The Subscription Options Plugin

Description of this WordPress Plugin:

The most common ways for people to subscribe to a blog and its content are through RSS, Email and Twitter. Facebook pages are increasing in usage too.
This plugin places the above icons in a widget area and lets users enter their own feed or page URLs and colour options. It’s really simple but there’s lots of power under the hood.

Plugin features:

• Offers an attractive range of subscription options for your readers using familiar-looking icons.
• Intuitive interface for editing options, including your feed/page URLs, widget title and icon sizes.
• Independent handling across multiple widget instances, using WordPress 2.8’s new widget_class coolness.
• NEW in Version 0.6 – the ability to select between 12 colours.

Step-by-step installation instructions:

1. Download the plugin from the WordPress Plugin Repository.
2. Extract the files and place the entire ’subscription-options’ folder in your wp_content/plugins directory.
3. Go to your ‘Installed Plugins’ panel and activate ‘Subscription Options’.
4. You are now ready to use the widget.

Usage instructions:

1. Go to your ‘Appearance > Widgets’ panel and select the widget area you wish for the plugin to appear in.
2. Enter the following details:
   • Widget Title
   • RSS Feed URL & Colour ID
   • Email Service URL & Colour ID
   • Twitter Stream URL & Colour ID
   • Facebook Page URL & Colour ID
   • Size of Feed Icons
     Please note that you don’t need to use all the icons – just don’t enter a URL if you don’t want an icon to show up.
3. Hit ‘Done’ then ‘Save Changes’. Test the appearance and perhaps change the size of the icons as necessary

The Widget Options Panel:

Example Configurations:

Version History:

V 0.1.0 was the first iteration of what I promise will be a participatory experience
V 0.1.5 – added css classes for users to hook into and edit through their css sheets
V 0.2 – added user-defined header size and target of users’ clicks
V 0.3 – updated icons to scale up to higher sizes without dithering
V 0.4 – switched to WP 2.8’s widget_class functionality to really crank it up
V 0.5 – inclusion of a new subscription icon for Facebook, by popular demand
V 0.6 – implemented an icon colour changer

Future Versions:

V 0.7 – more subscription icons based on user feedback

Frequently Asked Questions:

Where do I put the widget?

You can place it wherever you like as long as it is within a pre-defined widget area. I haven’t worked out how to let people place the widget wherever they like. Let me know if you can help on my contact page though.