WordPress Plugin: Authenticate
by Jeff Starr on Sunday, June 29, 2008 – 4 Responses
![[ Icon for Authenticate ]](http://perishablepress.com/press/wp-content/online/plugins/_auth.gif)
Authenticate is a free WordPress plugin that enables universal and/or targeted inclusion of custom content for both feeds and posts. Ideal for adding copyright information, distribution policy, thank-you messages, custom links, special offers, and much more. Custom content may be added to any location within posts or feeds — before, after, or even within post content. This highly flexible content-addition plugin works great on all 2+ versions of WordPress (i.e., 2.0, 2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 2.5+).
Usage examples include:
- Selective display of targeted advertisements
- Invite readers to take advantage of special offers
- Add a copyright message or feed distribution policy
- Include universal footer content for all feed content
- Include universal footer content for all single-view posts
- Improve the brand awareness of your site by adding a custom site logo
- Add custom messages targeting site visitors, feed subscribers, or both
- Send unique “thank-you” messages to subscribers and visitors
- Spice things up by displaying a periodically updated thumbnail or banner image
- Selectively include links and other information for a targeted collection of posts
- Implement a plagiarism-detection string in all of your content for easy identification
- Anything! This plugin provides an easy, versatile way to add custom footer content
The Authenticate admin options screen makes it easy to specify a versatile portfolio of customized secondary content:
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content for all single-view posts
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content for all feed-view posts
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content for any number of targeted single-view posts
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content for any number of targeted feed-view posts
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content for ALL targeted single-view AND feed-view posts
- Include custom text/(X)HTML content anywhere within specified feeds or posts
Any combination of these configurations is easily facilitated via the Authenticate admin options screen:
![[ Thumbnail: Authenticate Admin Options ]](http://perishablepress.com/press/wp-content/images/2008/wp-authentic/authenticate.gif)
Click image for full-size view of the Authenticate Admin screen
Installation
To install Authenticate, follow these easy steps:
- Download and unzip
Authenticate.zip(two files: plugin & readme) - Upload
authenticate.phpto/wp-content/plugins/ - Activate the Authenticate plugin via the WordPress plugins admin screen
- Navigate to the Authenticate options screen and configure your preferences
- Each custom message option is fully explained in the Authenticate options screen
Implementation
Complete usage instructions are included in the Authenticate options screen next to each custom-message field. Here is how to implement the different types of custom messages:
- custom message for all single-view posts — specify custom content in the corresponding options field; content will automatically be added to all single-view posts.
- custom message for all feed-view posts — specify custom content in the corresponding options field; content will automatically be added to all feed-view posts.
- custom message for all specified single-view posts — specify custom content and add
<!--authenticate_posts-->to any location with any post or series of posts. - custom message for all specified feed-view posts — specify custom content and add
<!--authenticate_feeds-->to any location with any post or series of posts. - custom message for all specified single-view AND feed-view posts — specify custom content and add
<!--authenticate-->to any location with any post or series of posts.
Usage Example
Authenticate was originally developed for my own purposes here at Perishable Press. After integrating some new functionality and improved features, I decided to release the plugin for general consumption. To see an example of Authenticate in use, check out the footer of any post on the site (see source code for more details). I use Authenticate to easily include a plagiarism-detection string that is used to track and validate syndicated and distributed content. Further, the plagiarism string is quietly converted to a custom “Authentic” logo using a CSS image-replacement method. One of the benefits of using the Authenticate plugin to achieve this is that it will be simple to update the footer information with a few mouse clicks.
Download
Download Authenticate
[ current version 1.0 • 4KB zip download • works with WordPress 1.5 - 2.5+ • 880 downloads ]
![[ Jeff Starr ]](http://images.monzilla.biz/serious/jeff-starr.png)
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4 Responses
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Troy – #1
Your plugin sounds pretty cool.
But the name is kind of misleading. “Authenticate” typically means something completely different: letting users login and recognizing them.
Your plugin seems to do something completely different.
I recommend you pick a different name
Perishable – #2
Hi Troy, thanks for the comment, however, if you do your homework, you will learn quickly that the term “authenticate”, based upon the word “authentic”, inherently conveys a variety of meanings. I hate to quote a dictionary, but Merriam-Websters is more than helpful in this situation:
au·then·tic
1) worthy of acceptance or belief as conforming to or based on fact2) conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features3) made or done the same way as an original4) not false or imitation5) ranging upward from the keynote6) true to one’s own personality, spirit, or characterNow, with those definitions in mind, jump back to my plugin for a moment. What does it do? As stated in the first paragraph, “Authenticate is a free WordPress plugin that enables universal and/or targeted inclusion of custom content for both feeds and posts.” Looking at the second definition, “conforming to an original so as to reproduce essential features,” we see a perfect semantic fit. The Authenticate plugin adds subsequent content to posts and feeds such that it “conforms” or “gels” with the original content. For similar reasons, the name of the plugin also fits well with the third definition. Then, to see how Authenticate works on yet another level, consider the fourth definition, “not false or imitation”. Returning again to my article, you will notice that one of the plugin’s listed usage examples is “Implement a plagiarism-detection string in all of your content for easy identification.” Without belaboring the obvious parallels in this third correlation, suffice it to say that, all things considered, the name of the Authenticate plugin is an excellent choice because it works on multiple levels. And, if I had the audacity, I would explain how Authenticate even fits well with the sixth given definition, “true to one’s own personality, spirit, or character.”
Having said all of that, I am delighted that you find my plugin “pretty cool,” but I am going to have to stick with the originally chosen name for the Authenticate plugin — it’s just too ideal to pass up! In my humble opinion ;)
Regards,
Jeff
Mike – #3
LOL. Nice retort.
perishable – #4
Yeah, I got a little carried away on that one..