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I’ve been setting up WordPress MU on a Plesk server and I have to tell you that getting the subdomains (e.g. blog2.domain.com) to work was driving me crazy.  It took a combination of multiple sites before I got it working, so I wanted to post what I did here hoping that it might help someone else.

First and foremost, you need to create the vhost.conf file for the domain itself.  The vhost.conf and vhost_ssl.conf file needs to be created in the conf directory of the domain.  On Plesk it should be similar to: /var/www/vhosts/domain.com/conf/vhost.conf.

You can create the file from within the Plesk panel itself or using an SSH client like Putty (my preference).

Within the vhost.conf file you need to include the following line:

ServerAlias *.domain.com

Replacing “domain.com” with your domain.

Once you’ve done that you’ll need to run the following from your SSH client (there’s other ways to do this but this worked fine for me):

/usr/local/psa/admin/sbin/websrvmng –reconfigure-vhost –vhost-name=domain.com

Then restart apache and go try it out.  Guess what?  It’s supposed to work but it still doesn’t!

This is where the final magical step comes in.  Log in to your Plesk panel, go to domains, and select the domain that you are trying to set this up on.  Once the page loads, select DNS Settings.

From there, click the Add Record button from the top.

The Record Type should be CNAME.  In the “Enter domain name” field enter a *.  Then in the canonical name field enter your domain (without a www, just a plain domain.com).

Click Ok to save the record and try again.  You should now see your WordPress MU Subdomains on Plesk working!

Tags: plesk, wordpress mu subdomains, plesk wordpress mu

We’ve all heard the following, “Content is King”.  Content is nice, but thanks to Cameron Moll I think the new saying should be, “Context is King”.

As some of you know, I’ve recently acquired a copy of Cameron Moll’s Mobile Web Design book.  I also have a full project load and am getting ready to sell my home so I haven’t had a ton of time to dig into it.

However, one section completely fascinated me.  Not necessarily because it was something I didn’t know, or because it was an in-depth revelation.  It fascinated me because it is so very true, but we don’t hear much about it.

This understanding has great relevance in mobile web design (let’s face it, what’s the good of content if a user can’t see it) but can extend far beyond to it’s Internet relative.

Remember, the mobile web is not the Internet on your phone.  The mobile web opens up new opportunities and challenges, for developers and users, to make our lives just a little bit easier and more productive.

Your content is of little value to users if it ignores the context in which it is viewed, manipulated, and processed.

Cameron Moll - Mobile Web Design

When you take something “out of context”, you are ignoring the surrounding conditions - whether words or graphics.  Unless you keep your site in context, you are going to ignore the surrounding conditions - namely your users.

Most users who access mobile content are accessing it on the go.  Let’s face it, would you sit at home and browse on your phone rather than your desktop or laptop computer?

This means a couple things… intermittent behavior, small screen viewing, and most likely one-handed use.  Adding links to phone numbers to invoke a phone call, or a link that will add contact details to a visitors address book are just a couple ways to keep your mobile content in context. 

C. Enrique Ortiz has a nice white-paper mobile context that’s a recommended read.

Your big idea will ultimately be of little value if it ignores the context in which users interact with your big idea. … Ask yourself, what is relevant to my users and the tasks, problems, and needs they may encounter while being mobile?

Cameron Moll - Mobile Web Design

Tags: mobileweb design, mobile web contaxt, web context, mobile web

Today, Google introduced OpenSocial, a set of common APIs that make it easy to create and host social applications on the web.  This will allow you to write an application once that will run anywhere that OpenSocial API’s are supported.

This will make it easier for you to focus on making your web apps better and it makes it better for users because they get more apps in more places.  Members of the OpenSocial community include: MySpace, Engage.com, Friendster, hi5, Hyves, imeem, LinkedIn, Ning, Oracle, orkut, Plaxo, Salesforce.com, Six Apart, Tianji, Viadeo, and XING.

OpenSocial is built upon Google Gadget technology, so you can build a great, viral social app with little to no serving costs. With the Google Gadget Editor and a simple key/value API, you can build a complete social app with no server at all. Of course, you can also host your application on your own servers if you prefer. In all cases, Google’s gadget caching technology can ease your bandwidth demands should your app suddenly become a worldwide success.

OpenSocial - Google Code

Tags: googleapi, opensocial, myspace api, social programming