Digging into WordPress Version 2: New Chapters, Free Themes, and Site Redesign

The updated book is looking better than ever! A little over 3.5 months after Digging into WordPress v1, Chris and I have updated the book, the site, and everything else for DiW Version 2. Both PDF and printed-version of the book now include two new chapters and two free themes. We have a new “Bonus Tricks” chapter with some awesome theme techniques, and another chapter on “WordPress Updates” that explains how to use all the latest WordPress features. Along the way, we also discuss the two free themes that are bundled exclusively with DiW Version 2. We even updated the printed version of the book, which is now available.

Free Lifetime Updates: If you have already bought the book, you should already have gotten an email with a download link for the new version, which also contains the new bundled themes.

Fresh Content

In addition to improvements and enhancements to existing content, DiW v2 features two new chapters, “Bonus Tricks” and “WordPress Updates.” Here are some sample sections from each of these new chapters:

• Add Author Bios to single posts
• Integrating a Theme Options Panel
• About the new Child Themes
• Ajaxing a theme
• Embedding videos with oEmbed
• How to use the new Image Editor
• Canonical Meta tags
• How to use Post Thumbnails

Plus tons more! The new chapters flow along perfectly with the presentation and style of the book, and include helpful “popouts” and other tangential tips and tricks. Future updates will see more content added to each of these chapters to keep the book organized and as easy to use as possible. And of course don’t forget about the free lifetime updates!

Bundled Themes

Two new themes now exclusively bundled with Version 2: Plastique and Lines & Boxes. These dynamic, fully functional themes are designed to integrate all of WordPress’ best features, including:

• Child Themes – each theme includes a custom child theme to show you how easy they are to create — we inverted Lines & Boxes and made a black-&-white version of Plastique.
• Theme Options Panel – each theme includes tons of options and settings that are available in the WP Admin — just log in and customize everything exactly how you want it.
• Widgetized Areas – not just for sidebars anymore, we’ve widgetized just about everything imaginable — headers, footers, before/after posts — you name it.
• Custom Functions – we enhance the functionality of the themes with some choice functions, including special filters, script inclusion, and even some custom widgets.

These themes are well-designed, clean, and flexible, providing you with actual examples of how the code in the book can be used to create beautiful, powerful themes exactly how you want them. Check out the Theme Clubhouse to check out live demos of these themes (and more).

Plastique

Plastique is an extremely flexible, fully widgetized, multiple-layout theme with many custom options and a solid, streamlined design. Choose from single-column, three-column, or left/right sidebar layouts. Throughout the design, custom content panels make it easy to add any type of content imaginable. Widgetized sidebars, headers, footers, and everything else make it even easier to customize everything exactly how you want it. Preview live demo of Plastique.

Lines and Boxes

Based on the look of a wireframe, Lines & Boxes is a stylish minimalist theme that could be used as-is or as a starting point for a more elaborate design. Features include plenty of custom options for customizing the theme’s header, as well as options for creating the main navigational menu via category list or page list. Lines & Boxes is a clean, sharp design that makes your content look incredible. Preview live demo of Lines and Boxes.

All Ajax

Based off Lines & Boxes, the All Ajax theme is a fully functional theme (i.e., not just a child theme) that uses the power of Ajax to load all internal links without refreshing the page. This functionality makes for an exceptionally smooth experience for your visitors as they navigate around the different parts of your site. Preview live demo of All Ajax.

New Site Design

As if all that weren’t news enough, Chris and I also managed to roll out a redesign of the Digging into WordPress site. It’s a step in a new direction for the site, which now matches the blue-&-white color scheme of the book. We’re still in there tweaking a few minor things, but overall I think the design is cleaner and better focused on the content. Drop by and let us know what you think!

Get the Book!

Even with all the new content and free themes, we’re keeping the book priced at $27 for the PDF and $67 + S&H for the printed book/PDF combo. Both versions of the book include the free themes bundled with the PDF, so either way you’re getting the most for your money. Did we mention the free lifetime updates? ;)

Note for people who purchased the PDF while the printed version was unavailable

If you purchased the PDF between January 18th and February 28th and would like to purchase a printed copy of the book, just forward a copy of your receipt via email and ask for the discount code. We’ll send you a discount code for the entire PDF purchase amount.

About the Author

Jeff Starr = Web Developer. Security Specialist. WordPress Buff.