The right-column Categories issue has been resolved, thanks to reader GMoney.

Until now, the names of the Categories was missing from the selected category sections in the right column.

(Looking at the homepage, that’s actually in the middle of the page, but the far right column is called the sidebar.)

1. Open Appearance > Editor

2. Choose Main Index Template (index.php)

3. Change the code so it looks like what’s in the yellow box in this screenshot:

(All you’re doing is changing the word from “false” to “true.”)

4. Save the changes, and you’re all set!

Two points:

1. Though this now makes my “Sites that Soar!” book valuable again, I’m not going to charge for the eBook.

I am putting the printed version back into Amazon.com, for those who’d rather not print out all 150 pages.

2. If the compiler of Branford Magazine really knew what he was doing, he’d have been able to tell us about this fix in about five minutes. Sadly, this confirms my worst suspicions.

1. Backup your current WordPress website files. To do that, go to Tools > Export. Save the file to your hard drive.

2. Backup your current WordPress database.

To do that, get the free plugin, WP-DB-Backup. You’ll get that by going to Plugins > Add New and enter the plugin name in the Search form. Or, you can go to the WP-DB-Backup homepage, download the zip file, and upload it to your website in Plugins > Add New > Upload.

Then, create your backup file with that plugin (see directions at the homepage linked above) and save it to your hard drive.

3. Backup your theme files. Open your FTP program and download everything in wp-content > themes > Branford Magazine (or whatever your theme is called). Save that on your hard drive. (You probably won’t use this. It’s just a “worst case” backup. I like to take every measure possible to be sure everything turns out okay.)

I generally recommend backing up your image files, too. They’re in wp-content > uploads You’ll copy every file (and subfile) in the folders with a year name (2008, 2009, etc.).

4. Remove WordPress from your website. Some hosting services will do that automatically. (At HostGator, you’ll go into Fantastico > WordPress and click “Delete” next to the domain name where that WordPress site was hosted.)

If your hosting service doesn’t have a delete option, use your FTP program to delete everything in your WordPress files.

5. Download a copy of WordPress 2.9.2. You’ll find that at http://wordpress.org/wordpress-2.9.2.zip

Unzip it on your hard drive using any free unzipping software. (Your computer probably has a program to do this, already.)

6. Install WordPress 2.9.2 manually.

(At the time of this writing, HostGator is still auto-installing WP 2.9.2., so a manual installation isn’t necessary. Check your hosting service’s WordPress options before going to the trouble of a manual installation.)

You can follow the directions in any of my books, or follow the “Famous 5-Minute Installation” instructions at http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress

(That may seem a little scary the first time. Don’t worry. Any mistakes can be fixed, easily. After that, if you ever have to install WordPress again, it’ll be simple.)

7. Upload your copy of Branford Magazine. (If you’re starting from scratch, you can still get the free files at my Branford Magazine Archives.) You’ll do this via FTP, placing your Branford files in your new wp-content > themes folder.

8. Import your old articles, images, comments, etc.

9. Check your site to be sure it looks okay, and take a break. You’ve accomplished your goal!

If your site doesn’t look right, some of your files may have been lost or changed in the process. Follow the Troubleshooting steps, below.

Troubleshooting

If the whole site looks weird, delete your Branford Magazine files (via FTP) and reinstall them.

If it still looks weird, repeat the entire process starting with Step 4, above. (Yes, download a new copy of WP 2.9.2, just in case the first download was interrupted at the server.)

The problem probably started when you were FTP-ing your new WordPress installation.

If your entire site still looks hinky**, contact your hosting service in case they know what’s going on. They’ll have the best advice.

If your homepage categories aren’t right, the numbers probably changed. That’s normal. Follow the steps in my book: Find the Category numbers (for additional help see my video, Branford Magazine Homepage Categories), and enter them in Appearances > Editor > Main Index Template (index.php), in the appropriate locations.

If the problem includes your Lead Article (the big article at the top of the page), you’ll correct that category number in two spots in Appearances > Editor > ui.tabs.php. That’s illustrated in my book.

If your links or images are broken, you may need to manually locate the broken links and fix them.

For broken graphics, you’ll upload the missing files from your hard drive. (This is why I generally recommend saving all those wp-content > uploads files.)

To find broken links and images quickly, you can use a free WP plugin, Broken Link Checker. (Generally, to reduce site load time, I deactivate that plugin after I’ve used it during the installation.)

If something else is broken, the problem was probably in the installation. I’d go back to square one and start over. A second full installation usually fixes whatever-it-is. If it doesn’t, contact your hosting service for help.

Note: After doing this, ignore the “Update to WordPress 3.0 now” messages. Unless WordPress comes out with a patch for the problem affecting Branford and several other themes, updating means breaking your theme.

As long as you keep programs like Secure WordPress running, you’ll be relatively okay. However, if your site is a target for hackers, sooner or later you’ll need to switch to a more current theme.

