Wow! It’s done. I just upgraded this blog to the newest version of wp and it was a piece of cake.

When I posted earlier about using the WordPress Automatic Update plugin, I wrote a couple words of caution about the backups and upgrading the database. I take them both back. Seeing the process work again, it is obvious when to download the backups and I had no issues with passwords. Very cool.

Highly recommended plugin.

Next step is to really get comfortable with WordPress version 2.6.

My plan today is to upgrade this blog to the new WordPress version 2.6. Right now it’s still at 2.3.3.

I am currently using version 2.5.1 with a number of blogs and really like some of the features, particularly when it comes to managing plugins. With 2.5.1 you can automatically upgrade plugins when a new version becomes available. This is such a time saver (rather than downloading the new version, unzipping it and uploading it to the server…).

While Fantastico is cool for installing blogs, I have preferred not to use it because I prefer to name the database with a tag I will recognize. With Fantastico, you get wrdp_1, wrdp_2, etc. and that’s not helpful long term, especially if you have a good number of blogs. So, while upgrading WordPress with Fantastico is a piece of cake, I don’t have that option.

Instead, I found a plugin that will upgrade automatically for me — WordPress Automatic Upgrade. I tested this plugin out on another blog and it worked really well. Much easier than a manual upgrade. So I’m sold.

A couple things though:

• During the upgrade process, the plugin says it has created backups and you can download them. I did not see any options or links to follow to actually download the backups. Maybe it’s obvious and I just missed it, but I missed it. I’d recommend doing your own backups before beginning.
• The plugin led me through an upgrade of my database. That’s fine, but when it came to logging back into my admin panel, I couldn’t – my password wasn’t recognized. It was easy enough to get a new password, but I needed my email address in order to do that. I’d recommend noting what email address you have listed on your blog before going through the upgrade process. (I have dozens of email addresses and actually don’t know what email address I have used with all of my blogs.)

That’s it! So far, I highly recommend this plugin. I’ll play with it on a couple more blogs and then I’ll know for sure.

I feel like I’m flying. I have so much mapped out that I want to implement, my productivity has never been higher.

If you’ve read any previous posts, you know I’ve been working on some WordPress blogs. I’ve moved into the promotion phase on a number of them. Time to build backlinks!

I’ve already “stumbled” each blog on StumbleUpon. As expected, I got a bunch of traffic fairly quickly and then that ended. There were just a few adsense clicks too. StumbleUpon was true to its reputation of offering a quick flash of traffic and very little clicking. That’s okay. I have a link (I think!)

Getting set up on 3WayLinks.net was next. I really like the concept and it’s all laid out well — just submit your websites and it automatically builds backlinks for you. Ran into a roadblock with the content on one of my blogs. 3WL declined to accept the blog into its network, claiming it is not “family friendly.”

That’s a head scratcher. The theme of the blog is marriage, specifically promoting a clickbank product. The articles focus on “saving my marriage” with love, respect, and good communication within the relationship. How is that not family friendly? There appears to be no recourse. I must admit it bugs me.

While I’d recommend 3WayLinks, I know it will take me places, but if you decide to sign up understand ahead of time that there is some interesting censorship on which websites are acceptable and which are not. My “psychic” themed site was refused several months ago on the grounds that the content is religious. I had an easier time understanding that one.

I have a gardening themed blog in my master plans, too. It’s a little ahead of schedule, but I get to be a beta tester for a gardening datafeed store created by Dave Wooding. He appears to be a pretty talented programmer. Dave has installed the initial layout and is now in the process of refining the look and functionality of the store as feedback comes in. You can check out an example at davewooding.com/garden.

This is fun. Have a good one!