The Unplugged child theme is sleek, dark and very lightweight and works off the Buddypress Default theme. It was designed with Buddypress 1.2 in mind and is LIVE on http://freelancerunplugged.com.

Instructions:

1. Upload the Unplugged child theme to your wp-content/themes
2. Go to SiteAdmin->Themes and Enable this theme
3. Go to Themes->appearance and Activate this theme.

Changing Header and Info Banner:

If you want to change the Header image from the default one, open header2.psd (included in theme download) and modify as needed. Save as png/jpg and in your dashboard area on WPMU go to Appearance > Custom Header > HIDE text > Save Changes > Upload your new header image and click UPLOAD.

To change the Info Banner find the png in the images folder in the Unplugged theme and change it to whatever. I have also included the PSD in the download so you can modify it from there. You can also add anything you want (e.g. a bigger picture or banner ads) but just remember to change the ‘width and height’ in the default.css.

As this is my first theme, if you find any bugs or odd colours just contact me or drop a comment on this post.

Screenshots:

Logged in home page

Replying to a forum post

Public profile page

Download

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Version 1.0.0

Last Updated: 7/2/2010

**Added Background Colour for Reply and List sections**

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Donate

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This theme is free, however you can support my work by donating:

Thanks for your support!

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*** For more support with child themes go to http://buddypress.org ***

So, you have wandered down the path of free blogging services and are now ready to take it to the next level. Your very own website. The great news is that there are many options to getting your own website up and running. The simplest is to save your time and pay someone else to do all of it. The next best step is to do it all yourself and save yourself some money. Either way, you will be on the path to having your very own website up and running in no time! Below I will list the steps needed to have a great website with little cost, provided you are willing to do it all yourself. If it’s too much for you – contact me.

Step 1 – Getting Your Domain Name

Choose a unique domain name for your business. If you have a product, it should be productname.com. If you are a photographer, you can either have yourname.com or yournamephotography.com. Once you have chosen a cool name you need to see if it is available. I would head to here (in this example Hostmonster.com is our website hosting company). Once there, click on DOMAIN CHECK, type in your domain and see if it’s available by clicking NEXT. If not, go back and try other alternatives until you find one that is available (try to avoid dashes and hyphens in your domain name e.g. www.johns-photography.com – Keep it as simple as possible).

Next, fill in all your account details and passwords. Also, you will want the Domain Privacy (in this case it’s free!) and choose your website plan. What plan you choose will be billed upfront year by year. So if you choose 12 months @ $5.95 you will be charged $71.40 in total. This will also include the domain name and setup fee.

Step 2 – Installing Wordpress

After you have got into the back-end of Hostmonster.com (using your domain name and password) you should see a screen with lots of little icons. For now, we are going to jump straight into installing Wordpress which will be the basis on which our website is displayed.

Click on the Wordpress icon (it will redirect to Simple Scripts), then click on INSTALL, Choose a name for your blog, Username to log into Wordpress and Password to log into Wordpress. This username and password will be used often to add new posts, pages and change your website so remember it! Then click Automatically create a new database and click I have read the terms and conditions. Then COMPLETE.  You should receive log in details once it has installed Wordpress onto your domain – again, write these down for future use.

If installed correctly, you can access your website by going to yourdomainname.com and to access the log in area just add /wp-admin (which stands for Wordpress Admin) to the domain name. So it should read like this: www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin. Then you can use your Username for Wordpress and Password for Wordpress (see image above) to log in.

Step 3 – Creating Your Website

So, you have signed up a domain name and have installed Wordpress. If you wanted to, you could get started right away using the standard template that wordpress shoots out. But, we are going to download a free template and make our website look sexy. Keep in mind that Wordpress can be a basic blogging platform or a very detailed and fully functioning website due to the plugins and modifications available. So, for that reason I am not going to go into depth of how to modify templates and plugins etc instead just brush over them.

