Everybody’s favorite CMS (content management system), WordPress, just released version 2.6 an entire month ahead of schedule. Not only did this version fix almost 200 bugs, but it adds some new features that are sure to have most WordPress users dancing in their computer chairs!

Now WordPress comes with a built in word count, so you can see in real time how many words long your post is! Look for the Word count directly below the Save and Publish buttons in your Publish Status box.

The way images are controlled and modified is one of the biggest changes; now image management is fully compatible with the WYSIWYG view, and you can move the picture’s location and even edit its size directly from the screen. Note that you can actually see a screenshot of the image as it would appear in your blog post, and there are more options under Advanced Settings.

There are more new features, including a popup that lets you know when you have updates to your plugins and even more ways to use WordPress as a power user without having to add a lot of plugins!

View the video that gives you a tour of WP 2.6 before downloading:

Check out some of these posts around the blogosphere about the WordPress update, and let us know what you think about this new version in the comments!

Around the Blogosphere:

WordPress 2.6 from the WordPress Blog
You Gotta Love Automattic from NateWhitehill.com
WordPress 2.6 Rocks from Michelaneous
Google Gears and WordPress 2.6 Is Not About Offline Blogging from Digital Inspiration

MaxBlogPress Stripe Ad is a great, non obtrusive addition to most WordPress installations!

Use it to display a welcome message, reminder to visitors, an affiliate link, an “extra special” link to a favorite or popular post, and more - the sky is the limit, as long as the text and html will fit in the stripe!

As you can see from the screenshots, setting it up is a little cumbersome - a lot different than the average plugin - but it seems to be worth it if you want a low-key, customizable message to appear at the TOP of your screen when your visitors come to your WordPress powered site.

Registration, is in fact, free, but you are asked if you want to buy a eBook that can turn your blogging life around - I declined, so I could get to the meat and gravy of the setup!

The advanced options allow you to customize the look and feel of your “Stripe Ad”, so you can color-coordinate the stripe with your template.

Like What Would Seth Godin Do, you can customize MaxBlogPress Stripe Ad to only display for a certain number of days, visits,  all of the time, etc. However, the MaxBlogPress Stripe Ad has the added capability of being closed by the viewer if they so choose and you don’t have to know HTML to customize the displayed ad.

Also, you can have multiple messages set up at a time to rotate; so you can link to your affiliates, other blogs, popular posts and more, and each time the page is refreshed, the visitor gets a new, fresh link! Weight the individual messages, so that some will display more than others - if you really want to draw attention to a contest on your site moreso than your webhost affiliate link.

Here’s a quick look at what my stripe looked like once activated:

MaxBlogPress Stripe Ad is free but you must register to use; and if you want to remove the “Powered by MaxBlogPress” link from the stripe, the Pro version of the plugin is $47.

The Odiogo Listen Button adds an extra layer of visitor-friendly goodness to your WordPress powered site. This plugin from Odiogo adds a “Listen Now” button to your blog posts, so visitors can download or listen to your Odiogo podcasts.

I like this plugin because I am already using Odiogo to provide text-to-speech for my posts, and I want to give my visitors an easy way to download and listen to my posts when they are on the go - just another option in this multi-media world!

Installation is easy - but you must have a Feed ID from Odiogo. If you don’t have one, sign up on the website. Odiogo is a free service. Read more about it in Subscribe to the Geek Girl’s Audio Feed!, Announcement: How to Subscribe to thepinkc Podcast and Turn your blog posts into podcasts! 

Once you download the plugin, follow the instructions below:

1. Upload directory odiogo_listen_button to your /wp-content/plugins/ directory via FTP.
2. Login to your WordPress admin account.
3. Click menu Plugins and Activate the Odiogo Listen Button plugin.
4. Click menu Options > Odiogo Listen Button.
5. Enter your Odiogo Feed ID and click Save.
6. Click menu Presentation > Widgets (or Sidebar Widgets depending on your WP version).
7. Drag and drop Odiogo Subscribe Button from Available Widgets to Sidebar.
8. Click Save Changes.

Alternatively, you can use the WordPress plugin Plugin Central to automatically install the plugin from your WordPress Administration Panel, then follow the directions above starting at step #3.