It is not easy to manage a multi-authored blog especially if it is read by a lot of people every day. The process of finding ideas that are relevant, the research, the writing and the feedback you get is a long path to take – and results may vary.

If you have ever had a blog or is running one now, it is possible that you have experienced hitting the wall. It’s the same invisible (but it will feel very real) wall that marathon runners ‘run into’ and have to surpass to continue running.

The alternative names we use internally are ‘burn outs’ and writer’s block and they are very dangerous to the blog owner. It could spell the end of your blog and your career as a professional blogger. The stakes are high and it is possible that you had experienced, is experiencing it, or will eventually experience it further down the road.

Recommended Reading: Popular (But Bad) Blogging Advice You Should Ignore

Why?

It is possible that you are bored with it all. Tasks have become regular, or even worse, mundane; writing pitches have become "what’s the point?" and you become saturated with ideas that you are unwilling to devote time to because your highly critical readers may not like it.

Hiding behind the term ‘writer’s block’ is just silly, but we all look for excuses to answer for our incompetence. However, if you let that take over, and you become paralyzed by it, then the end is near.

Here’s how to break out of that cell.

Celebrate the little victories

Over the course of expanding this site, we have come across many small victories. People write in to thank us for introducing their products, readers thank us for providing a good tutorial that fixes their problem, and designers (some, not all) in particular appreciate some of the traffic we direct to their portfolios.

Some of them do it via email, others on the comment section itself. If you have channels for readers to share their thoughts, these will naturally come in.

We don’t lie in wait for any of this, but we sure as hell appreciate them because it reminds us that what we do makes a change in someone’s life, big or small, significant or not. The feedback that we receive, we cherish, and it serves as a reminder as to why we love doing what we do.

If you experience the same form of positive feedback, hang on to it. Share it with the people you care about. Flaunt it. It goes a long way in establishing some sense in what and why you do what you do.

Handle Criticism Like A Pro

While we can jump with glee with postive feedback, it is the negative ones that we devote more time and attention to. Why? Because this step is necessary if you want to improve. If you want to get better, criticism is where you will find your Achilles’ heel – and guard it better than Achilles you should.

Note that not all comments need to be treated equally – some criticism are to be taken seriously, while others ignored. Understand that you cannot satisfy everyone and it is really pointless to even try.

Going with the general consensus is good enough and more importantly, don’t let the naysayers paralyze your ability to make a good decision. If you have readers that keep coming back, that’s proof that you are doing it right. Be careful that you don’t lose sight of the forest for the trees.

Read Also: How To Turn Criticism Into Inspiration

Remain Consistent

The secret to a winning blog or site is sustainability. To be able to sustain, a blog must have content that is consistent. For that, you need time, and an ‘anchor’. ‘Time’ here is self-explanatory. You are lying to yourself if you think you can reach the popularity of large sites in less than half the time they took to get there. Sometimes you just have to keep at it until you break out of your shell and you see light at the end of the tunnel.

As for the ship’s anchor, if you were the one who started the blog, that means you are the anchor. From the start, the very reason that someone is reading your blog is because they like what you wrote about. And that is the same reason they are coming back – for more of the same.

Read Also: Improving Blog Traffic: 5 Must-Have Qualities

As you expand your writing team, never lose sight of what your readers are looking for, no matter how many new categories you have introduced to your growing blog. While it is essential to test out new waters, in an effort to rake in new readers, don’t forsake the loyal ones, who made you who you are because they gave you a chance.

Push to improve, never compromise

That said, just because you started out operating in a bedroom or a garage, it doesn’t mean you stay there forever, physically and mentally. Once you have started making a name for yourself, a lot of other things come to play: PR, marketing, politics, requests and rebukes… the pressure to maintain your reputation and the quality of your blog will be immense.

You will need people to come in and help you with the peripheral duties while you try to stay true to your core content. The fact that they are running around to help you settle these problems allow you to do what you do best, without being too concerned by these side, but essential duties to keep the blog running.

Encourage your Team

Many collaborative efforts online these days are more of a symbiotic relationship rather than a hierarchy. People work with you, rather than for you, and it becomes less of a win-or-lose situation, more of a matchmaking session. If you click with someone who has the talents that you need, you go into a relationship called ‘a team’. These may be short term (but sometimes you get lucky).

And they will experience burn outs too, which is why it is terribly important for you to be there to pull them out of the rut by inspiring them when that happens. Communication plays a large role in convincing them that what they are doing is right particularly when they are at the verge of falling over the deep end.

Sometimes it is essential to also share with them the little victories mentioned above. It’s not only your victory, it is theirs too. And if you want run with the ball, you definitely want your team behind you, watching your back and supporting you all the way.

Conclusion

Lastly, here is one for the readers (whether you run your own blog or not). We value your feedback and in fact make a lot of our editorial decisions based on the way you handle our content, and the comments you leave us. Mind reading is still science fiction, last we checked, so if you see what you like, the way you react to it (by Sharing or Liking or leaving +1′s on it) is your say in dictating what comes to the sites you love in the near future.