When you log into your admin area (in the above image I am logged in to mine) you will be confronted with lots of info. Do not worry, there are only a few things that you need to worry about at this stage. The RED arrow points to the shortcut menu, which is handy if you just want to create a post or upload an image really quick. The GREEN arrow points to the Sidebar, in particular the Posts section. This is where you can add and edit posts. There is also much more on the sidebar, but for now lets focus on the BLUE arrow. The Blue arrow points to Appearance, where you can change the look of your website. Click on Add New Themes and follow the prompts to install a theme of your choosing or upload one you have downloaded. As there are many paths you can take, and the prompts along the way are quite well done, I will leave you to figure out how to add themes.

Step 4 – Themes, Plugins and Modifications

There are many free Wordpress themes available on the Internet, and also paid ones. You shouldn’t have to pay for Wordpress themes unless there is an amazing one that isn’t replicated as a free theme (just like Pay TV).

Once you have the new theme installed, check your website in a new tab or window (much easier than reloading the admin area each time).

From this point on, you have a fully functioning website ready for posting, images and anything else you can throw at it. Due to the sheer amount of Wordpress themes, plugins and modifications available on the Internet today, you shouldn’t have a problem keeping busy when updating and changing your website!

A few things you might want to remember when setting up your website:

1. Keep the domain name as simple as possible (avoiding hyphens and dashes).
2. Take note of the username/passwords you use for your hosting account (I recommend Hostmonster.com) and also the username/passwords you use for Wordpress.
3. You don’t have to use Wordpress if you don’t want to. I just find it extremely useful, fun and simple to use for any type of website.
4. Get familiar with the words ‘post’, ‘page’, ‘tags’, ‘dashboard’, ‘columns’,  ‘hosting’ and ‘domain’ and learn what they all are.
5. Take notice of websites you like the design of and use those ideas as a design template for your website.
6. Favicons. Learn what they are and why you need one.
7. Use Google for any questions you have while designing your website. He is a helpful fellow.
8. If the above is too much work for you or too confusing, call a professional who can design a fully functional website for you.

Thanks for reading!

Comment for your chance to win a website design for only $150!

Finish this sentence “I need a website designed because…” – Be creative/honest or whatever you want. Competition ends Feb 14!

I had the opportunity to re-design the Lucid Dreaming Productions website today, moving toward a much more minimal, yet powerful design. I first designed their original website a little while ago and was glad to update it to more what the guys were looking for. Lucky for me, they let me design their first design when I was only really starting out my web design work so they helped me a lot.

This design was actually a lot of fun to create as I love bright colours – if you couldn’t tell. The reference design was a huge help in creating this modern and eye-popping theme. As this is an EDM (Electronic Dance Music) website, there needed to be places for the event flyers to really stand out. That’s why the design comes with the post image displayed in a large format in favour of the excerpt. I also focused on using the pink colour to the max, and offset this with the black and grey diagonal stripes backgrounds.

This website design is based on the Dodo Theme – www.wordpress.org/extend/themes/dodo

View the website – www.luciddreamingproductions.com

Colorburned’s creator Grant Friedman has been kind enough to post my article ‘Fuel Your Designs With Motivation’ on his highly successful website.

As a designer, there are a few things you need in order to keep creating fresh works of art. One of those things is (the often forgotten) ‘motivation’. Motivation is an important factor in your ability to convey new messages each and every time your pen hits the paper (so to speak). But how do we keep our motivation running at its highest level?

Continue Reading…

Jacob Black is a Journalist, Copywriter and Media Advisor specialising in Motorsport Coverage and Live Radio Broadcasting. He recently covered the International Dakar Rally for SBS and has Co-Authored 3 books so far. As such, his website had to be sleek, professional and utilise colours based around his favourite Australian car (pictured in the header).

Due to Jacob’s connection to the written word, his website needed to send this message, hence the calligraphy typeface for his name and signature in the bottom corner of the header image. To add a bit of a personal feel and connect his readers to his work, we decided to include professional photography in the header and the about section.

This website design is based on the Greenluck Theme – www.web2feel.com/greenluck

View the website – www.jacobblack.com.au

The internet is such a huge portal through which we all connect. Yet still, marketing yourself on the internet is probably the most confusing and challenging task to date. If you want to know how to market yourself through the internet, you need to understand the basics – and no, I’m not talking about ad sizes, google results and the like. I’m talking about looking at the way in which we all use the internet.

