Blog

Extending The Beaver Builder Theme

Beaver Builder ThemeI was first introduced to the Beaver Builder line of WordPress solutions through their Page Builder Plugin which works great with most any popular WP theme on the market. Those using our Genesis Child Theme (Dynamik Website Builder) started adding it to their web design toolbox and found it to be an excellent addition. So I started using it myself on some of my own Genesis/Dynamik projects and found it to be intuitive and highly flexible. Read more “Extending The Beaver Builder Theme”

Better Communication Begins Today

In the wake of the news about Headway Themes I felt it was critical that I get out ahead of this potential for customer concern and be clear about some important points regarding Cobalt Apps and the products we provide.

First, let me start by apologizing for the lack of consistent communication with our members. There’s no real reason for this other than the fact that I’ve been extra busy on the home front and I’m just not naturally one to chat without a specific reason (i.e.. big news, critical updates, etc…). I’m an introvert and have to make an effort to share my thoughts and opinions with more than my closest confidants, but I’m coming to realize that this simply is not adequate when running a business with a large number of customers expecting to stay in the know. And after reading the latest news about Headway I’ve come to realize that though Cobalt Apps does not share much with that scenario, one thing that I know sounded similar was the lack of clear and consistent communication between the owner and the customer. So that’s going to change right now. Read more “Better Communication Begins Today”

How To Implement A Fixed Header In Your Dynamik Website Builder Designs

These days Fixed Headers and Fixed Navigation are quite popular and can certainly be useful. Recently I’ve read several discussions from Cobalt Apps members asking about the best ways to implement such design attributes into their Dynamik designs. One such discussion resulted in a request for some Dynamik Skin starting points where I provide a stock Dynamik design, with the only customizations being that of the “fixed design” code snippets. So that’s what I’ve done here, with a screencast to explain how it all works. Read more “How To Implement A Fixed Header In Your Dynamik Website Builder Designs”

New Servers And An Old Forum

OK, so the past few weeks have been less than enjoyable with regard to finding a new server for CobaltApps.com to call home. I may get into more detail at some point in the future as I’ve certainly learned a lot in the process, but after a few miss-fires I believe I’ve settled in with a combo of a Bluehost dedicated server for this site, and SiteGround shares hosting for my others. Included in that latter group is the vBulletin forum which I recently locked down to move our members over to a bbPress forum setup. Well, that posed a few unforeseen problems, among other things, and proved to be less ideal than I had hoped. Also, I’ve since moved the old forum to its own dedicated domain which resolved several issues I was having when it was in a subfolder of this domain.
Read more “New Servers And An Old Forum”

Replacing vBulletin Headache With bbPress Forum Simplicity

bbpress-forum-postWe’ve used vBulletin forum software for our community for many years now and have overall been satisfied with its functionality and refinement. This post is not meant to bash vBulletin Forum software, but to simply explain why we’re moving away from vBulletin and over to the bbPress WordPress forum Plugin. Read more “Replacing vBulletin Headache With bbPress Forum Simplicity”

Freedom Seekers: A New Kind of Web Developer

freedom-seekersOver the past half a decade or so we’ve seen an increasingly large numbers of non-developers take on that role in the name of gaining their freedom from jobs they feel “stuck” in. It began with blogging and marketing and even writing ebooks, with WordPress as the foundation for these endeavors. Yet for many, myself included, making a solid, family supporting living online required a more concrete, mainstream (or whatever you want to call it) skill-set. Not necessarily to replace our initial endeavors, but to add a necessary foundation for calling ourselves “professionals” on the web. Read more “Freedom Seekers: A New Kind of Web Developer”

Is Dynamik Website Builder The Right Theme For You?

dynamik-right-for-youYou’d like to think that a particular WordPress theme could be ideal for all users, but that’s simply not a practical reality. Every theme has some kind of user in mind, even if one is more tailored toward a select few while another encompasses the features sought by many. Dynamik is not unique in this regard and in this post I hope to paint an accurate picture of what kind of Genesis Child Theme Dynamik is and what kind of users will get the most out of it. I also hope to provide a clear understanding of who should NOT use Dynamik as their go-to WordPress Theme, as this is important information for those pondering this purchase. Read more “Is Dynamik Website Builder The Right Theme For You?”

Dynamik Website Builder: The History Behind The Theme

dwb-historyWhen I first started my WordPress development business it was on the tail end of a WP web design venture that helped transition me from a local computer service biz to the much more free and flexible qualities found online. I liked the potential prospects of my first attempt establishing myself on the web, but it still wasn’t quite the fit I was looking for. My favorite part of stage-one was developing my own WP Theme for use on my client sites, and after others showed interest, the next step was crystal clear. Read more “Dynamik Website Builder: The History Behind The Theme”

Custom Coding Your Dynamik Skin

custom-coding-skin-buttons-featured-imageSeveral months back we added an intuitive solution to custom coding individual Dynamik Skins and in this tutorial I want showcase this feature and explain how it works and what makes it unique from the other custom coding Dynamik options.

First, let me note the fact that by default you will not see the custom coding buttons in your Dynamik Design > Skins section as they are not present in the “Default Skin”. Read more “Custom Coding Your Dynamik Skin”

Dynamik Website Builder 1.9.3 Update Overview

settingsThe Dynamik 1.9.3 update includes a few notable new options which have been requested by many users for some time now. These new features are focused on the Header and two main menus and offer subtle tweaks that should make manipulating these areas of your site much easier. Read more “Dynamik Website Builder 1.9.3 Update Overview”