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Pixelpost Tutorial

Introduction to Pixelpost

What is a Photo Blog

Photo blog websites are type of blogs that focus on sharing photos rather than written articles with your visitors. Photo blogs are great for people who want to express themselves with their photographs rather than words.

These applications are different from the normal Photo Gallery scripts because they present the images in a blog format and concentrate on the single photo. In addition, Photo Blogs allow you to interact with your visitors by allowing them to subscribe to your blog feeds, leave comments and many more.

 

PixelPost and its main advantages

Pixelpost is easy to install and upgrade. With the new improved PixelPost Install Assistant you will be able to install or upgrade your existing site in minutes.

It is easy to use. You will find the application interface very intuitive. The features and menus are organized in the best possible way and you will not lose time searching for a certain link.

Pixelpost is open for your visitors to share comments for your photos. Unlike regular photo galleries, with Pixelpost you will be able to interact with your visitors, thus creating your own online community on your website. In addition you can fully customize both RSS and Atom feeds and provide them to your visitors.

Pixelpost is perfect for photographers that want to share their artwork with the visitors on their website. You can create beautiful portfolio sites to show your work in the best possible way.

In conclusion, if you want to start a photo blog, PixelPost is the recommended application for you.

 

Our Pixelpost tutorial covers the following topics:



Pixelpost Installation

In this tutorial we will show you how to install Pixelpost.

PixelPost has several requirements for its hosting environment, all of which are met on all SiteGround servers:

  • PHP version above 4.3.0;
  • MySQL version newer than 3.23.58 for the script database;
  • GD Library - a popular image processing library that will allow PixelPost to resize your images, create thumbnails and other image editing actions;
  • File Uploads - the script requires your host to allow you to upload files through an application;
  • EXIF - this binary will allow PixelPost to show information about the camera you have used to take the shot;

To install Pixelpost on your hosting account, follow the steps below:

Step  1. Create a MySQL database and add a new user to it. This can be done easily with cPanel by following the MySQL database tutorial.
In case you are not using cPanel you can refer to the MySQL manual on creating databases and adding users to it.
Step 2. Create a folder called upload on your computer.
Step 3. Go to the Pixelpost download page. Download the .zip file with the latest version to the upload folder and extract it there.
Step 4. Upload all content from upload to the directory on the server where PixelPost will be installed. SiteGround recommends using FTP for this purpose and the FTP tutorial will guide you through the necessary steps.
Step 5. Browse to the /admin/install.php file in your Pixelpost directory. For example, if you have uploaded the files in your public_html folder, you will have to browse to http://yourdomainname.com/admin/index.php.
Step 6. Follow the instructions in the video below to complete the installation process:

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Pixelpost Content Management

In this tutorial we will show you how to manage the content of your photo blog with PixelPost.

How to make a new photo post

To post in your Pixelpost photo blog, first you need to log in the administrative end of the application. For example, if you have installed Pixelpost into the public_html/photos folder in your account, the admin end would be accessible via http://yourdomainname.com/photos/admin/. Next simply follow the instructions in the video below.

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How to group your posts in categories

To organize your photo posts better, you can group them into categories. To do this, go to the Categories menu in your administration panel. You can think of categories as "folders" for your posts. They don't have any options that have to be set except for their name.

To create a new category, enter the name for it and press the Add Category button.

Pixelpost add category

 

From now on, when you make new photo posts, you will be able to select the newly created category for them.



Pixelpost Templates

How to change your existing template

Changing your template is a simple task in PixelPost.

First you need to login to your administrative area. Next, go to the options tab and select the Template menu.

In this page select the template you want to use with your website from the Switch Template drop-down list of available templates and click on the Update button next to it. You can now browse to the front end of your website and enjoy the new looks of your photo blog.

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How to install a new template

To install a new template you should upload the files for it in the appropriate folders. Depending on the template you may have to upload its folder in the templates directory or to upload content in different folders. For detailed instructions on how to install and enable a new template in PixelPost, please refer to the video below.

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How to install addons in Pixelpost

To install new addons in PixelPost, you should first download their installation packages.

Next, extract them to a folder in your computer and upload all the files and folders of the extension in your PixelPost directory. Depending on the package itself you may have to upload only few files in the "addons" folder or to several other directories. It is important to follow the instructions in the Addon documentation in order to install it correctly.

Once you have uploaded the files for the addon, login to your administrative are and go to the Addons tab. The new addon will be listed as disabled (showing "status: OFF" next to it). You can enable it by clicking on the "Off" link next to it.

For more information on installing new addons in PixelPost, please review the video tutorial below.

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How to Upgrade Pixelpost

In this tutorial we will show you how to upgrade Pixelpost.

Before you start upgrading your PixelPost website, make sure you create a backup.

Next, you have to download the installation package of the new PixelPost version from the official website(http://www.pixelpost.org/) of the application. Then extract it in a folder in your local hard drive. Once you do that remove the "images" and "thumbnails" folders from the extracted archive. Next you can use your favorite FTP client to upload the new files over the old ones. Don't remove the old files from your PixelPost application, just overwrite them with the new ones when asked.

Once you do that, navigate to http://yourdomainname.com/pixelpost/admin/install.php and follow the instructions in the upgrade wizard. Actually, you only have to click on the Begin Upgrade button. The wizard application will then do the rest for you.
 

Pixelpost Begin Upgrade



Finally click on the Finished button. You have just upgraded PixelPost to its latest version!
 

Pixelpost Upgrade Finished



Note that some of the addons you have can be disabled by the upgrade wizard due to version incompatibilities. In such case you should check the official websites of those addons in order to receive more information on how to upgrade them.



How to Backup Pixelpost

In this tutorial we will show you how to back up your Pixelpost application.

To obtain a complete archive of your Pixelpost website, you have to backup its files and database.

You can use your favorite FTP client in order to download the files of your application locally. Make sure you download all of your files. Note that if there are any missing files in your backup, restoring your website from it may not work properly.

The Pixelpost application uses a standard MySQL database to store its data. Detailed instructions on how to backup a MySQL database can be found in our MySQL tutorial.

In addition, you can use the Backups feature in your cPanel to create a complete backup of your account including your PixelPost application.



Sample Tutorial Page

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How to prevent spam in Pixelpost

The best way to prevent spam in the comments of your posts is to use the Akismet plugin that comes with the PixelPost installation.

Akismet was originally developed to work with WordPress. Therefore, in order to activate it, you have to create an account in WordPress.org and to obtain the API key for it. We strongly recommend you to check these instructions for Akismet. Note that this is a free plugin for non-profit websites.

Watch the video below for more information on how to enable the Akismet plugin in your PixelPost application.

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