple upgrade guidelines.  Read more... (396 words, estimated 1:35 mins reading time)

• Back up your core files and database.
• Deactivate all plugins.
• Upgrade your installation.
• Make sure all is working fine before reactivating the plugins.
• Plugins should be reactivated one by one all the while checking that everything is still working fine.

Update #1: Re fatal error after upgrading and reactivating the plug-ins – Read more in the forum

WordPress version 2.8 is only 3 days old and some bloggers are already up in arms and complaining. And from what I have seen over on wordpress.org the ones complaining are the ones who failed to follow the upgrade instructions.

That little nagging “New version of wordpress is now available, click here to upgrade” should be disabled was one of the sighted issue as a problem.  Read more... (438 words, estimated 1:45 mins reading time)

Here’s a great post I came across on how to optimise your WordPress blog for optimum performance.

“Performance is a key factor for any successful website. And since WordPress is becoming more popular than ever, it will only be at its best when raised in the proper conditions. Here are a few things to try if you find that your WordPress site is not performing as well as it could be due to high traffic or hidden issues you don’t know about.”

You can find full details at: Noupe – Curiousity For Finding New And Better

Stay tuned for more hints and tips from me and across the blogosphere on how to keep your blog up to scratch! If you have any great tips we would like to hear from you – we’ll link back to your article – please leave a comment bellow to make suggestions or ask us anything.

You now  have your blog installed and are probably keen and ready to start posting your ideas. But before you jump right in why not take a few minutes to optimise your blog to the max to realise the true potential and reap the rewards of your labour. Just 3 simple steps will get your blog in tip top shape ready for the world and most importantly masses of traffic.  Read more... (405 words, estimated 1:37 mins reading time)

For many people the prospect of getting a domain name and hosting account with the promise of one click installation and hey presto you have yourself a blog and ready to go is all too tempting. But I have bad news for you.

One click install leaves your blog compromised and open to attack from hackers, and believe you me this is not a scare tactic to get you to purchase an installation service from me or any other service provider. If you can do it you are better off installing your blog manually yourself.  Read more... (455 words, estimated 1:49 mins reading time)