One of the great things about working with Hyder is that he’s a brilliant designer. I’m happy messing around with code and databases, and have no idea how to make front-ends look pretty, but he’s just star when it comes to CSS and graphic design. He’s added some great input into developing our WP Auctions plugin and today I can show-off some of his brilliant ideas.
One of the configuration opens in WP Auctions is the ability to specify different display styles which can match the look and feel of your blog. This way the plugin is more aesthetically pleasing and integrates much better with whichever WordPress theme you have decided to use. These styles can look like anything you want. If you look at my sidebar, you’ll see that my auction widget now matches my theme, and so does the popup window. At the side of this post, you’ll see a different style that can also be used in the sidebar. I think this particularly nice, but it doesn’t match my theme.
Switching theme is relatively simple. Simply upload the theme pack to the Styles folder in the plugin and the next time you visit your Styles option in your management console, the new style appears in the drop-down list. Simply select your style, click Save and you’re all set. Here’s what the drop-down looks like (click for larger image):
One idea I just had is that maybe I should add an option for people to be able to upload themes straight from the administration console (instead of FTPing them to their website). I wonder if that idea would get any traction …
There’s more info about styles and options on the WP Auctions blog.
Very cool. I would be interested in seeing what type of income can be achieved from this plugin. I may have to give it a try on a new blog I have had in mind.
Thanks.