If you’ve ever added a link to a website on your Facebook profile, you may have noticed that you can choose an image to go with your page link. These images are typically just images that Facebook has found that already exist on the linked page.

These images may not have any meaning outside the context of the entire page, or they may not show off the website to which you’re linking.

If you’re a site owner, why not create a screenshot of your site’s home page, so that when Facebook users want to share something from your website with their friends, they can select an image that truly shows off your site?

Here’s simple instructions on how to create a thumbnail image of your site that Facebook users can attach to a link to your site:

How to get your Website Preview Thumbnail to Show Up on Facebook Share

On many websites I create for small businesses, the site owner wants (and should have) a blog. Drupal’s blog tools are set up to be designed for multiple users by default. Many times, this is functionality I don’t want or need.

One glaring element that I typically want to remove if a blog is by a single user is the “username’s blog” link that appears in each blog post.

The following, found here, added to my theme’s template.php file, did the trick:

function mytheme_links($links, $attributes = array()) {
// Hide username’s blog
if (isset($links['blog_usernames_blog'])) {
unset($links['blog_usernames_blog']);
}
return theme_links($links, $attributes);
}

Change mytheme to the name of your theme, and remember to clear the cache after uploading the new template.php file.

A list of modules I commonly use on Drupal sites, with links to the project page for easy landing and downloading.

• Content Construction Kit (CCK)
• Views
• Views Slideshow
• View Cycle
• Administration menu
• Admin role
• Advanced help
• Devel
• Google Analytics
• Token
• ImageField
• FieldField
• ImageCache
• ImageAPI (required by ImageCache)
• Transliteration (required by ImageCache)
• jQuery plugins
• Pathauto
• Frequently Asked Questions
• SpamSpan
• Skinr
• Fusion (theme)
• Root Candy (admin theme)

This is one big “note to self” for me to reference as needed for current and future Drupal installs. If you found this through google, maybe it will help you, too.

Bluehost and Clean URLs

Problem: After basic install, system would not enable Clean URLs. Site is not live, but currently accessed through bluehost utility domain url.
Solution: First, make sure .htaccess file exists on server. Second, since Drupal is not on a production site, but rather on the utility domain, change the following in .htaccess

# Modify the RewriteBase if you are using Drupal in a subdirectory or in a
# VirtualDocumentRoot and the rewrite rules are not working properly.
# For example if your site is at http://example.com/drupal uncomment and
# modify the following line:
RewriteBase /~username

Note: When site goes live, this line will need to be changed again.

Memory Limits in php.ini

Depending on the modules installed, the memory limit in the php.ini file will likely need to be increased. If php.ini is not already installed, install it through the control panel. Then open the file, and find the line memory_limit = . Increase the memory limit.

Bluehost change in February 2010 regarding uploaded images

On February 2, I and many others woke up, checked our Drupal sites and discovered that they were broken. After 45 minutes on the phone to tech support, conferring with another local Drupal user who turned out to be on Bluehost, and the twittervine, the following solution emerged and now needs to be implemented on Bluehost Drupal installs:

In /sites/default/files/, edit the .htaccess file, change the line that reads Options +FollowSymLinks to Options SymLinksIfOwnerMatch. So the new .htaccess file in the sites/default/files location should now read:

SetHandler Drupal_Security_Do_Not_Remove_See_SA_2006_006
Options None
Options SymLinksIfOwnerMatch

A good designer knows her limits, and knows best how to use her resources.

I’m a designer, and can work wonders with type and layout. What I’m not is an illustrator. Oh, I could probably spend untold hours creating the graphics I wanted for this website. But it would be an unproductive use of my time, especially when other resources are a click away.

The illustrations you see throughout the pages of this website are stock art from a fabulous illutrator named Brandi Powell. I don’t know her personally. I found and bought her work on istockphoto.com.

In a perfect world, when you’re developing a new site, you would hire a photographer or an illustrator to create exactly what you need. If you’re an Apple or Neiman Marcus, that’s exactly what you do. But if you’re a small business on a tight budget, that’s probably not an option.

That’s why sites like istockphoto are a great resource. Photos and illustrations can start as low as $1.00, and run well over $1000 if you’re interested in buying out rights to a piece of art. But whatever your budget, there’s probably an option for graphics that will fit your needs.