Tag Archives: Web Design

Database, Programming, Web Design

Camp Out Colorado

CampOutColorado.com is a website I created to review campgrounds and give outdoor enthusiasts tips and tricks to enjoying beautiful Colorado. There are a number of WordPress customizations I have done to this website. 

Campground Data Custom Plugin

For the camping reviews I created a custom campground information plugin. It pulls up-to-date information for campgrounds through a REST API. These help campers see important details as well as know if there are any up to date details they need. 

Chapman Dam Campground Camping Review

Camping List Custom Plugin

To help campers be prepared to go camping I have created a number of camping lists for them to reference.

This is implemented through a custom WordPress plugin which stores all the information in a custom MySQL database. These camping lists are broken down into three categories of need. The items in the lists are linked to searches on Amazon so they can easily get the an item them are missing. 

http://www.campoutcolorado.com/camping-lists/general-equipment-camping-list/

Custom Template for Solunar Table

Hunting and fishing are a regular activity with campers in Colorado. I have created a few useful tools for them. One is a solunar calendar to figure out good activity times. This was created as a customized template in WordPress. 

This solunar calendar takes the moon cycle, rise and set times of the moon, as well as the sun and uses an algorithm to calculate good times to go fishing or hunting. It then displays these times, the moon cycle and a number of fish depending on how good the day looks. In the example below the solunar calculations suggest a bad day fishing, so go for a hike instead!

Best Fishing Times Solunar Calendar

Custom Fish Stocked Plugin and Database

Another one of the tools I have created to help campers enjoy their time in the great out of doors is a fish stocking report with the quality of stocking in the body of water.  This a nice add-on plugin that also enhances the campground details plugin. 

This is updated weekly from the data that the Colorado Division of Wildlife releases. I created some search capability within this dataset so a user can find the area they are looking for.

Within this plugin I added the ability to calculate the quality of fishing at any particular spot depending on the date and frequency of fish stocking. 

The best part is that it ties into the camping details plugin and adds extra information to the details if there is water nearby that the campers can enjoy.  

Fish Stocking Reports for Colorado 2018

Technologies Used

  • AJAX
  • Bootstrap
  • cPanel
  • CSS
  • Dreamweaver
  • HTML
  • jQuery
  • JSON
  • MySQL
  • Photoshop
  • PHP
  • REST API
  • WordPress
  • Workbench

I’ve used a wide variety of technology and techniques on this website. Starting at as little more than a camping blog it has become something that has a lot of really cool features and is very useful to anyone who enjoys camping, especially in Colorado. 

http://campoutcolorado.com

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Custom Games, Database, Programming, Web Design

Fyxt RPG

Digitally Enhanced Free to Play Universal RPG | Fyxt RPG

The Fyxt RPG is a game I have developed fashioned after a traditional tabletop role playing game. I combine the feel of this type of game with the digital tools and convenience of the internet. 

Enjoy the traditional tabletop gaming experience while being able to pull up your character, the rules, generators, and more from any connected device. 

Technology Utilized

  • AJAX
  • Bootstrap
  • CSS
  • HTML
  • JavaScript
  • jQuery
  • MySQL
  • PHP
  • WordPress

Software Backed Game

The game is supported by a wide range of tools for the players to utilize.  Users are able to use premade content or create their own custom content for their game. 

There is a memberships system which allows different access and storage capabilities depending on the user levels. These include both paid and free memberships. 

Online tools I have created for this website:

Along with the game itself I have developed many tools for the Fyxt RPG system to help players easily accomplish a wide variety of things. Here is the page that lists all of the current tools for the Fyxt RPG. These are things like character generator wizards, search tools, and ways to edit the various game elements.

Fyxt RPG Tools

Custom Dice Roller Plugin

This is a custom plugin I wrote for this game. It adds a shortcode that can be used to insert a jQuery/Javascript dice roller that the players can use. This helps them calculate more complex rolls or allows them to play the game if they don’t have any dice handy.

Fyxt RPG Random Dice Roller

Custom Character Template Example

Here is an example of a character sheet custom template for the Fyxt RPG. This is largely built with Flexbox and Bootstrap to pack lots of information on the screen. This allows users the best view of their characters whether they are on a desktop, table, or their phone.

Fyxt RPG Character Sheet

These are just a few examples of the extensive programming and customization I have created for the Fyxt RPG.

There are custom templates, theme modifications, custom plugins, and a large customized database that all work together to let people play the Fyxt RPG anywhere on any device.

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Database, Programming, Technical, Web Design, WordPress Tips

WordPress Cron Can Kill a Website

I have run into this several times now so I thought I would write a quick article on it. It seems that WordPress’s cron really mess up a website.  Too many cron events will slow down your website. It can even cause timeout errors and out of memory issues.

What is cron?

Cron is basically a system to run programs in the background operation of your website. For a detailed explanation find out more here: Cron Info.