We focus on a very small bit of information in a really quick space of time. If we are looking for something, we will find it through asking a friend, searching for it with the search engines and so on until we find what we are searching for. If a page doesn’t have the information we require after a 3-5 second scan with our eyes, then we are out of there! (Skimming down to the titles yet?)

So What does this mean?

The basics are that if you are putting your energy into only ONE marketing channel (1 website only, or 1 Facebook page) you are going against the grain of how we all use the internet. You will end up using so much effort working in one area and in most cases you will not reap the benefits you deserve.

So how can you fix this?

Simple. Spread yourself out! Start by utilising every free marketing channel available on the internet to get your name out there. In the following paragraphs I will list some great services that you should get involved in and start making the internet work for you!

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Facebook

- Don’t have a Facebook account? – get one. Now! Facebook should be at the top of everyone’s free online marketing list without a doubt. This service allows you to connect with over 300 million users (not all at the same time!) in terms of friendships, photo connections, games, groups and fan pages. There are so many more opportunities available through Facebook and I can strongly attest to the power of the network.

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Facebook Fan Pages

- Since Facebook changed things around a while back, Fan Pages have stepped in front of Groups as the best add-on for businesses. You can create a fan page for just about anything, quickly share it with your friends and get your business seen! I have actually set mine up so that every time I post on my blogs it will automatically post to my fan pages, making sure that the page stays fresh, and everyone can get the updates they want from being a fan.

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Twitter

- Everyone is using Twitter. Which is WHY you should be using it too. Not just because it’s fashionable, but because there are so many people keen to read about others lives, and I bet yours is worth reading about! I have mine setup so that it automatically posts a copy to my Facebook account which saves my time and energy and allows me the time to focus on building my business in other areas. People nowadays are taking mental notes of businesses using Twitter and consider the ones who do to be modern and up with the game – A huge advantage in the business world. You can even look after multiple Twitter accounts using tools like Tweetdeck or my personal favourite, HootSuite (I am not affiliated with these websites).

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LinkedIn

- For some odd reason, I have not been using this up until last week. Why I waited so long is beyond me as it is a sensational service to have an ‘online interactive business card‘. One of the most exciting features I have found is the ability to post recommendations on other peoples work and receive them for your websites/businesses. I have even copied some of the testimonials to my website so everyone can see them (You have to be logged in to see full profiles at LinkedIn). If you do a lot of freelance work like me then you will find it useful to have an ‘online resume’ to connect with professional clients all over the world, rather than just a website.

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Freelancer Unplugged

- If you are a freelancer, connecting with other freelancers is very important. That’s why my colleague and I set up Freelancer Unplugged, where you can create your profile, blog and groups to connect with other people in your industry. So far we have been able to connect a multitude of people in different fields, sharing sound advice and moving them closer to their goals. And the best news? It’s all free. Another outlet to spread your name and business into.

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Blogs

- Now please don’t confuse blogs with freelance blogging in this list. When I mention blogs, I am referring to the free websites you can blog on like Wordpress.com and Blogger.com. If you don’t have the money to set up a website with hosting, these free options will be perfect to get your message out. Although professionally designed websites are the ideal setup for your business/brand, you may only need a simple blog to post up your latest photos, thoughts, videos and more. If your content is good enough and you stay active, the fans will come.

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Freelance Blogging

- One of the best ways to get your name out there for free (even in the ‘real world’) is to piggyback on someone elses success. On the internet, it’s no different. If you can write articles for your favourite websites (a lot of them offer the chance to write for them) about the chosen field of interest, you can leverage it to get a lot of attention based on their reach. Most of them will give you the option to include an author bio and links back to your work – which is better than article payments in my honest opinion. And if you think for one second “Why would anyone want to read my thoughts and viewpoints”, then please reassess your decision to start a business! You have a voice – share it!

