Slicehost is aimed at providing VPS servers to web developers. Have you ever been setting up a website when all of sudden you get a error, only to find out that a specific apache module is needed? Or maybe you need a wildcard DNS entry for something like, say, WordPress Mu.

VPS stands for Virtual Private Server and it’s aimed at people that need a little more flexibility than your standard web host, without coughing up huge dollars for a dedicated server.

So what’s the big deal? Why am I so hot on Slice Host? I mean, there’s other VPS services out there, and Slice Host themselves claim that their NOT the cheapest. (They’re pretty reasonable in my opinion.) Well, at the moment I’m working through some of their free server configuration tutorials like how to secure your linux server and how to configure Apache. These are great tutorials that even beginners could follow pretty easily.

Thanks Slice Host. People like me appreciate that you’ve gone the extra mile and provided these great free resources!

So the 3 column Minima clone for Blogger was a huge hit and I still have comments pouring in on the demo site. One of the things people keep asking for is a 3 Column Minima template for WordPress. Indeed, I’ve been using one that I built for a couple years now, but I have a more-than-full-time job as a designer and project manager for a design agency in Vancouver, and I’m a proud Dad to two young monkies — so free time is pretty tight.

However, drum-roll please, here it is! I am happy to announce that Minibox for WordPress - the free 3 column minima template for WordPress — is available for download.

Download link: Minibox for WordPress Blog Theme

Screenshot:

Here’s a quick and dirty tutorial for adding a Digg button to your Blogspot template.

Don’t forget to back up your template before making any changes!

First thing you need to do is check the box beside “Expand Widget Templates”.

My example shows how to add the Digg counter in the footer below the post. To see how this example looks in action have a look at Tattoo Pics.

Using the picture below as a guide, scroll down until you find the line:

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3' />

Note: Most often there is nothing inside this paragraph tag so it is closed with a slash at the end. Before adding the Digg code you need to open up the tag so it looks like this:

<p class='post-footer-line post-footer-line-3' >
</p>

Then add this code in between the tags so it looks like the example in the picture below.

<script type='text/javascript'>
digg_url='<data:post.url/>';
digg_title='<data:post.title/>';
digg_bgcolor = '#000000';
</script>
<script src='http://digg.com/tools/diggthis.js' type='text/javascript'/>

You don’t need to change any of the code to work with your specific blog. The code will grab your Post URL and your Post Title automatically.

For more info on customizing the look of your Digg button check out: http://digg.com/tools/integrate

If your having trouble leave a comment and I will do my best to respond quickly to help out as best I can.

The section was created using the Blogger layout editor. I generate my AdSense code from the AdSense website and then copy the javascript code into an HTML page element. You can see the HTML/Javascript Page Element in the picture below. It’s the one that stretches across all three columns right above the ‘Blog Posts’ Page Element.

It’s possible to create the Page Element, either in a sidebar or in the footer, and then drag it into position - but the Blogger interface can be stubborn - making it hard to get the element to span all three columns the way you want it to. There’s a trick to do it manually that isn’t very complicated.

First make the Page Element in a sidebar or in the footer. In this example I created the Page Element in the right sidebar. (The code snippets are from my Minibox blog template which is very close, but may look slightly different than the original Minima template. If you’re using an original Minima template and you can’t figure it out - leave me a comment.)

Now you need to Edit the HTML of the template. You don’t need to Expand Widget Templates.

Download a copy of your Full Template so you can restore your blog if anything goes wrong.

Scroll down until you find:

<!– start right-sidebar-wrapper –>

The number of <b:widget id=…./> tags that are in your template is probably different and their properties might be a little different. That’s okay. The widgets are in order and you should be able to figure out which widget corresponds to each of the sections in your right sidebar. If you didn’t move the Page Element that you created above - it will be at the top of the list. I’m going to pretend to use the widget with id=HTML1.

Select the entire line. I would select:

<b:widget id=’HTML1′ locked=’false’ title=” type=’HTML’/>

Use Ctrl-X (Win) Cmd-X (Mac) to Cut this line. You’re going to want to Paste it later.

Scroll up a bit to find:

<!– start crosscol-wrapper –>

If your crosscol section is empty it might look like this:

<!– start crosscol-wrapper –>
<div id=’crosscol-wrapper’ style=’crosscol’>
<b:section class=’crosscol’ id=’crosscol’ showaddelement=’no’ />
</div>
<!– end crosscol-wrapper –>

Change it to look like this:

<!– start crosscol-wrapper –>
<div id=’crosscol-wrapper’ style=’crosscol’>
<b:section class=’crosscol’ id=’crosscol’ showaddelement=’no’>
</b:section>
</div>
<!– end crosscol-wrapper –>

And then Paste the line of code that you cut in the middle. So my finished code looks like:

<!– start crosscol-wrapper –>
<div id=’crosscol-wrapper’ style=’crosscol’>
<b:section class=’crosscol’ id=’crosscol’ showaddelement=’no’>
<b:widget id=’HTML1′ locked=’false’ title=” type=’HTML’/>
</b:section>
</div>
<!– end crosscol-wrapper –>

If you already have widgets in your crosscol section and you want to add another one - just add the new widget above or below the existing widget tag - depending on the order you want your widgets to appear in.

Well, I think it’s clear to me, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be clear to you. If you’re totally confused than post a question.

One more note. After you get one cross-column widget in place, the blogger layout editor is much better at letting you add more of them. It’s getting the first one in place that can leave you hairless.

Blog Template Features:

• XML template for new blogger
• Change colors from within blogger
• Compatible with Blogger drag-and-drop layout editor
• Ad-free - No forced ads
• AdSense compatible - Put your ownAdSense ads on your blog
• Same variable and CSS section names as Minima so if you’re familiar with the Minima CSS and Blogger XML code it will be easy to read and modify the Minibox template code.

Installation Tips:

• Backup your current template. Blogger let’s you download your current template as a backup, or you can cut and paste the template into a text file.
• The method I’ve been using is to open the new template in a text editor and copy and paste it overtop of your existing blogger template code (Go to ‘Edit HTML’ in the ‘Layout’ tab of your Blogger customization/administration page). Do NOT expand widgets before pasting the new template code. My template file does not include the expanded widget code (no changes were necessary).
• Also, if you have already have custom widgets on your blog (maybe you created a link list, or added a picture in your sidebar), you need to take some extra steps to avoid wiping them out with the new template. I will post another article on how to do this if someone needs some help. In the meantime leave a comment if you have any questions or run into any installation problems and I will try to respond as quickly as possible.
• If you’re blog is relatively new or you don’t mind reconfiguring your widgets you can just upload the XML file (Go to ‘Edit HTML’ in the ‘Layout’ tab of your Blogger customization/administration page) after you download it from below.

DEMO LINK: Minibox 3 Column Demo

DOWNLOAD LINK: Minibox 3 Column Blogger Template v1.2 (Right-click and ‘Save As’)
If you don’t right-click and save as your browser will try to display the Blogger template and you will get an error.

DOWNLOAD VARIATIONS:
Minibox v1.2 (Left Justified)
Minibox v1.2 (Original Width Center Column)

SCREENSHOT: