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Recently I noticed that my site was loading uber-slow. I never really thought much of it, but then more and more people were complaining so I took a closer look at it. There were a couple of issues that I uncovered.

The first big issue was the social networking plugin I was using had a server that was down, that is why I don’t have the bookmark links at the end of posts right now. I removed that and it sped up a little bit, but it was still lagging. This is when I discovered a downfall with WordPress.

Upon doing an audit of my WordPress, I found out that I had a bunch of plugins activated that I wasn’t using, some of which were calling 404 pages. This was draining my site big time and making loads take forever. Once I deactivated the unused plugins, load times dropped. This site still has a few issues that are causing a not-so-optimal load time, but it is more along the lines of normal now.

Firefox add-ons turned out to be my best friend for this task. I used FireBug and YSlow to determine the issues. Both these tools provided me with the insight I needed into my site’s issues and then with a few clicks, I was able to remedy the majority of the issues.

Now that those extra plugins and error pages are gone, my site is running much better. I am a little baffled as to what to do next. Some of the plugins I am using are pretty standard these days and I like them. They are Web 2.0 and are easy to implement via plugins in WordPress. The only downfall is now my site is calling out to multiple servers and loading tons of javascript code. The only workaround is to write these modules myself. I don’t know about you, but I don’t have the time to write all of this custom interactivity myself, so for now, I will just sit back, be happy with what I have and wait for the developers of the plugins to eventually write lighter weight plugins.

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What are icons used for?
Icons are used for labeling folders, cds/dvds, desktop icons, favorite icons, etc…

What is the .ico extension?
Icons used for a web page favorite icon are .ico files. I am pretty sure it stands for icon. A .ico file is a windows format icon that can be used to label folders, bookmarks, favorite icon for web pages, desktop icons and the bar at the bottom of the window.

Can I just make a .gif file and change the extension to .ico?
Sure, but it won’t work 100% of the time. But don’t worry, making an icon is easy and free.

So, how do I make a real icon?
If you need a .ico file, simply download the free .ico plugin for Photoshop. Save it in {/Applications/Adobe Photoshop CS3/Plug-ins/File Formats/} once it is in there, restart Photoshop. Now when you do a “save-as” you will have .ico as an option in the format menu. That is it, save it out and you are done.

The .ico file doesn’t work on my Mac…
The .ico will work on a Mac for somethings, such as a favorite icon for a web site. However, if you want to use your sweet new icon to label a folder, you need to create a .icns file. This is easy and free too. Download the img2icns application and then dump in you Applications folder, you may have to put in your admin password. Once it is in there, double click to open it. Drag your image file, no matter what it is, onto the target and let go. Done.

Enjoy your new icons…

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This weekend opened some doors for me. First of all, I finally setup my old G4  tower as a local server which I said I was going to do over four years ago. Secondly, I reskinned my Web site which I had planned on doing months ago. The Web site and server are both still under construction, but they are in a usable state. I will post details on the server build soon. I have a few more things to do to it before I can really be proud. That will probably be done next weekend. As for this site, I still have some loose ends to tidy up, but this is it, for the most part, it looks the same, but the columns have been shifted and some of the graphics have been removed. Please feel free to send me some feedback on the new site, I am curious what you all think.

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Phx Creative is undergoing a layout modification. The new layout will enhance the reading experience while also allowing for added functionality to the site. The hope is to launch the new layout very soon. Soon following, if not at the same time, will be full search capabilities. Google search is being implemented which will provide improved search accuracy.

If you are around during the switch, please be patient. More updates to follow.

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