WordPress Themes

Boxes Galore

Brian Gardner — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 03:03:15 +0000

Bento boxes are (still) all the rage these days, and even web site design has not escaped the concept. Last month, Sophia Lucero featured some really cool “Bento Box” designs at Devlounge. Take a look at these amazing web sites at Friday Focus 07/23/10: Bento Boxes. Indeed, maybe it’s time to think inside the box!

Back to the Basics: One-Column WordPress Themes

Brian Gardner — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 02:56:54 +0000

There are times when simple really is the best. In the case of blogs, using a one-column theme can do wonders. Check out 16 Excellent One Column Wordpress Themes. As Hyde says:

Tumblr and Posterous aren’t popular only because they are easy to get a weblog up and running. They are popular with lots of users because the of the no nonsense layout. No distractions, no overload of content or other items you are tempted to add. A lot of people claim that a simple weblog platform and layout helps them focus on publishing better content.

For us who still like having control on our websites and weblogs and use Wordpress I scoured the web for a one column Wordpress theme, which does one thing: focus on the content. And not to mention that most one column themes are minimal too, the themes to my heart.

You’ll love this selection!

Tools that Can Make Your Blogging Experience Better

Brian Gardner — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 02:53:12 +0000

Tools are meant for a purpose, and when it comes to blogging, one can never have too many tools, can you? Check out Five Tools for Better Blogging over at Devlounge. The list is not that new, but I think that these tools are still applicable today:

TextExpander (Mac OS X)
Google Docs
Twitter
Nisus Thesaurus (Mac OS X)
MyMind (Mac OS X)

What’s on your list?

iPad Apps for Web Designers

Brian Gardner — Tue, 04 May 2010 02:46:08 +0000

Apple has done it again with the iPad, and it’s not only the average user that can make something out of this tiny little gadget. Lorraine at Devlounge featured 5 iPad Apps for Web Designers that you might find useful.

Quick rundown:

Sketchbook Pro
OmniGraffle for iPad
PCalc Lite Calculator
Voice Memos for iPad
FTP On the Go Pro

WordPress Database Backup

Nathan Rice — Fri, 23 Apr 2010 01:33:07 +0000

Something I’m horribly neglectful of … backing up my WordPress Database. It’s probably one of the simplest things in the world to do, yet all too often it goes undone because evidently I have way too much faith in my web host

But I definitely should be doing it weekly, if not more, and it’s always nice to get a little reminder from one of the feeds I keep track of.

Thanks MinTheGap for reminding us!

If you would like a good explanation on how to back up your WordPress databackup, head over to the site and check it out. He has download links, a small explanation of the plugin, and a couple other tips.

HT: MinTheGap.com

WordPress Deprecated Tags

Nathan Rice — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:51:27 +0000

When building a WordPress theme, one thing that you might immediately get called out for (by other designers mostly) is the use of deprecated template tags.

Essentially, WordPress occasionally deprecates certain tags and replaces them with better, many times more descriptive, template tags. These updates usually come alongside a major upgrades in the WordPress code itself (like when WP went to version 2.0, 2.1, etc.).

When WP deprecates tags, it is considered best practice to “upgrade” your themes (custom and free) to replace the old tags with the new ones. For instance, the wp_list_cats template tag has been depreciated and replaced with the wp_list_categories tag. Notice the red text at the top of the each one of these pages that I just linked to. On the wp_list_cats page, you’ll notice that there is a clear iteration that the tag has been deprecated. The good thing is, they tell you which tag to use instead, which will save you a lot headaches when looking for the newest tag.

But when upgrading to the newer tags, you may also notice that some of them are not compatible with older versions of WordPress. This means that if you’re using the older versions of WordPress, these tags are going to spit back a nice little error message.

So when building WordPress themes, make sure you check the tags you use to see if they have been depreciated or not. If they have, go ahead and switch them over. But even if you forget to do this, most (if not all) of the deprecated tags will still work in the newer versions of WordPress, so don’t worry about it too much.

Being Unique in the Blogosphere

Nathan Rice — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 23:42:58 +0000

According to Technorati, 175,000 new blogs pop up every day. That’s around 121 new blogs every single minute! With that many new blogs every day, and with the tons and tons of already established blogs, it can be hard for a new blogger to get any traction in the blogosphere.

Unfortunately, there is no sure-fire way to make your blog popular, and certainly content is still king, but finding a good theme (assuming you’re using a blogging platform such as WordPress) is one of the most important steps in the process of building and growing your blog’s audience.

1. Unique themes remove prejudice from big name bloggers

Most of the big whig bloggers out there are familiar with the likes of Chris Pearson and his Cutline theme, and although it is a solid theme, if a big name blogger in your niche comes across your blog using the default Cutline, there’s a possibility he may initially think of your blog as cheap, or worse, he may think of you as lazy. Big whigs are the ones you WANT to look at your blog. You WANT them to link to you, but if you don’t do something to immediately grab his or her attention (like having a unique theme), you may not win them over.

2. Unique themes help with branding

I remember a few years back, Dodge Ram Trucks had a very distinct body style. People liked that, and before long, other truck companies (Ford, Chevy, etc.) started copying that body style. When this happened, it cheapened the look of the Dodge. When you take a popular theme and slap it up on your blog, there’s a good chance your blog (with the exception of the title and tagline and maybe some widgets) will look exactly like hundreds or even thousands of other blogs out there. By association, this cheapens your blog, and thus puts you at a disadvantage when trying to make a name for yourself in the blogosphere.

