Here’s a new JustHost coupon for you worth a whopping 50% off! Of course, there is a catch. It is only good for one signup per IP address and only on the day you first try it. You can’t start your signup, hem and haw, and then signup next week. Once you’ve entered the coupon code, you have that day only.

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There is a rare problem that shows up with some WordPress themes. Switch to them and, suddenly, every post shows up as just the first letter. And the fun part is that, with some of the themes, it only happens to some sites. Everyone else is fine, but you get single-letter posts.

ffdigital asked about it in a WordPress support forum a few months ago. Simba ran into it with the theme “Cellar Heat” and asked about it on the theme’s site. When Smashing Magazine released “Smashing Theme”, the problem came up. None of these discussions produced a solution.

The problem arises when a theme names a variable $pages. WordPress itself uses this same variable name in a global context, and it gets confused if the theme stomps the value. With some themes, only certain sites would stomp the variable, so only those would have problems. With “Cellar Heat”, for example, everything is fine if you only have posts, but no pages. Add a page and everything drops to one letter. Get rid of it and everything comes back. It’s a WordPress magic trick.

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BlueHost and HostMonster continue to be solid in the top three, with HostMonster actually grabbing number 1 this month. More impressive though is JustHost’s continued rise, now up to number 2. While JustHost may not be the ideal host for everyone, their price is a strong draw. DreamHost, last month’s top host, is back to number 4, while waning stalwart midPhase pushed back up to number 5.

What is more interesting, if somewhat inexplicable, if HostGator’s continued decline. An excellent host in its prime is tumbling without any clear cause. Price may be part of it, but DreamHost is the same price and is not suffering similarly. Ah, well, perhaps March will make this clearer.

Until then, be careful out there and happy hosting!

DreamHost bounced back to the top, but the siblings BlueHost and HostMonster held on nicely to numbers 2 and 3. JustHost has snuck ahead of HostGator again, suggesting that price is perhaps a more dominating factor in these trying economic times. In the lower half of the top ten, we have a bit more movement, with Yahoo tanking down to 10 and midPhase moving back to 6, but it remains to be seen if either is indicative of a longer trend.

I should acknowledge that this list is terribly late. The tardiness is somewhat due to the wretched weather here in Pittsburgh (and another 8 inches is due before tomorrow night), but also me allowing myself to take my eye off the ball. My apologies.

Happy Hosting, folks. Stay warm.