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Giving

- Over the years of designing I have done quite a few things for FREE upfront; in return for a recommendation, link-back or more contacts. By giving your services/products away to people (at your own choosing) you will get that good tingly feeling by helping someone get further without spending money. It is with giving that you will have strong human returns which, with the strength of social media, will keep your name in comments, status updates and blog posts worldwide, obviously pushing your work further. I have even gone so far as to design a new logo for a band I liked, sent it to them and they ended up using it! I didn’t receive/want payment for it as sometimes word-of-mouth is more important and will keep longevity in your business.

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Main Website

I have left this one until last, but I feel it is the most important. However, to have a personal/main website (other than a blog) with a custom design, domain name, email addresses and hosting you will either need to learn how to create a custom website yourself or contact someone like me to design one for you. Websites usually cost anywhere from $400-$5000 and it can be extremely confusing for anyone – even at its simplest levels – so leave it to the professionals! A personal website should be the first thing people see when typing your business name in a search engine like Google.com. Why? Your business website is the face of your brand on the internet, and it would really be a shame if someone searched for your business and the first results were something totally unrelated (Diesel Laws anyone?). One of the ways around this is to connect a blog directly to your website, giving you the look and the voice that you have total control over. If needed, I can offer fully functional websites for less than $999.

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In summary, the internet is a big place.

There are a thousand more ways to market yourself throughout the internet for free, including specific services for your chosen fields (art, music, design etc)  – so never stop searching. If you really want to succeed, you should have every item on the above list ticked off and more. You should also focus on constantly being active and engaging with new internet friends everyday – you never know what connections you will make! There are really no limits to how many websites you can join, how many profiles you can own and how many blogs you can write. And if you are worried that you won’t be able to keep up with the workload coming in from your new marketing strategies; keep in mind – that’s the best thing that can happen.

Yours in abundance,

Diesel Laws

P.s. If you know one friend who could benefit from this information don’t hold back – share it with them!

My Absolute Success PTY. LTD. is a company dedicated to empowering and motivating people through training and mentoring sessions, books and inspirational posts. Using the already made logo and title, I created a professional and sleek interface. Utilising red, black and white (power colours), the website displays confidence and success, while at the same time inviting the viewer to read more.

This website also uses the Wordpress Platform, making it extremely easy to add new posts, pages and sidebar add-ons.

The design is based on the Glossgamble Theme – www.web2feel.com/glossgamble

View the website – www.myabsolutesuccess.com

Hellectric Music is an urban club party and record label, specialising in featuring dance music, artists and party videos. With that in mind, this website design needed an ‘edge’. Keeping with an ‘electric vibe’ I created the logo with the electric blue colours and included a flame, referencing the word ‘hell’ and verocity in the name.

This website relied on a few more images than normal (e.g. custom background and headers) to present the youthful and futuristic feeling that Hellectric is becoming known for. Included in this design are custom image thumbnails for child pages, custom banners and headers, unique titles, audio-player add-in and easy to edit pages and posts (based on the Wordpress Platform).

This website is based on the Tribal Theme – gorillathemes.com/latest-themes/tribal

View the website – www.hellectricmusic.com

Flic Manning is an Author, Motivational Speaker and Freelance Writer among other things. She is also the co-author of Guts On The Outside, due for release late 2010. Based on her mix of services, I worked with a design which showcased her personally, focusing on custom headers and full body photos for display.

The result was a unique blend between fresh and creative – the ideal target for Flic Manning’s market. This website is a ’static design’, which means that any new information will have to be added to the sized boxes with no room for overflow. While I would not normally use a ’static design’ template, it worked perfectly for this website.

This website design is based on the WP-Coda Theme – wordpress.bustatheme.com/coda

View the website – www.flicmanning.com

Warren Henningsen is an international bestseller, and as such, his website needed to reflect this. Using the colours chosen from his business card I created this clean, professional layout with heavy focus on the author himself.

This website comes equipped with adjustable sidebars, editable pages and simple posting thanks to the Wordpress Platform. While the layout is quite simple and clean, it is effective in sharing the message of the professional, international bestseller and his curent book “If I Can, You Can” available for purchase.

This website design is based on the Greenluck Theme – www.web2feel.com/greenluck

View the website – www.warrenhenningsen.com