3. Unique voices rarely have a generic look

Like it or not, we are judged by how we look. Lincoln’s top-hat, Einsteins crazy hair, there are countless examples of influential people, unique not only in they way they thought, but in how they looked. Unfair as it may be, you will be remembered not only for what you say, but for how you look when saying it.

4. Unique doesn’t mean perfect

Even though the Cutline theme is probably one of the best themes available, that doesn’t mean that it’s the best choice for you. It actually may be better to have a theme that is less pretty, or less flexible, for the sake of being unique.

5. Unique blogs take a lot of work

…and I don’t just mean the content. It may mean hiring a designer to make a generic theme look unique. It may mean popping the hood of your theme and getting your hands dirty. But the payoff will be worth it.

If you don’t have a unique theme, there’s a good chance you’re not going to make it in the blogosphere. Do whatever you have to do to make sure your blog screams “you”. There’s no easier or more effective way to do this by having a brandable, unique theme.

Why It Pays to Offer Free WordPress Themes

Nathan Rice — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 21:31:10 +0000

I was chatting with a client yesterday, and he asked how old I was. I told him, and I was quickly greeted with a bit of shock, along with a flattering compliment. You see, on the web, it really doesn’t matter how young you are … what matters is how talented you are. But there are loads of talented individuals with only moderate success online because of what I would consider remediable problems.

Talent is useless if it’s not on display. That’s why web2.0 is so cool. You see, freelance designers, photographers, writers, etc. have a tremendous asset at their disposal, yet many are ignorant of this potential.

It may seem a bit contradictory for me to say that it pays to be free, but it’s not … it’s a process … a process that may require a bit of patience.

Because I don’t have any professional experience in the Web Development field, it would be extremely difficult for me to walk up to a design firm and ask them for a job … they’d probably laugh at me. Why? I have no experience, no portfolio, and no degree in web development.

But … I know my stuff. I know how to code a layout from scratch. I know how to use Photoshop. I can make WordPress do just about anything you can imagine. But without anything to prove it, it’s nothing but big talk.

That’s why it pays to be free. No matter what service you provide, in this new medium of web2.0, you can showcase your skills, build a portfolio, attract clients, and get free advertisement. Let’s go through this…

1) Showcase your skills

In my case, I did so by releasing free WordPress Themes. The two other contributers to this site did the same thing. In your case, it may require releasing free CSS templates, or free stock photography, or letters to the editor, or a free business analysis. It all depends on your talent level and area of expertise.

2) Build a portfolio

With a small arsenal of work to show to potential clients, you can now prove that you’re not a fly-by-night freelancer with a computer and some free time. No, you’re a professional who is in high demand! It may take a while before you can start being picky with new clients, but at least you’re making some money now. And every new job you take is another feather in your portfolio hat.

3) Attract clients

I’m not sure how this works in other fields, but in my case (and the other 2 writers), starting a website where you release your work is a great way to build a client base. Start going after keywords like “custom wordpress themes” or maybe “custom photography” or what have you. The key is to get them to your website.

4) Free advertisement

Let me try to explain how this internet-age business model works. A service is in demand. Someone decides to make a place where that service is offered for free, hoping to make their money through advertisements on their site. Their site gets popular. More and more stuff is offered for free at this site. Traffic is HUGE. So, you decide to submit your free services to that site too. This costs you a little time, but you expose yourself to a large new client base. People use your free service. You become popular. Unfortunately, since your service is free, everyone has it. Someone decides they want the quality you offer, but they want to be unique as well. They contact you, offer you money to provide a custom service for them.

And let me tell you … it works!

Before you know it, all that time you put in to doing stuff for free is now paying off!

Never underestimate the power of free stuff. It may be new in the way it’s done, but offering free stuff to gain business has been done for centuries. If you can learn how to harness the power of being free, you can find yourself being very busy, and very wealthy before you know it.

More hacks for your WordPress theme comments section

Sophia Lucero — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 08:31:53 +0000

The comments section is probably one of the top overlooked portions in a WordPress theme, and is a great indicator of how much effort a designer actually puts into his/her themes. Thankfully, Daniel Adams of instantShift has compiled 30 of the “most wanted” hacks for making the comments more easy to use. Here’s one of the more well-known tips:

23. Separate WordPress Comments and Trackbacks

Trackbacks are the messages displayed in the comments list whenever another blog links back to one of your posts. If you use trackbacks on your blog, it is best if they are not mixed with the comments. The comments are a conversation between real people. Having machine-generated links in the middle of that will only serve to disrupt the conversations.

Try porting existing HTML templates to WordPress themes

Sophia Lucero — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 08:46:35 +0000

Whether you’re currently in creative drought or you just want to spend less time coming up with a new WordPress theme, perhaps you could try porting existing free web templates to WordPress themes.

Hongkiat has listed 38 beautiful HTML templates you can use as base for your next WordPress theme.

Some things to remember though:

Check with the designer/owner first if you can use their templates and if the license you’re applying to the WP theme is compatible with theirs.
Credit them, of course.
Don’t hesitate to put your name on the theme, either!