WordPress cron runs every time someone goes to your website. This is great as many plugin creators design software to do all kinds of fun and interesting things with your website. The downside is that these cron tasks can add up if not properly cleaned up. The average WordPress blog creator may not even know this exists. Worse, it can get full of all kinds of useless or out of data cron jobs.

The trouble is all these cron jobs are still queried, and possibly run, every time someone goes to your website. Over time this will certainly slow down your site. Especially if you experiment with many different plugins as many of them will leave residual cron tasks when they are uninstalled.

Check the WordPress Cron

First check your the WordPress cron and see if there is an unreasonable amount of cron jobs.

What’s unreasonable? That can vary greatly but I would say over 50 and you probably have too many. On my latest website with issues there were almost 20,000! Hard to say where they came from, but they needed to be cleared out!

First and foremost always backup your database when doing anything in it.

I prefer to go directly into the database with phpMyAdmin. Run the following SQL query.

This will retrieve the record of your cron jobs. In the option value field you will see something like this.

The only thing you really need to worry about is the very beginning of this entry. It will tell you how many cron jobs are present. In this case, there are 20.

In my case it looked like this.

19722! Yikes. This was pretty much crashing the website. Good news though. It is really easy to fix. Simply delete the cron entry and because of the magic and quality of WordPress the cron will be rebuilt the next time someone goes to your website. Easy as that!

Now you may need to go though and check your plugins, anything that schedules tasks, and verify that they are still scheduled and working. In most cases they will be. If not, set up the task again. These are things like calendars, auto backups, auto posts etc. All of these are done through cron jobs.

There is also a pretty cool plugin you can use to look at your cron jobs in a more UI friendly way.

https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-crontrol/

Hopefully this helps you clean up and speed up your WordPress site!

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Web Design, WordPress Tips

WordPress Update Services List 200+ Ping Services

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If you have a WordPress blog and website, you need to be able to have people find it on the internet. There are a million different things you can do to drive traffic to your web site but few are as easy as making sure that the blog servivces out on the internet are aware of your blog. Not only do these blog services need to know your blog exists, they also need to know when and what you publish on your website. One of the first steps to accomplishing this is to make sure that your WordPress settings are set up so that your WpordPress blog will announce new content. WordPress has a setting that you can just add the URL’s of these updating services and WordPress will handle the rest. Some hosts may not support pinging your blog. If this is the case, get another web hosting provider. I recommend FatCow > Host your Web site with FatCow!.

How To Use the WordPress Update Services List

  1. Go to the Admin panel in your WordPress website.
  2. Open Settings in the WordPress Admin menu.
  3. Select Writing in the WordPress Admin menu.
  4. Go down to the bottom of the WordPress writing settings page and you will see a section titled Update Services.
  5. Copy the WordPress Update Service List below. (Control+C)
  6. Paste the WordPress Update Service List into the box for the Update Services. (Control+V) Make sure there is one URL per line or the WordPress Update Service will not work correctly.
  7. Make sure to save your save your settings in WordPress.

It’s as easy as that to update your WordPress Update Services. Now, whenever you post something new on your WordPress website all of these services will be pinged with the changes to your website. This can increase your website traffic quite a bit in some cases.

Here is a WordPress Update Services List I have compiled from about a dozen “comprehensive” lists that all were missing some update services or another.