* If you didn’t upgrade to WordPress 3.0 and you’d like to continue using Branford Magazine… go for it! Just be sure you’re using (and keep updated) the Secure WordPress plugin, to patch the most likely security issues, as they emerge.

** Hinky=weird, funky, or strange. It’s an NCIS (TV show) reference.

I didn’t find anything that worked well with my existing Branford Magazine sites.

(I tried about six themes that looked attractive.  Any one of them could have been a good replacement, if I was more technically-minded — for the customizations — or if I had more time/patience to figure it out.  But, I didn’t, so I abandoned those efforts.)

So, I have two recommendations if you need a quick replacement for (or alternative to) Branford Magazine.

They’re the same alternatives I’ve been recommending from the start:

MIMBO is my favorite alternative.  It’s what I’m using at this website, and it’s what I’m installing at most of my existing Branford Magazine websites.

The basic design code is almost identical to the early Branford Magazine theme… because about 90% of the original Branford Magazine came from Mimbo.

You can customize Mimbo so it has different colors and a header graphic, too.  It also looks pretty good with just a few simple tweaks.

You’ll find Mimbo and several other great WordPress themes — free and premium — at Darren Hoyt’s website.

Click here to learn more about Mimbo 3.0, the free edition I’m using here.

STUDIO PRESS is my second choice.  Though there’s a learning curve with it, it closely resembles Branford Magazine.  (It should. Branford Magazine used code from StudioPress’ theme, Revolution.)

Though StudioPress offers premium ($) themes, they also offer a strong support system to talk you through every step of building and customizing your website.

I’m sure there are other great choices.  It will all depend on the focus of your website, how adept you are at customization, and how much time & patience you have.

For me, at least at this website, Mimbo is a good alternative to Branford Magazine.

I’ll keep looking for viable alternatives, and update this site if/when I find them.  For now, the choices seem simple to me:  Mimbo or StudioPress.

WordPress 3.0 does not support the classic, stable versions of Branford Magazine theme.  I wish it did… but it doesn’t.

So, I’m revamping this site, and I’ve created an archive site for my old articles about Branford Magazine.

(The archived site has lots of outdated pages and broken links. I’ll fix them as quickly as time permits.)

If you haven’t upgraded to WordPress 3.0, your Branford Magazine theme should still work fine.  Alas, I didn’t expect the WP 3.0 issues, so I upgraded this site… and then discovered the problems.

Sure, I could put the time into reverting to WP 2.9.2.  It wouldn’t be that difficult, and — as near as I can tell — WP 3.0 doesn’t increase security.  It mostly streamlines the dashboard and increases the speed of the site.

However, I don’t want to pretend that everything’s okay when it’s not. As much as I loved the Branford Magazine theme, I can’t encourage you to install it on your website.

I stopped selling my books as soon as I found out what happened with WordPress 3.0.

I contacted a couple of friends who write code, and — so far — I’m hearing that the code issues are so complex, it’s just not worth trying to fix Branford  Magazine.

Michael Oeser, the man who created Branford Magazine, is unlikely to offer answers… except to recommend buying his “Pro” version, of course. (I’d love to be wrong about this, but I’m not optimistic.)

So, with a few nostalgic looks back, I’ve switched to Mimbo.  It’s clean.  It’s vastly easier to use than Branford Magazine.  It’s been kept current by its creator, Darren Hoyt.  And, best of all: It’s free.

Generally, this involves text, backgrounds and lines that I want to change to different colors.

Finding the correct line of code can be confusing, but I’ve discovered a shortcut.

I’m using the Free HTML Color Picker from AllGraphicsTools.com.

I use the color picker frame (select “Pick Color”) and hover it over the color that I need to identify.  This can take a little mousework, to get the correct color to show up in the frame.

Then, I click.  The window returns to the main Color Picker screen, and the HTML code is in the form, just to the right of where it says HTML Color #.

I write that code down.  It’s usually six letters &/or numbers, like EEF5E1 or 7DA939.

Then, I search in the stylesheet (Stylesheet.css) in Appearance > Editor, until I find that same color code.

Using trial-and-error, I replace each instance of that color code until I get the results that I want.

Tip: If you don’t like a box around your graphics, you’re looking for #999999 if you’re using Mimbo.  I simply changed the code to “border: 0px” (zero pixels) and the box vanished.

However, I cannot help you with Branford Magazine WordPress theme versions 2.6 and later.

So far, I’m also unable to resolve Branford issues caused by WordPress 3.0.  If you really want to keep using Branford Magazine, I recommend returning to WordPress 2.9.2.  I’ve provided step-by-step directions so you can do that.

In general, here’s what to do if you’re using the Branford Magazine theme and need help.

1. Review my articles at the Branford Magazine Archives, and at the original Sites That Soar site.  I’ve updated them to reflect the dramatic and unexpected impact of WordPress 3.0.

2. If you have a copy of my book, check it.  My books include pretty much everything that I know about Branford Magazine customization and use.

