* PHP version 4.3 or greater

* MySQL version 4.1.2 or greater

Additionally, they recommend Apache or Nginx as the best possible server for WordPress. Blog hosts should be able to advise Web developers on how WordPress runs on their own peculiar configurations.

WordPress also suggests, for the sake of security, that WordPress use the website developer’s own account username rather than the default username of the server. Many hosts use suPHP or a similar program to accomplish this.

Beyond the basics, the question of best WordPress host is subjective. There are many sites with web hosting reviews with varying opinions. WordPress is very powerful. It can be used in many ways, both as a blog script and as a full CMS. “Best” is based on the particular needs of an individual blog builder.

With that in mind, here are the five best WordPress hosts. These blog hosts will all do very well by WordPress.

Dreamhost

Dreamhost is usually singled out as one of the top three WordPress hosts and not without reason. It’s been in existence for thirteen years. They are known for their WordPress expertise, their impressive Dreamhost control panel, a highly-responsive Debian Linux operating system, and the great number of high-end options available for a small price. They offer unlimited basics including disk storage, transfers, domains, email addresses, and, most importantly where WordPress is concerned, unlimited MySQL databases. Prices start around $4 a month with promotional pricing.

BlueHost

BlueHost is big. It has the advantage of a very cogent, honest pricing policy. It offers the standard virtual unlimited features including unlimited disk storage, transfers, and domains. The real drawback here is that the website builder is limited to 50 MySQL databases. Each WordPress installation requires one database. It should be pointed out that too many installations will undoubtedly drag down the server. The serious builder may want to investigate a dedicated server at some point. BlueHost does offer a higher-priced dedicated option. Their virtual account is still a good place to start.

Laughing Squid

Laughing Squid sounds more like a pub in Manchester than a trendy host, however, this self-described ship of geeks takes their business very seriously. They are small and cannot offer the bulk options of big blog hosts. For instance, their smallest virtual account has only 25 GB of transfers a month and only one MySQL database. The builders who prefer small, personal, and hang-with-the-geeks-type hosting may well find a good fit here.

GreenGeeks

Green Geek host gives their hosting clients unlimited space, transfers, MySQL databases, email accounts, hosted domains, free setup, and free website migration. Their promotional pricing runs around $5 a month. They also offer Fantastico with its one-click installation script library. They are a good, solid host run by people who know their WordPress. They are a Canadian/USA Web hosting company.

HostGator

HostGator is the reptile to beat. Their $5 monthly account includes cPanel and Fantastico, It offers unlimited storage, bandwidth, and MySQL databases. The hatchling account does have a one domain restriction with no add-ons. Their $8 baby plan has all the usual unlimited one expects in a virtual host these days. What truly sets HostGator apart is their rapid-fire quality service. There seems to be a conscious attempt to improve the hosting experience at every level. When the technical end of things became spongy a couple of years ago, they were quick to resolve the situation. Any problem is usually met with immediate attention.

The best two? Hands down, DreamHost and HostGator. They offer Web longevity, great value, great service, superior WordPress knowledge, a top-level system, and all the tech specs any website could ask for. The smart website builder should start with these two great hosts.

Features:

* plug and play, just like any other WordPress plug-in
* easy to configure
* does no processing on the images (except for getting the image metadata), so it’s lightning fast
* you can have multiple galleries per post
* integrated with WordPress 2.0′s wysiwyg editor (the way QuickTags is implemented doesn’t allow easy placing of buttons in the toolbar, but that’s not a big problem, since you are editing code, anyway)
* (since 0.2) output is customizable with templates
*

(since 0.3.0) supports XMP, IPTC and EXIF captions; The order of preference is:
o XMP Dublin Core title and description
o XMP Photoshop Headline text
o IPTC caption
o EXIF comment

