Written by Stephen Nord for DotComSecrets.com
In my article this month you will learn a few different quick and easy ways to customize the look and feel (brand image) of your WordPress blog. As always in web design, or design in general for that matter, there are a number of methods you can use to achieve the end result. Each method will introduce different levels of complexity. For the sake of this article I will focus primarily on the methods I feel will be the easiest for you to implement fast.
Here are the general options you have to choose from when it comes to themes:
- Download an official community contributed WordPress theme (free)
- Purchase a premium WordPress theme from a third party provider (usually under $100)
- Modify a third party or contributed WordPress theme (more expensive)
- Create a new custom theme on your own or outsource it (most expensive)
- Community Contributed WordPress Themes
If you are on a tight turnaround or have a limited budget, using a community contributed theme from the wordpress download directory may be the best option for you. At the time of writing this article there are currently some 646 different themes to choose from. Best of all, they’re all free! The cool thing about prebuilt themes is that they can be installed on your blog within a few short minutes. A few clicks and you’re off to the races!
To start with you can search through the themes directory at (http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/) and find one you like best. Try to find the closest match to how you want your site to look. Be forewarned… browsing through the themes directory can get quite addicting and time consuming, so be careful. If you are in a hurry, you should try to limit the time you spend searching for a theme. What I do when in a hurry (if I don’t have the time to create my own but need a site up fast) is tell myself, “I am going to choose the best template I can find in the next 10 minutes” and whatever I end up with is what I roll with. You can always download and install another theme later when you have more time on your hands. If you don’t find a theme you think will work for you here you can try searching the web for a premium WordPress theme from a third party provider.
Purchasing a Premium Theme From a Third Party Provider
Premium themes often offer more bells and whistles with higher quality graphics than do most of the themes you will find on the actual WordPress site. Although some providers offer totally free themes too, usually you will find you have to purchase the theme you want for a small fee. You should be able to find a good theme to work with for around $45 to $75 and rarely over $100. Purchasing a good premium theme, even for $100, can be well worth it if you calculate the cost of hiring someone to create the same theme from scratch. If you want to check out some premium themes just run a search on Google for a key phrase such as “WordPress Themes” or “Premium WordPress Themes.” That should get you more than enough search engine results to help you find that perfect theme.
A site I like a lot that sells some really awesome themes is Template Monster. Their themes offer some of the best looking graphics templates on the web and are highly affordable, banking in at around $45 to $60 bucks. After you find a template you like you can install it following the theme installation instructions found in the WordPress documentation handbook. It should plugin right into your site with ease.
> Click Here to Read Part 2 of This Article
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