WordPress Update Services List

  • http://rpc.pingomatic.com/
    http://pingler.com
    http://api.feedster.com/ping
    http://api.moreover.com/ping
    http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
    http://api.my.yahoo.co.jp/RPC2
    http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
    http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
    http://audiorpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
    http://bblog.com/ping.php
    http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
    http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc/
    http://blogdigger.com/RPC2
    http://blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
    http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
    http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
    http://ping.myblog.jp/
    http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc/
    http://coreblog.org/ping/
    http://ping.blo.gs/
    http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
    http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
    http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
    http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc
    http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger/
    http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080/
    http://blogsearch.google.ae/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.at/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.be/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.bg/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.ca/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.ch/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.cl/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.cr/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.hu/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.id/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.il/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.in/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.it/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.jp/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.ma/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.nz/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.th/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.ve/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.co.za/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.ar/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.au/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.br/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.co/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.do/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.mx/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.my/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.pe/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.sa/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.sg/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.tr/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.tw/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.ua/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.uy/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com.vn/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.de/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.es/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.fi/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.fr/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.gr/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.hr/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.ie/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.in/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.it/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.jp/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.lt/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.nl/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.pl/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.pt/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.ro/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.ru/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.se/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.sk/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.tw/ping/RPC2
    http://blogsearch.google.us/ping/RPC2
    http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
    http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
    http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
    http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
    http://xping.pubsub.com/ping
    http://ping.weblogs.se/
    http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
    http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php
    http://ping.bitacoras.com/
    http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc/
    http://xmlrpc.blogg.de/
    http://1470.net/api/ping
    http://xping.pubsub.com/ping/
    http://ping.feedburner.com/
    http://rpc.newsgator.com/
    http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
    http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
    http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPCishinao.net
    http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc
    http://blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
    http://coreblog.org/ping
    http://newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
    http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc
    http://ping.blogmura.jp/rpc
    http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger
    http://blogpeople.net/ping
    http://feedsky.com/api/RPC2
    http://hamo-search.com/ping.php
    http://holycowdude.com/rpc/ping
    http://newsblog.jungleboots.org/ping.php
    http://ping.blogoon.net/
    http://ping.blogs.yandex.ru/RPC2
    http://ping.fc2.com/
    http://ping.kutsulog.net/
    http://ping.namaan.net/rpc
    http://ping.snap.com/ping/RPC2
    http://ping.wordblog.de/
    http://r.hatena.ne.jp/rpc
    http://rpc.bloggerei.de/ping
    http://rpc.reader.livedoor.com/ping
    http://rpc.technorati.jp/rpc/ping
    http://rpc.twingly.com/
    http://wasalive.com/ping
    http://zhuaxia.com/rpc/server.php
    http://rpc.pingomatic.com
    http://rpc.twingly.com
    http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
    http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
    http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
    http://ping.feedburner.com
    http://www.feedsubmitter.com
    http://blo.gs/ping.php
    http://www.pingerati.net
    http://www.pingmyblog.com
    http://geourl.org/ping
    http://ipings.com
    http://www.weblogalot.com/ping
    http://rpc.blogcatalog.com/
    http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080
    http://www.bloglines.com/ping
    http://a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
    http://api.my.yahoo.com/ping
    http://bitacoras.net/ping/
    http://blog.goo.ne.jp
    http://blogdb.jp
    http://blogoole.com/ping/
    http://blogoon.net/ping/
    http://blogsnow.com/ping
    http://blogupdate.org/ping/
    http://effbot.org/rpc/ping.cgi
    http://holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/
    http://imblogs.net/ping/
    http://lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
    http://packetmonster.net/xmlrpc.php
    http://ping.amagle.com/
    http://ping.bitacoras.com
    http://ping.blogg.de/
    http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc
    http://ping.fakapster.com/rpc
    http://ping.feeds.yahoo.com/RPC2/
    http://ping.myblog.jp
    http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
    http://pingoat.com/
    http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
    http://pingqueue.com/rpc/
    http://popdex.com/addsite.php
    http://rcs.datashed.net
    http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2/
    http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
    http://rpc.bloggerei.de/ping/
    http://rpc.britblog.com/
    http://rpc.tailrank.com/feedburner/RPC2
    http://rpc.wpkeys.com
    http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx
    http://snipsnap.org/RPC2
    http://syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
    http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/ping.php
    http://topicexchange.com
    http://wasalive.com/ping/
    http://weblogues.com/ping/
    http://weblogues.com/RPC/
    http://www.a2b.cc
    http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
    http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
    http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
    http://www.blogoon.net/ping/
    http://www.blogpeople.net
    http://www.blogroots.com
    http://www.blogsdominicanos.com/ping/
    http://www.catapings.com/ping.php
    http://www.feedsky.com/api/RPC2
    http://www.holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/
    http://www.imblogs.net/ping/
    http://www.lasermemory.com
    http://www.mod-pubsub.org/ping.php
    http://www.popdex.com
    http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
    http://www.snipsnap.org
    http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
    http://www.weblogues.com
    http://www.weblogues.com/RPC/
    http://www.xianguo.com/xmlrpc/ping.php
    http://www.zhuaxia.com/rpc/server.php
    http://xmlrpc.blogg.de
    http://zing.zingfast.com
    http://bitacoras.net/ping
    http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
    http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
    http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
    http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
    http://blogs.yandex.ru/
    http://rpc.bloggerei.de/
    http://www.feedgy.com/
    http://ping.rss.drecom.jp
    http://rpc.odiogo.com/ping/
    http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc/
    http://rpc.wpkeys.com/
    http://signup.alerts.msn.com/alerts-PREP/submitPingExtended.doz
    https://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/MZFinance.woa/wa/pingPodcast

If there are any services you know about that are not on this list please post them below and I will get them added ASAP.

Good luck blogging with WordPress!

Creative, Database, Programming, Technical, Web Design

DDM’s Realm Game Database

http://www.ddmsrealm.com/index.php/dungeons-and-dragons-quest-and-magic-item-database

This is one of the hobby sites that I run. This website is dedicated to the Massively Multi-player Online Role-playing game (MMORPG) Dungeons and Dragons Online.

Since games are one of my passions I decided to build a database of all the items and quests within Dungeons and Dragons Online. Thus gives players the ability to search for and find related quests and items. DDM’s Realm has turned into a very popular site for the game.

I strive to keep DDM’s Realm the most complete source of information available on the Internet. It pulls data from other sites and sources and is kept up-to-date by manual verification of game data.

ddmsrealm.com/ddoddmsrealm.com/ddoddmsrealm.com/ddo