In brief, the template tag is a simple way of querying information from the database and displaying it at the front side of your website. For example, we can display the name of the post author by using the_author(); and using the_title(); to display the post or page title.

WordPress template tags are quite extensive, allowing us to fully customize our website without needing third party plugins. In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to create a custom page that display a list of users using a set of these template tags.

In addition, we will also apply pagination to display those users in a number of pages. Such a page might be required for certain websites.

Recommended Reading: WordPress Conditional Tags (And Snippets) For Beginners

Creating Custom Page Template

First, create a new PHP file in your activated theme directory. In this example, I’m using a TwentyTwelve theme. Add the following comment tag to register it as a page template.

 <?php /* Template Name: User Page */ 

In the WordPress page editor, set it as the template for your author page.

Note that you shouldn’t name the file as author.php as it has been reserved by WordPress to display the author post archive.

The Query and Formula

Let’s set the formula. Open the new template we have just created in a code editor.

First, we need to specify the number of users we want to show per page. We set this number in a variable named $number. Anytime you want to change the amount of users displayed on the page, change the value in this variable.

 $number = 10; 

Add the following code snippet to pinpoint the current pagination number.

 $paged = (get_query_var('paged')) ? get_query_var('paged') : 1; 

Then, using the following code, we count the number of users that should be passed over in the pages (offset) – this will take effect at the second page onwards.

 $offset = ($paged - 1) * $number; 

We need to get the registered users in our website, and count the total number using the PHP count() function, as follows.

 $users = get_users(); $total_users = count($users); 

We also count the total number of queried user per our specifications, which include the number of users that will be displayed, and the offset number.

 $query = get_users('&offset='.$offset.'&number='.$number); 

Then, we count the total pages that should be created. We can count it based on the total registered users and the number of users displayed per page, as follows.

 $total_pages = intval($total_users / $number) + 1; 

Displaying the Users

As we have set the required formula, now we will display the results on the page.

In this example, we will display a few things from the user: the avatar, the full name, and the short biography (description). These information can be retrieved respectively using the following template tags: get_avatar, and get_the_author_meta

 echo '<ul id="users">'; foreach($query as $q) { ?> <li class="user clearfix"> <div class="user-avatar"> <?php echo get_avatar( $q->ID, 80 ); ?> </div> <div class="user-data"> <h4 class="user-name"> <a href="<?php echo get_author_posts_url($q->ID);?>"> <?php echo get_the_author_meta('display_name', $q->ID);?> </a> </h4> <?php if (get_the_author_meta('description', $q->ID) != '') : ?> <p><?php echo get_the_author_meta('description', $q->ID); ?></p> <?php endif; ?> </div> </li> <?php } echo '</ul>'; 

Creating Pagination

Certainly we don’t want to display hundreds of users in a single page. So, we are going to create the pagination link and split the results in multiple pages. In addition, we will only display the pagination if the total registered user number is greater than the users being displayed per page.

Fortunately, WordPress has a template tag that allows us to create pagination easily, called paginate_links().

 <?php if ($total_users > $total_query) { echo '<div id="pagination" class="clearfix">'; echo '<span class="pages">Pages:</span>'; $current_page = max(1, get_query_var('paged')); echo paginate_links(array( 'base' => get_pagenum_link(1) . '%_%', 'format' => 'page/%#%/', 'current' => $current_page, 'total' => $total_pages 'prev_next' => false, 'type' => 'list', )); echo '</div>'; } ?> 

All the Codes

For a shortcut, here are all the codes that you can copy and paste into your page template.

 <?php $number = 10; $paged = (get_query_var('paged')) ? get_query_var('paged') : 1; $offset = ($paged - 1) * $number; $users = get_users(); $query = get_users('&offset='.$offset.'&number='.$number); $total_users = count($users); $total_query = count($query); $total_pages = intval($total_users / $number) + 1; echo '<ul id="users">'; foreach($query as $q) { ?> <li class="user clearfix"> <div class="user-avatar"> <?php echo get_avatar( $q->ID, 80 ); ?> </div> <div class="user-data"> <h4 class="user-name"> <a href="<?php echo get_author_posts_url($q->ID);?>"> <?php echo get_the_author_meta('display_name', $q->ID);?> </a> </h4> <?php if (get_the_author_meta('description', $q->ID) != '') : ?> <p><?php echo get_the_author_meta('description', $q->ID); ?></p> <?php endif; ?> </div> </li> <?php } echo '</ul>'; ?> <?php if ($total_users > $total_query) { echo '<div id="pagination" class="clearfix">'; echo '<span class="pages">Pages:</span>'; $current_page = max(1, get_query_var('paged')); echo paginate_links(array( 'base' => get_pagenum_link(1) . '%_%', 'format' => 'page/%#%/', 'current' => $current_page, 'total' => $total_pages, 'prev_next' => false, 'type' => 'list', )); echo '</div>'; ?> 

With a few tweaks in CSS, you can make the page look much nicer.

Any questions? Let us know in the comment box below.