This means you can also set captions for your files using Photoshop or Picasa, if you don’t particularly enjoy editing ini files.
* (since 0.3.0) Picasa.ini support (Picasa writes captions there for files that do not support IPTC)
* (since 0.3.1) Admin page AJAX-ish gallery browser and caption editor using mootools (needs write access to your image files)
* (since 0.3.5) Ships with Lightbox v2, Slimbox, Slimebox, Thickbox and allows to switch between them from the options page

Tags: Post, gallery, images, XMP, IPTC

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ATTENTION : FROM VERSION 1.1.7 OF ZENPHOTO, STEP 2 ARE NOLONGER REQUIRED, SKIP IT IF YOUR ZP VERSION > 1.1.7
Tags: gallery, zenphoto, images

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Tags: youtube, widget, you tube

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-Image count (default 10).

-Image and thumbnail paths.

-Customizable thumbnail sizes.

-Database connections.

-Database tables.

-Option to display the images as links to the full photo in ZenPhoto.

The ZenLatest can now be used in posts just as in widgets. In your post, simply enter and the images will appear using the same settings as with the widget.

The plugin creates thumbnails using GD, and stores them in plugins/zenlatest/cache. This directory should only contain the thumbnails that should be displayed on the webpage.

When loading the plugin, the directory is examined and if the directory contains more files than specified on the image count, the directory is cleaned (all files removed), and the thumbnails are regenerated.

The plugin also examines all the images, and compares the image size to the specified thumbnail size parameters. Should width or height not match any of the image dimensions, the file is regenerated using the current parameters.

The plugin is implemented as a widget and has been tested on WordPress 2.3.3 and ZenPhoto 1.1.3 + 1.1.5 + 1.1.6 . but other version might work.

The plugin has support for WordPress and ZenPhoto on different databases og even different servers. If your WordPress and Zenphoto installations are on the same database and use an identical user, just fill in the same information for both database connections.

Please report any errors to jf@jakobf.dk
Tags: sidebar, zenphoto, wordpress

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That means, and read this carefully: you can insert what amounts to a symbolic link to an ultra-high-res Zenphoto image, specify width and the height as an attribute and have Zenphoto do the scale work for you.

Even if you replace the source image, you can just purge the Zenphoto cache – all images linked using this plugin will have their scaled versions updated from the new source material.

Additionally, you can provide default width and album values, so if configured, all you have to write to insert an image is [zenphoto src="myimage.jpg"].
Tags: pictures, images, gallery, zenphoto

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This plugin helps you to present your YouTube videos without the effort to paste the whole embed-code. You only need the YouTube ID, the rest is handled by WP YouTube. You can set options to manage all the YouTube videos at the same time. With the new profile editor it is even possible to set different settings. If you have old YouTube videos, they are not conflicted by this plugin.
Profile settings

* Width
* Height
* Tag name
* Tag type
* Color
* Show border
* Autoplay
* Include related videos
* Valid XHTML code

See screenshots for an overview…

For upgrade read on the installation page first!
Tags: url, youtube, media, upload, editor, manage, video, plugin, posts, Post

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The main purpose of the plugin is to correctly embed youtube videos into your blog post. The video will be shown in full in your RSS feed as well.

From version 2.0 Smart youtube also supports playback of high quality videos, works on iPhone, produces xHTML valid code (unlike YouTUbe embed code), allows you to view videos in fullscreen and most recently supports YouTube playlists.

The plugin is designed to be small and fast and not use any external resources. It has a number of customizable options.

Main Features:

* Easily embeds YouTube videos
* Embed YouTube playlist
* Supports latest high quality video protocols (360p and HD quality 720p)
* Allows full YouTube customization (colors, border, full screen…)
* Supports video deep linking (starting at desired point with &start=time parameter)
* Works on iPod and iPhone
* Supports migrated blogs from WordPress.com replacing [youtube=youtubeadresss]
* Provides a sidebar widget for videos as well
* Produces xHTML valid code
* Very fast and light, no extra scripts needed

Plugin by Vladimir Prelovac. Looking for WordPress Consulting?
Tags: admin, posts, Post, media, play, video, youtube

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Tags: comments, youtube

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