Whenever I’m setting up a new blog or membership using WordPress, I inevitably end up searching for some new plugins that will either provide me some additional functionality and/or help make the setup easier and faster.

As a result of the last few sites I’ve been working on, I came across 2 WordPress plugins I think you’ll like…

1) Post Mash – This gives you the ability to quickly reorder your posts. So instead of having them display in reverse chronological order (which is the WordPress default), you can mix it up based on your preferences.

You can download it from here:

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/postmash/

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2) WP Menu Creator – With this plugin you can quickly create your own navigation menu using links to pages, posts, categories and even tags. WooThemes has added similar functionality into their themes but this plugin will allow you to do the same thing even if you aren’t using a WooTheme.

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/wp-menu-creator/

Enjoy!

WARNING:  As with any WordPress plugin, it’s important that you always be aware that there could be conflicts and/or outdated versions.  So always check you are downloading the latest version of the plugin and that it is compatible with your version of WordPress.

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What WordPress plugins do  you like using?

Let me (and everyone else) know by sharing below in the comments.

So I recently decided to give it a face lift.

During my “hunt” for a new theme, I came to realize how much I appreciate premium theme developers.

It started because I wanted a theme that would be visually appealing but at the same time easy to work with so that it wouldn’t take me a long time to maintain it.

After a long search, I finally found the perfect theme…

The theme I settled on is called “Headlines” from the team at WooThemes.

Why did I chose  it?

There were 3 main reasons:

1)  Rock Solid Control Panel

There are many reasons I like purchasing premium themes from companies like WooThemes, Solostream, iThemes and StudioPress is because they all have powerful control panels.

Here’s a quick look at the one for this Headlines theme from WooThemes:

Once you get playing around with all these options, you can quickly modify the look and feel without getting into “the code”.

For a guy like me who knows enough to be “dangerous”, this is a good thing!  LOL

So it’s made it a lot easier for me to tweak the design to get the look I was going for.

2)  Very Visual Theme

The second reason I chose this theme is because it’s very “visual”.

I’ve done a lot of testing in this area and I can assure you that the better your blog looks, the more people enjoy spending time reading it.

That’s why you’ll see me use a lot of pictures and video.

This theme makes integrating pictures throughout your site VERY easy.  In fact, all I do is basically upload one image per post and the theme takes care of everything else.

It will resize it if I want to make it a “featured” post and it will automatically create the thumbnails for my homepage, archives pages and sidebars widgets.

This saves me hundreds of hours over the course of a year.

Here’s another tip…

If you are ever stuck for pictures, one of the websites I go to often is called Fotolia.

It’s a site where you can purchase Royalty Free Pictures.  This basically means you can pay a one-time fee for the right to use the picture on your website or printed materials (always check the terms just to be sure as far as how you can use the images).

For the most part, I just purchase the images as I need them.

But if I am starting a new site (like a membership site) where I know I’ll need a LOT of images, I’ll spend the time to find all the images I want, save them in my “lightbox” and then I’ll purchase a 1-month membership.

This gives you the ability to download up to 30 images a day.

So then I just make it a daily routine to login and download another 30 images until my membership expires.  By doing this you’ll save quite a bit of money vs. downloading them individually.  The key is to remember to login everyday during your membership to get the images!

The point is, use images to increase the “eye candyness” of your site.

And yes, “eyecandyness” is a word.  LOL

3)  Support

The third reason I like purchasing premium themes is because of the support.

A lot of people underestimate all the time that is needed to provide ongoing support for WordPress themes and plugins.

(trust me, we know how important support is as we have answered over 11,000+ support tickets since we launched our membership plugin WishList Member)

It’s a never ending task and there are always a million tweaks you can make inside WordPress.

And if you’re like me, “tweaking” can sometimes lead to a cry for help!

So part of what you pay for when you buy a premium theme is the support from the developers.

In this case, WooThemes has a flourishing support forum that is actively supported by not only the team at WooThemes, but also by other WooThemes customers.

It also comes with videos and support guides.

TIP:  The best practice is to consult the support guides and/or videos first.  You’ll save the developers and yourself more time that way because quite often, your question will have already been answered in the videos or instructions.

I’ve experienced the same high quality support when purchasing themes from the other leading WordPress theme developers mentioned above (Solostream, iThemes, StudioPress).

For me, this is critical.

Sure you can find free themes somewhere on the web.  The problem is, they may or may not be supported.

And when you have a question, it’s comforting to know that there is someone there who can help.

…PLUS…

When there are updates to WordPress, these guys are on it.

It’s another HUGE plus to know that your theme will always work with the latest version of WordPress.

So for me, I love premium themes because…

1. They are easy to work with and save me hours of unnecessary work
2. The themes look good without me needing to be a “code ninja” or trained graphic designer
3. You can’t beat world-class support materials and help

That’s why I’d like to give a virtual high five and a BIG thank you to all the premium WordPress theme developers.

You guys ROCK and we appreciate all your excellent designs and code.

Have you purchased a premium theme?

If so, what was your experience?

Let us know what theme you bought and why you like it in the comments below.