Hey guys! Proper now I will take you through use the TCWP plugin to quickly and easily benefit from the entire extent of Twitter’s ‘card’ system.
TCWP is a premium WordPress plugin dedicated to the atmosphere pleasant creation and administration of Twitter Enjoying playing cards in your web page’s posts and pages. TCWP has been designed every to run totally independently of shopper enter (completely automated) and/or to provide your complete plethora of Twitter’s developer choices, counting on how hands-on you want to be customizing them. TCWP provides clients the prospect to create ALL current card varieties supplied by Twitter (see the infographic beneath) and comes with many time saving choices paying homage to using the put up title/content material materials/featured image to robotically populate your card’s fields – you could as properly specify your private values do you have to so need!
Contents
- Twitter Enjoying playing cards – What they’re and why you need them.
- One of the best ways to make use of TCWP – Choices and workflow outlined.
- Filling inside the Decisions – Want help establishing the alternatives dashboard? Take a peek.
Twitter Enjoying playing cards
For these of you who haven’t however been launched to the delight of Twitter Enjoying playing cards, let me enlighten you. As you presumably can see inside the picture beneath, a twitter card is a way of together with enriched content material materials to your tweets. Do you have to aren’t using them your self, little doubt it’s best to have seen them someplace on Twitter.
There are in the meanwhile 7 sorts of Twitter Card (and hopefully further coming inside the near future!). These are;
- Summary Card
- Summary Card with a Big Image
- {Photograph} Card
- Gallery Card
- App Card
- Participant Card
- Product Card
Attempt the infographic beneath to see what each card seems like.
For those who want to uncover out further about what Twitter Enjoying playing cards are, you presumably can study the official documentation proper right here on the Twitter Developer web page. Now though, let’s check out how YOU can use TCWP to arm your WordPress weblog with this stuff of social promoting gold.
One of the best ways to Use TCWP
We will be using a recent arrange of WordPress 3.9 for this demonstration. If you wish to play with a keep demonstration of TCWP, you’ll be able to achieve this proper right here on its demo web page.
Quick Demonstration Video
Underneath you presumably can watch a quick (2 minutes) video which demonstrates TCWP’s card ‘auto period’ attribute. Get pleasure from!
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxaKQodZhuU&w=853&h=480]
Palms On
As shortly as you’ve got gotten activated TCWP in your WordPress weblog you’ll discover that there is a new menu merchandise beneath settings; this hyperlinks to the TCWP decisions panel. Proper right here you set worldwide settings which can be essential for frequent card period and the cardboard to your web page’s entrance internet web page.
When you prepare TCWP for the first time, there are a number of decisions that have to be stuffed in (I talk about this intimately later). On the alternatives dashboard you’ll discover there are Three separate tabs;
- Regular – On this tab are the 4 settings (plus one grasp change) which might govern card creation on all posts/pages aside from the home internet web page/entrance internet web page.
- Home – This tab houses the settings which administration the cardboard to your residence internet web page/entrance internet web page.
- Activate – Only one risk proper right here; that’s the place you enter your Envato license key to permit computerized updates, merely as if TCWP have been hosted on the WordPress Repository (further on this later).
The fantastic thing about TCWP is that, if you need, you solely must fill inside the few values on this decisions dashboard and TCWP will take care of all the rest!
Card Automation
So what do I indicate as soon as I say ‘Automation’?
TCWP was designed to run inside the background requiring as little enter as doable. To make this actuality, good lengths have been gone to to completely and comprehensively mix TCWP with native WordPress.
There are solely 4 default values it’s essential to fill in, and after that TCWP will use WordPress’ put up information already specified to robotically populate the associated meta tags in your posts’ head; good when you may have quite a few posts – this shall be practically a one-click arrange!
As an illustration, when you may have stuffed inside the 4 default values in TCWP’s settings, you don’t should the contact the TCWP meta discipline on the put up editor internet web page to have a respectable Twitter Card generated. As long as the put up is stuffed in completely (has a title, has content material materials and has a featured image) TCWP will generate that put up’s card from the put up information itself and the worldwide TCWP settings.
