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Coda 2 + WordPress

skywavesli

skywavesli

macrumors regular
Original poster
Nov 19, 2008
116
2
Hey,

I was wondering if anyone has recommendations on using Coda 2 for Wordpress development? Any add-on tools, etc.?

I heard about MAMP and ServerPress's DesktopServer. Can anyone recommend one over the other?

According to ServerPress, DesktopServer is the only way to get Coda 2 to live-preview with WordPress (http://serverpress.com/products/desktopserver/#compare). But I can't really find any independent reviews for it.

Thanks!
 
I code in Coda 2 for Wordpress development. I've done a ton of sites using XAMPP + Coda 2 + Wordpress. I've developed a Vanilla theme that is just the bare structure for WP then design it from there. Pretty easy!
 
NathanCH said:
I code in Coda 2 for Wordpress development. I've done a ton of sites using XAMPP + Coda 2 + Wordpress. I've developed a Vanilla theme that is just the bare structure for WP then design it from there. Pretty easy!
Click to expand...

Perfect! Thanks so much for the response!

Were you able to use live preview with XAMPP?

Thanks again!
 
I need to do this, I generally just create a beta site, develop it, then port everything over (which is awkward at best). Any tips on getting XAMMP up and running?

On the theme topic, I've just started using the 960bc theme (blank canvas), it's a really basic theme that has some very slick built in styles to set your column widths per 960gs. Seems to work very well so far.
 
fig said:
I need to do this, I generally just create a beta site, develop it, then port everything over (which is awkward at best). Any tips on getting XAMMP up and running?

On the theme topic, I've just started using the 960bc theme (blank canvas), it's a really basic theme that has some very slick built in styles to set your column widths per 960gs. Seems to work very well so far.
Click to expand...

They have a quick little install. I had troubles installing other virtual hosts but this one was easiest.

http://www.apachefriends.org/en/xampp-macosx.html#849
 
You could say I'm a bit biased, but I thought I'd just follow up with saying that yes, DesktopServer is the only server that does live preview for WordPress template files (and their template parts) in both Dreamweaver and Coda 2.

BTW, DesktopServer is XAMPP. It's just been tweaked with a lot of WordPress centric features. A new version was released today and it's very fast at copying, importing and exporting.
 
Steveorevo said:
You could say I'm a bit biased, but I thought I'd just follow up with saying that yes, DesktopServer is the only server that does live preview for WordPress template files (and their template parts) in both Dreamweaver and Coda 2.

BTW, DesktopServer is XAMPP. It's just been tweaked with a lot of WordPress centric features. A new version was released today and it's very fast at copying, importing and exporting.
Click to expand...

Not sure I follow here. If you have Apache, PHP and MySQL running locally, what else do you need? XAMPP, MAMP, configured by hand, not sure what else you would need after installing Wordpress. It looks like DesktopServer can automate several aspects of the work and make things easier, but I wouldn't say it is the ONLY server to do this, it just makes things easier (for $50)
 
Ive tried DesktopServer and it has some nice Coda 2 + WP integration. There are a few things it does in the Coda preview window that are neat but then again it really depends on your needs and workflow. If you work exclusively with Coda 2 and WP, it's worth the money.

If I remember correctly you could preview certainly files with the preview mode unlike a regular mamp like setup. But it's been a while since I've used it.
 
grizfan said:
...but I wouldn't say it is the ONLY server to do this, it just makes things easier
Click to expand...

You wouldn't, but I would...I'm the author ;-)

If you open a WordPress template file in Coda with any other server it will simply say:

FATAL ERROR: ...

That's because DesktopServer senses Coda's preview window (or Dreamweaver's WYSIWYG LiveView mode) and preloads WordPress, plugins and performs a realtime render for WYSIWYG feedback.

You cannot open a side bar, a header or a page template and expect to see anything beyond "FATAL ERROR" using MAMP or something else...
 
Steveorevo said:
You wouldn't, but I would...I'm the author ;-)

If you open a WordPress template file in Coda with any other server it will simply say:

FATAL ERROR: ...

That's because DesktopServer senses Coda's preview window (or Dreamweaver's WYSIWYG LiveView mode) and preloads WordPress, plugins and performs a realtime render for WYSIWYG feedback.

You cannot open a side bar, a header or a page template and expect to see anything beyond "FATAL ERROR" using MAMP or something else...
Click to expand...

CMD+S, CMD+TAB, CMD+R - problem solved?
I'm not that familiar with Coda, but in Dreamweaver, can't you also configure the site to route the preview through localhost? I guess it comes down to how you want to configure your workflow, but I can't see spending $50 when you can get nearly the same thing for free, but everyone has their price for convenience...
 
Grizfan, you missed Steveorevo's point, one of the features it brings is:

Enhanced Coda2 Preview (direct theme files) and other niche features.

So you can easily preview inside Coda's preview window all the little parts that build out your WP site, like what Steve mentioned. I've tested it and found it's very neat but I don't work in Coda that much anymore (Sublime Text FTW) so I'm back to my usually homebrew + built in apache setup. I have a few dev friends that swear by DesktopServer, and 99% of their work is building and maintaining WP sites.

Workflows and tools are very subjective, always use what fits your needs the most.
 
AFPoster said:
So that I don't start a new thread is it possible to use a Wordpress theme to create a blog page on an exisiting site? URL would look like www.mysite.com/blog instead of www.mysite.wordpress.com?

I also use Coda2, but I keep receiving an error message when I try the above using a wordpress theme. any help would be greatly appreciated.
Click to expand...

Sure, instead of creating your Wordpress install on the root of the site you just create it in a directory called "blog" on the root. The exact process to create that is going to vary a bit depending on your webhost, however.
 
Steveorevo said:
You wouldn't, but I would...I'm the author ;-)

If you open a WordPress template file in Coda with any other server it will simply say:

FATAL ERROR: ...

That's because DesktopServer senses Coda's preview window (or Dreamweaver's WYSIWYG LiveView mode) and preloads WordPress, plugins and performs a realtime render for WYSIWYG feedback.

You cannot open a side bar, a header or a page template and expect to see anything beyond "FATAL ERROR" using MAMP or something else...
Click to expand...

Hey, Steve. Never heard of Desktop Server until seeing this post. Looks like an amazing piece of software. I use Coda 2 + WordPress all day, every day, and I am definitely going to have to pick up your app. Glad I stumbled upon it! :)
 
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