Below, you’ll find 5 great WordPress hacks that add functionality to your site without sacrificing a lot of time or energy.

1. List your upcoming posts. Do you write a lot of posts in advance? Generate buzz for them by posting a list of your upcoming posts in the sidebar. Paste the following code where you want the list to display:

<div id=”zukunft”>
<div id=”zukunft_header”>

Future events
</div>

<?php query_posts(‘showposts=10&post_status=future’); ?>
<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
<div>
<p><b><?php the_title(); ?></b><?php edit_post_link(‘e’,’ (‘,’)'); ?>

<span><?php the_time(‘j. F Y’); ?></span>
</p></div>

<?php endwhile; else: ?>

No future events scheduled.

<?php endif; ?>
</div>

2. Show your most popular posts without a plugin. Change the number 5 in line 4 to whatever number you want, for more or less popular posts to display.

<h2>Popular Posts</h2>
<ul>
<?php $result = $wpdb->get_results(“SELECT comment_count,ID,post_title FROM $wpdb->posts ORDER BY comment_count DESC LIMIT 0 , 5″);
foreach ($result as $post) {
setup_postdata($post);
$postid = $post->ID;
$title = $post->post_title;
$commentcount = $post->comment_count;
if ($commentcount != 0) { ?>

<li><a href=”<?php echo get_permalink($postid); ?>” title=”<?php echo $title ?>”>
<?php echo $title ?></a> {<?php echo $commentcount ?>}</li>
<?php } } ?>

</ul>

3. Send pages to Twitter by pasting this code where you want the link to display in single.php. Further modify by adding an image or the title of the individual post:

<a href=”http://twitter.com/home?status=Currently reading <?php the_permalink(); ?>” title=”Click to send this page to Twitter!” target=”_blank”>Share on Twitter</a>

4. List all of the authors of your blog. Helpful for providing links to authors’ posts on your multi-author blog, just paste this code where you want the link to display:

<ul>
<?php wp_list_authors(‘exclude_admin=0&optioncount=1&show_fullname=1&hide_empty=1′); ?>
</ul>

Edit the parameters to customize the display:

• exclude_admin: 0 (include the admin’s name in the authors list) / 1 (exclude the admin’s name from the list)
• optioncount : 0 (No post count against the author’s name) / 1 (display post count against the author’s name)
• show_fullname : 0 (display first name only) / 1 (display full name of the author)
• hide_empty : 0 (display authors with no posts) / 1 (display authors who have one or more posts)

5. Post to your RSS feed 5 minutes later. Sometimes, we hit publish too soon and leave a typo or error in our post. Delaying the publishing of the feed for five minutes can save you a lot of embarrassment. Paste this code into your functions.php file on your theme.

function publish_later_on_feed($where) {
global $wpdb;

if ( is_feed() ) {
// timestamp in WP-format
$now = gmdate(‘Y-m-d H:i:s’);

// value for wait; + device
$wait = ’5′; // integer

// http://dev.mysql.com/doc/refman/5.0/en/date-and-time-functions.html#function_timestampdiff
$device = ‘MINUTE’; //MINUTE, HOUR, DAY, WEEK, MONTH, YEAR

// add SQL-sytax to default $where
$where .= ” AND TIMESTAMPDIFF($device, $wpdb->posts.post_date_gmt, ‘$now’) > $wait “;
}
return $where;
}

add_filter(‘posts_where’, ‘publish_later_on_feed’);

Do you have a favorite hack? Tell us in the comments!

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2. What are your top 5 WordPress plugins?
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Everyone loves graphics nowadays, so why not combine photos and your related posts into clickable related posts that will grab a reader’s attention and keep them clicking for more? LinkWithin does just that by generating 3 clickable related posts thumbnails based on relevancy, popularity, and date of publication. The WordPress widget requires no code modification of your theme files. The images and links display underneath your post on single post pages. LinkWithin also works with TypePad and Blogger. You can also get the widget code yourself and set it up on other blogging platforms, if necessary.

Doesn’t that look far more attractive than a boring, dated list? LinkWithin is free, with possibilities for money-making ventures like ads in the future. LinkWithin is not customizable, so what you see is what you get – three links and the link back to LinkWithin. However, who cares? The matches are pretty solid after only an hour of installation.

Are you using LinkWithin? If so, let us know what you think about this free service.

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2. 5 Great WordPress Hacks
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I just upgraded my WordPress installation, and lo-and-behold, my blog wouldn’t load after I upgraded! The administration panel loaded just fine, so I knew that it wasn’t a database error. So, I did a little poking around to see if I could find the cause of this error.

First, I checked out my plugins – it is possible that plugins may be incompatible with an updated version of WordPress. I disabled each one, then reloaded my website. No dice. Page still doesn’t load.

Now, on to re-enabling all of my plugins.

Once that is done, I say to myself, it has to be the theme – so I disable the theme I was using – SuperPress – and yay – my site now loads. I’m a little confused as to why my theme would stop working, since it is 1) a premium theme and 2) from what I read, no major theme changes were made.

I downloaded a couple of other themes by other theme designers, and those themes would not work, either. Only the default WordPress themes worked with my WordPress installation.

If you upgrade your WordPress installation and get a blank page instead of your blog, first disable your plugins to rule out a buggy one, then check your theme to see if it is incompatible. If you have a buggy plugin, look for a replacement using WordPress.org or check out my post “Stop Using WordPress Plugins” and learn how to customize your theme to add functionality of plugins without the bloat. If you suspect your theme is the culprit, disable it and choose one of the two default WordPress themes. If you still can’t get your site up and running at that point, look to the WordPress forums or Twitter for assistance.

