This month’s meetup included a talk from BuddyPress developer Paul Gibbs. He talks us through the new release, the epic version 1.5.

Paul’s blog post, with slides, can be found here: http://byotos.com/2011/09/27/buddypress-at-wordpress-london-220911/.

Then Jeff Ghazally shows us how easy it us to sell music online using WordPress and the WP E-commerce plugin.

We also had a great presentation from Shakur about the SOLR search plugin and how it can be used to improve the search performance and capabilities on your WordPress site. Unfortunately due to technical difficulties (an over-heated camera!) we didn’t get this one on video. Sorry Shaksi!

I gave a talk on Beginner WordPress Theme Development, which introduced the basic structure of a theme and some key concepts. Here are the presentation ‘slides’ and the video.

My new office number is 02081 330 596. Please save this as my primary contact number.

I am currently checking and responding to email and voicemail twice daily, at 12pm and 4pm. If you require urgent assistance (please ensure that it is urgent) that cannot wait until either 12:00 or 4:00, please contact me on my mobile at 07825 330 150.

Thank you for your understanding. These changes will help me to serve you better.

The increase in rates reflects my improved and expanded skill set. In the year since I started freelancing, I have gained valuable experience in all areas of web design and development. From project management and design theory, to learning new languages and techniques, these new skills allow me to offer an improved product in shorter development times. I intend to push these savings on to my clients.

Any proposals that I have already submitted will be honoured at the old rate, providing the project deposit is paid before 1st Dec 2010.

Keith

Shaun contacted me in mid September about designing a new website. He already had a site but wanted a more professional look. He also wanted the site to be managed using WordPress. I set out a proposal and project timetable and we got to work.

The first task was to identify the style that Shaun wanted. His previous site looked good but he wanted to get away from a ‘corporate’ look. Using wireframes and mock-ups I designed and refined the look of the site with Shaun’s feedback. We settled on a style that we both feel strikes the right balance between professional and personal.

Next, I developed a custom WordPress theme so that Shaun could easily manage his site. I broke down the content into ‘Services’, ‘Testimonials’, ‘Posts’ and ‘Pages’. This gives Shaun an easy way to add and edit his content.

I’ve really enjoyed working on Shaun’s website. I’m looking forward to working together in the future, there is already another project in the pipeline!

View Shaun’s new site.

View what Shaun says about working with Keith Devon Web Development.

I will be incorporating a blog section that will allow my client to write posts on industry subjects, confirming him as an expert in the security community.

The site should be live by mid October, so check back for the results.

The new website features a blog section where I will be able to write articles about web design and keep clients up to date with any news in the kDev empire. The site is powered by WordPress and I’ve developed a custom theme to suit my needs.

I would love to hear your feedback on the new design. I hope that it is easy to find your way around and that you enjoy the new features.

Keith