First of all, the fix isn’t about installing a plugin. At least I didn’t find a plugin that handled this without radically changing the nature of the Gallery. The solution is a tiny bit of code I found out about at WordPress support. (I was surprised that the forums were not very good at answering this question.)

Here is what you need to do:

With the Gallery already added to your post, go into your Post Editor. You want to edit the post containing the Gallery.

Click the tab to view the post in HTML.

Scroll to the area where you see the code for the gallery. If you’re not used to reading HTML, get over it. It’s not real code. Think of HTML as a dumb word processor. It’s so dumb you have to code how to <bold>bold</bold> a word. Now scroll down the HTML and find the tag:

This is where you’re going to add a your exclude code. (cough) I mean HTML tag.

Now, before you can do this, you need to know what the ID# is for the image you want to exclude. To find this out, just Preview your article. Then click on the image in the Gallery that you want to exclude. Look up in your browser’s URL location bar you’ll see the URL for that image. The end of the URL shows the ID#. Copy that number.

Return to your Editor and HTML.

The syntax for excluding an image from your Gallery is:

*If you want to exclude more than one number use commas to separate like this (shown with sample numbers):

Here is what the finished code for excluding one image from the Gallery looks like :

In the above case the image with the ID# of 1134 was excluded from the Gallery on my article about making paper boats. That was the image I only wanted to use as the Featured Image. Notice that image is NOT in the Gallery.

First of all, you are NOT going to start from scratch. 99% of the time starting from scratch is stupid (cough…cough…) I mean unnecessary. You’re going to start with WordPress.

Secret #1: Build on WordPress

Yes, WordPress is a blog tool. Yes, some developers will tell you “This is a cut-rate approach to building a website.” Yes, anyone that tells you that is just trying to steal your money (or sleep with your sister.) So tell them to stick it. Embrace WordPress as your foundation for your website. It’s wonderful…and it’s free…after all code IS poetry.

Now that you’ve got the foundation for your website organized you’ll need hosting. Actually, you’ll need hosting first, but if I started this article with something as mundane as “hosting” you’d probably have stopped reading already.

Are you still there?

Yes?

Cool. Ok. So Hosting…

Secret #2: Get inexpensive, reliable hosting

Now, I see the ads for 1&1 and they say they are the #1 hosting provider. I don’t know that for sure. But for me, 1&1 has been great. They have a beginner package that starts at a whopping $3.99 per month and you get all you need with it. What’s important about your hosting (because this is required by WordPress) is that it includes a SQL database. When you install WordPress, you will already need to have set up your SQL database. I know, that sounds way technical. Like shut up already Nerd Boy. But, at 1&1, it’s super easy with just a few clicks of a button. Every hosting company is going to have their quirks. I’ve been with 1&1 for years and they have always treated me right. On the web they are 1and1.com.  Aside from the web hosting you get a bucket full of email addresses, which is very handy.

Secret #3: Buy a WordPress theme

Now, this is the part that makes web designers (those who make a living selling you expensive websites) crazy. Once you have your hosting and WordPress, then all you need to do is BUY a THEME. That’s right. You can window shop for your website look and feel. Hell, some themes are even FREE. Trying on different looks is about as hard as switching socks. The best place to get themes is here. Make sure if you are buying a theme, that you get one for WordPress. You can search the net for “premium” themes. Another place to get good themes is here.

Now that you have your hosting, wordpress and your theme you are ready to go. WAIT just a cotton-pickin’ minute. We left something out.

Secret #4: Register a domain

Was this really a secret? What about your domain? What address are people going to use to access this site? Well that’s up to you–and your domain registrar. Now…even though I failed their “intelligence test” and couldn’t get hired at Godaddy because (apparently) I’m too stupid, I still use Godaddy for all of my domain registration needs. So just go to Godaddy and run your searches. Don’t be too disappointed if most of the domains you think of are gone already, that’s just the way it goes.

So let’s recap. Here is what you need in order to create an excellent website:

Mix, shake and stir. Voila! Website!

Total estimate cost………………………………$54.98 + labor

Piece of cake right? Sure it is. Just like Godaddy’s IQ test. (no…I’m not still bitter about that…no not at all.)

Hitting any wordpress site from your iphone (or other touch-enabled) device can be a bit of a bummer for your readers. Without a doubt it’s better than the dark ages of Blackberry and Windows Mobile.

Today we take enlightened browsing from our mobile devices for granted, but that’s not to say there isn’t room improvement. Access your blog from iTouch or iPhone (or one of those other Apple knockoffs) and you’ll see what I mean…

Even when you enlarge the screen, the user interface presupposes you have the benefit of a full monitor and a mouse.

That’s why when I stumbled across WpTouch, a free WordPress plugin from Bravenewcode I had to do a little happy dance.

By adding WpTouch to your blog you instantly optimize it for mobile viewing. In fact the formatting is so nice that it almost makes your regular, un-mobilized blog seem so…passé.

Easier to show you this little gem rather than blather on about it. Below are my before and after photos.

Wordpress on iPhone before WpTouch

Wordpress on iPhone after WpTouch is installed