Related posts:

1. Plugin Deactivation Broke Your Blog?
2. Upgraded to WP 2.3
3. Should you upgrade to WordPress 2.3?

Add the number of posts to your sidebar:

<?php
$my_query = new WP_Query('post_status=future&order=DESC&showposts=5');
if ($my_query->have_posts()) {
    while ($my_query->have_posts()) : $my_query->the_post(); ?>
        <?php the_title(); ?>
    <?php endwhile;
}
?>

Add “Tweet This” to your posts by placing this code in “The Loop” in single.php

<a href="http://twitter.com/home?status=I just read <?php the_permalink(); ?>" title="Send this page to Twitter!" target="_blank">Tweet This!</a>

Add an additional “Edit” button to each post, where ever you need the code – add this code in either single.php or index.php, where ever your post code is :

<?php edit_post_link('Edit', ''); ?>

Display your upcoming/scheduled posts in the sidebar:

<?php
$my_query = new WP_Query('post_status=future&order=DESC&showposts=5');
if ($my_query->have_posts()) {
    while ($my_query->have_posts()) : $my_query->the_post(); ?>
        <?php the_title(); ?>
    <?php endwhile;
}
?>

Related posts:

1. 5 Great WordPress Hacks
2. Stop Using WordPress Plugins – Top 3 WordPress Hacks
3. How to Implement Tags into your WordPress Theme

Feedburner gives you stats on how many people read your feed, click on your posts and visit your site and more. Statistics are important to any blogger who really wants to improve their blogging experience. Plus, who doesn’t love bragging rights about how many readers (subscribers) you have?

photo credit: adria.richards

Make it easier for your readers to get your content into an online feed reader like Google Reader or Netvibes, or a desktop program like FeedDemon. Cutting down on daily visits to individual websites saves your readers time – and increases the opportunities you have to reach a wide audience.

Go ahead, power up your feed with Feedburner (super-easy instructions) and set up your feed with Feedburner.

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Twitterdoodle allows you to create mashup posts (or roundups) of tweets about a specific topic being talked about on Twitter. For example, if you want to make a post about Apple iPods or your favorite tv show, Twitterdoodle has some great features, such as an option to make posts go automatically to your category archives and not your blog’s front page.

RSSdoodle works the same way, except it compiles lists of blog posts from around the web.

Check both of these plugins out – and I’ll be testing out RSSdoodle over the coming weeks.

Related posts:

1. Odiogo Listen Button – Add extra functionality for your posts
2. Writing Posts in Advance with WordPress
3. Photo Dropper Makes Adding Pictures to Your Posts Easier Than Ever

1. Install and activate the plugin via the WordPress administration screen or by manually downloading from the site and uploading to your server.
2. Select the language(s) you want to use on your site, using the directions on the plugin website.
   
3. Use the Options tab to set additional preferences, such as where you want to display the language switcher or whether or not to use flags as markers for language switching.
   

And now, in three easy steps, you have set your blog up to be more friendly to your international visitors … and you haven’t even broken a sweat!

Related posts:

1. Optimize your blog for SEO: Step #4
2. Plugin Deactivation Broke Your Blog?
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To survive the large amount of traffic that will come your blog’s way whether you are on the front page of Digg, popular on StumbleUpon or getting loads of search engine traffic, install WP-Cache, a well-known and popular WordPress plugin.

The concept behind WP-Cache is very simple. It simply builds static pages from your site, which will allow your site to stay up during major peaks in traffic. Other reasons to use WP-Cache include if you have limits on your bandwidth and want to cut back on server requests or if you usually have slow performance from your server.

For installation instructions and updates, visit the WP-Cache website.

If you use WP-Cache, let us know how it works for you!

Related posts:

1. Do you Digg and Stumble on Request?
2. Upgraded to WP 2.3
3. Social Bookmarking – Step #18

There are two ways to work around this problem – one is a Firefox extension and the other is a browser bookmarklet.

I’ve mentioned bookmarklets here before, and this one works just the same. Single click and drag this link (WordPress Comment) to your browser toolbar. Be sure to edit the name, email and website values after saving by right clicking on the link and going to preferences. A WordPress comments bookmarklet could come in handy on many blogs, but the developer says there are problems with some themes not having the right coding, so the fields do not automatically fill in. Note: I have only tested on Firefox 3. (Source: i0nutzb)

easyComment Firefox Extension, mentioned on the Weblog Tools Collection, enables you to click once to comment on WordPress powered sites without having to reenter your information again and again. This extension even has a pre-written message, so you can write in your name, signature or a greeting in advance.

easyComment Extension Interface

Do you prefer one of these options over another? Or do you have a different way to fill out comment forms?

Related posts:

1. Photo Dropper Makes Adding Pictures to Your Posts Easier Than Ever
2. How to Setup Multiple Home Pages in Firefox
3. How to: Increase an established blog’s readership

The winner will be selected randomly and announced on Friday, December 12, 2008 at 12:00 pm EST!

Congrats, John Lessnau and to all who entered. John, you will receive your gift certificate today, and I would like to THANK all of you for entering!

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2. Changing to the new WordPress Tags System
3. How to Implement Tags into your WordPress Theme