3. Is your question about WordPress?  They have a great support forum at WordPress.org.  It’s free, and people are very helpful there.

4. Try good ol’ trial-and-error.  That’s how I learned to use Branford Magazine.  Just be sure you have a backup copy of your website before you try anything drastic. If you get into serious trouble, contact me.  If I can help, I will.

5. If all else fails, visit the Michael Oeser’s Branford Magazine support forum at http://www.DER-PRiNZ.com.

However, at that forum he’s said:

“I do NOT offer any support or help for individual customization for free (but you can hire me if you like to). That means if you want to change the basic functions and layout of the theme significantly, I will not give you a ready-to-work solution. I probably will not answer at all.”

[I'm not kidding: Screenshot]

So, his forum visitors may have answers, but you’ll probably get the best results with my other, recommended steps.

Mostly, be sure you’re using a complete version of Branford Magazine theme, and a version of WordPress that adequately supports the code in it. Generally, that’s WordPress 2.9.2.

Most of my books’ tips work with Mimbo and will save you time.  You’ll recognize a lot of the same code if you start tweaking it.

That’s not a surprise; the vast majority of Branford’s code came from Mimbo.

You’ll also find great advice at Darren Hoyt’s forums.  (He’s the creator of Mimbo, which was the first magazine-style WordPress  theme.)

Several fans have written Mimbo-related articles at their websites, too, and their tips can be very useful.  (Here’s one: Modifying the Mimbo Theme – Child theme tweaks, part 1)

For me, one of the big changes with Mimbo was customizing the header at my sites that require header graphics.

Tip: Generally, your header graphic will be 907 pixels wide, if you want it to extend the full width of the masthead block.

You can make it any height you want, and the theme will adjust, as long as you specify the height & width in the Header.php file.

Another tip: If you’re using Darren’s  free child theme (Vintage Green – scroll down that linked page to see its info), use FTP put the actual header graphic into the Mimbo/images file, not the Vintage Green file.  <– That’s important.

The header customization process is a little different from how Branford’s is changed. If you’re baffled, here’s a helpful thread at Darren’s forum: http://www.darrenhoyt.com/support/topic.php?id=64

Everything else is pretty much the same as I describe in my book.

For example, Mimbo’s colors are generally changed the same way as in Branford Magazine, but here’s a nice example of what you can do with Mimbo (and yes, that site uses Mimbo, too): Fubar Genre – Dark Mimbo Design Ideas.

Also, if you’re interested in a lifestream site, be sure to check out Agregado, a free WordPress theme created by Darren Hoyt and Matt Dawson.  I haven’t tried it yet, but I think my friends and fans will love it as another art-related website.

Oh, it might be fine. I really don’t know.

However, I did hear about the increasing headaches caused by each version of Branford Magazine starting with 2.6.

Here’s why I’m not using Branford Magazine Pro, or any new-ish version of the theme:

Faulty code

I tried one of the more recent versions of Branford Magazine, the 4.2 upgrade.

I did that after several people asked me if my versions of Branford Magazine theme were “complete.”

I couldn’t figure out what they were asking me.  I mean, of course my copies of the theme are complete… why wouldn’t they be?

Out of curiosity, I tried downloading and installing one of the latest (4.2) versions of Der-Prinz’s Branford Magazine.  Immediately, I saw the problem.

The screen says that it installed correctly, but it didn’t.

On my Appearance > Themes page, the problem became very clear.

I tried downloading and installing Branford Magazine 4.2 at more than one website.  All of them had the same problem.

Even the official website has problems

In addition, I’ve seen problems at the official Branford Magazine website.  Here’s a screenshot of that site — Der-Prinz.com — from July 2009:

That kind of error makes me nervous.

So, between those tests, complaints from my readers, problems at the official Branford Magazine website, and Mr. Oeser’s past on-again, off-again support issues at the official site, I can’t recommend the “Pro” version of Branford Magazine.

There are free alternatives, as well as premium options with excellent track records for support.  I recommend them instead of Branford Magazine “Pro.”

This does not appear to be a security update, just behind-the-scenes bells & whistles that make WordPress prettier, faster to use, and faster to load.

However, WordPress 3.0 causes problems with the older versions of Branford Magazine.

With my own version of Branford Magazine, the right-column Category headings disappear.  Some people are reporting even bigger problems with Michael Oeser’s other versions of Branford Magazine.

And, though he’s the creator of Branford Magazine — based on his past support levels — I expect him to say, “Buy my Pro version,” period.  (I’d be happy to be wrong about this. )

So far, two code guys have looked at Branford Magazine, and both have told me that it’s hopeless.  The code is just too tangled to reliably update for WP 3.0.

That’s not a surprise.  The original Branford Magazine was pieced together from others’ themes. About 90% was copied from an early version of Mimbo.  The rest looked like it was taken from Revolution, an early, premium theme by StudioPress.

So, after testing several free magazine-style themes, I’m using Mimbo for this website.