Easy, isn’t it?
Computerized Updates
Consolation is the essential factor.
TCWP has been fitted with its private updating system! When activating your copy of TCWP collectively along with your Envato purchase code TCWP can speak with its devoted substitute server and serve updates on to your weblog, merely as if it have been hosted on the WordPress Repository! Cool!
Explicit individual Submit Configuration
One of the best ways to make use of the TCWP metabox for ‘day-to-day’ card tweaks.
Okay, so as now we’ve now now we’ve prepare the ultimate TCWP decisions, the cardboard information will start to be generated. What if I want to edit the cardboard though? Or use on of the alternative card varieties? For this we’re going to make modifications on the metabox of the individual posts.
It is using this metabox that you’d be capable to completely benefit from the entire vitality of TCWP and Twitter’s Enjoying playing cards.
On every single put up and internet web page (custom-made put up varieties supported too!) you’ll discover the model new blue metabox which you may see inside the above screenshot. Using this interface you presumably can configure either side of your put up’s card.
Chances are you’ll play with the metabox on the demonstration web page: take me there now!
Uncover that by altering the put up variety you moreover change the alternatives on the market – that’s merely one in all many choices included to make using TCWP as quick and simple as doable.
For further particulars of what goes the place in TCWP’s metabox, please check with TCWP’s documentation or depart a comment!
Filling inside the Decisions
Need Help Setting Points Up? The subsequent would possibly allow you to out when you’re barely confused.
Let’s check out what goes the place on the TCWP dashboard.
Regular
This tab is dedicated to the generic settings which can be used as default values when producing Twitter Enjoying playing cards for all posts/internet web page moreover the home internet web page.
- Disable Twitter Enjoying playing cards Globally: That’s the grasp change controlling card creation on all posts and pages. Merely take a look at this choice to stop the cardboard meta information being generated.
- Twitter Account Associated to Weblog: There are 2 twitter usernames usually attributed to a card. One is the account of the web page itself (this choice) and the alternative is the username of the author. Creator usernames could also be specified on explicit individual posts, nevertheless the web page username can solely be set proper right here.
- Default Creator Twitter Username: That’s the default price which shall be used for the author account IF this hasn’t been specified on the put up decisions.
- Default Twitter Card Description: This does exactly what’s says. That’s used as a card’s description if, and supplied that, the put up/internet web page has no content material materials and likewise you haven’t specified a custom-made description inside the TCWP metabox.
- Default Card Kind: Chances are you’ll choose each from Summary, Summary with Big Image or {Photograph} taking part in playing cards as a result of the default (the one used when you haven’t specified a form on the put up itself). There are solely Three decisions proper right here as they’re the one ones which can be robotically generated with out shopper enter.
Home
Chances are you’ll create your entrance/residence internet web page Twitter Card from this menu. For the doorway internet web page these settings will override any specified inside the TCWP metabox.
- Enable Generic Twitter Card?: This characteristic merely turns the home internet web page card on and off. This must be on (checked) by default.
- Card Kind: Choose any card variety to your residence internet web page. Uncover that as you modify this well worth the settings lower down the net web page will change (appear/disappear) to match the alternatives required to your card variety. Clever, huh?
- Generic Card Creator: The account to be accredited as a result of the author. Bear in mind that the positioning’s account will nonetheless be taken from the selection on the Regular tab.
- Generic Card Description: Pretty straightforward – observe that some taking part in playing cards will not be going to make use of this price.
- Default Card Image: Chances are you’ll add an image immediately from the alternatives panel proper right here. This shall be used because the cardboard’s image (aside from the gallery and app taking part in playing cards).
- Completely different Decisions: There are 23 totally different card-specific decisions you presumably can configure. For further data on these you presumably can attempt TCWP’s documentation.
Activate
Activate TCWP collectively along with your Envato Purchase Code.
- Envato Purchase Code: As soon as you purchase TCWP from CodeCanyon you may be given a purchase order order code. By activating your copy of TCWP you permit computerized updates for it in your weblog! (skip once more to ‘Computerized Updates’)