• Download Source

Resources

• WordPress Template Tags – WordPress Codex
• WordPress Page Template – WordPress Codex
• WordPress Codex: Paginate Links – WordPress Codex
• Function Reference: Get Users – WordPress Codex
• Display A List Of Authors On WordPress – Paulund.co.uk

We partner with theme developers to give away free themes once in a while. Sometimes it’s not a bad idea to buy premiums themes too, especially when they are high-quality and they are being offered at a price that is a steal. This is exactly what this deal is about.

Themify features quality WordPress themes and in this deal, you will be getting 2 developer WordPress themes. Choose from an array of WP themes from categories such as Responsive, Restaurant, Corporate, Multimedia, Magazine, Blog, Portfolio and E-commerce.

Have a look at what they have in store, or click here for more.

Flat

Fullscreen

Metro

Parallax

The themes can be set up with a drag-and-drop interface and are responsive, fit for use on desktop and mobile interfaces. Together with two WordPress themes (PSD included) of your choice, you will be getting support and updates for the themes for the next 1 year.

License codes are valid for use until Feb 2014 so you can actually purchase this deal now and decide where to use them later. Get this package deal at only $19 (original price: $59). Better act quick, as this deal is ending very soon.

• Get it now

Ever heard of the term Multiple Online Battle Arena a.k.a MOBA? It’s the game genre you are playing in League of Legends, Heroes of Newerth, Dota 2 and the likes. These games are similar to one another — gameplay is based on a team of 5 against a rival team of 5 and destroying the enemy’s base is the highlight of the game.

More importantly, the graphics and visuals players experience in these games are quite amazing, prompting the rise of fan art that could even rival the originals. All we can say is that these 55 epic re-creations are proof that there is a whole lot of talent brewing in MOBA players.

Recommended Reading: Online Games Wallpapers [Wallpaper Wednesday]

Know of more fan art that you want to share with us? Comment below.

League Of Legends (LoL)

Support Lulu? No! I’m Warlord Lulu!. (Image Source: Patibut Preeyawongsakul)

Lulu. (Image Source: Xguides)

Brand. (Image Source: Matthieu)

Riven In Noxus. (Image Source: BeanBean1988)

Ezreal. (Image Source: FAYSON1337)

Sion. (Image Source: Antonio De Luca)

Teemoo. (Image Source: Charles)

Zap Zap Volibear. (Image Source: Kelly Fong)

Candy Burglar Ziggs. (Image Source: Sebastian Rodriguez)

Runic Bulwark OP. (Image Source: Skrubhjert)

Caitlyn. (Image Source: Astrid Mähner & Timo Böhmler)

Blitzcrank. (Image Source: FAYSON1337)

Veigar. (Image Source: Matthieu)

Elise Vs Vladimir. (Image Source: Anna Verhoog)

Demacian Justice Garen. (Image Source: Billy Christian)

Demonblade Tryndamere. (Image Source: Shreya)

Serious Shaco. (Image Source: Patibut Preeyawongsakul)

Sion Splash. (Image Source: Patibut Preeyawongsakul)

Wukong Vs Amumu. (Image Source: Jason)

Twisted Fate Vs Graves. (Image Source: FAYSON1337)

Annie and Tibbers. (Image Source: Yum)

Defense of The Ancients 2 (DotA 2)

Tiny. (Image Source: Trung)

Leviathan The Tidehunter. (Image Source: Yap Wee Lim)

Mask Off. (Image Source: Trung)

Dragon Knight Vs Jakiro. (Image Source: Trung)

Lion’s Prey. (Image Source: Kael Ngu)

The Warlock. (Image Source: biggreenpepper)

Pudge Vs Meepo. (Image Source: Matt Lau)

Sentinel. (Image Source: Ken Wong)

Gyrocopter. (Image Source: Ayan Nag)

Phantom Assasin The Mortred. (Image Source: Ayan Nag)

Phantom Assasin. (Image Source: Lee)

Feed The Swarm. (Image Source: Digl Dixon)

Heroes of DotA 2. (Image Source: MT·orange)

Clinkz Bone. (Image Source: biggreenpepper)

Rikimaru SA. (Image Source: biggreenpepper)

Vengeful Spirit. (Image Source: Tia)

Lich. (Image Source: BigGreenPepper)

Dirge. (Image Source: BigGreenPepper)

Chaos Knight. (Image Source: BigGreenPepper)

Axe of Dota. (Image Source: MT·orange)

Windrunner. (Image Source: Digl Dixon)

Radian Vs Dire. (Image Source: Nahnahnivek)

Heroes of Newerth (HoN)

Electrician. (Image Source: Robert)

Gauntlet. (Image Source: Eren Arik)

Salomon. (Image Source: Izaskun)

Magebane Vs Devourer. (Image Source: David De Léon Luis DLL)

Tikbalang. (Image Source: Ilse “Lhune” Gort)

Dyad. (Image Source: Izaskun)

Scout Vs Sandwraith. (Image Source: Joseph Kingaby)

Heavy Gauntlet. (Image Source: S2Ari)

Electrician Shield. (Image Source: Joseph Kingaby)

Deadwood. (Image Source: Joseph Kingaby)

Huge Deadwood. (Image Source: Justin Rettberg)