Super Simple Counter 2

Posted 2009.04.29 18.31 in Computers/Internet/Technology by Stephanie

I’ve been working some more on the super simple counter I mentioned here. It’s still very simple, but maybe not super simple any more. The goal is still to replace the older (and more complicated) cgi-based counter with something that is entirely contained within WordPress. I’ve already achieved that for the main site counter, but I also have a number of page-specific counters on some of my static pages (eg. the Lasers page, Knife-Making page, etc.)

I’ve been enhancing it further, and adding more features. It now includes all the following features, in one easy-to-install WordPress plugin:

  • Can be used as a sidebar widget or placed anywhere else on the site.
  • Output is styled through the theme’s CSS file, using a .counter class.
  • A starting number can be specified, to facilitate migrating from other counters.
  • The counter defaults to display only on the site’s Front Page, but can be set to appear on all pages.
  • The counter only increments when the site’s Front Page is displayed.
  • The counter can be suppressed so it doesn’t even display on the Front Page, just increments.
  • The counter logs the last visitor IP address, so page refreshes aren’t counted.
  • The number of digits displayed can be set.
  • The counter can be configured to display the output with commas separating the thousands.
  • The title can be customized (only applies to the sidebar widget.)
  • Settings are configured through the WordPress Admin site, as a Settings sub-page.

In addition to the saved settings, I’m looking to include the functionality of run-time arguments to enable further customization. 

Much of the functionality is already in there, only a few things are yet to be enabled. I’m testing it now, and when I’m confident it is working as advertised, I’ll post a link to download the plugin. Oh – and this time, there’ll be Documentation!  🙂

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