how to choose a wordpress theme
DESCRIPTION
A beginners guide to choosing a WordPress theme. Learn about factors that matter in choosing a theme. Get recommendations for different themes for different purposes taking into account your skills and background.TRANSCRIPT
WORDPRESSTHEMESHOW DO I CHOOSE?
Judi KnightNew Tricks
THEMES
EASY? KIND OF. . .
DEFINITIONWordPress Theme: A collection of structure and design files needed, in addition to the core WordPress files, to make a WordPress website work.
STRUCTUREThemes have files to display:• Headers / Navigation Menus• Page Templates• Blog Templates • Sidebars• Footers• And others. . .
OUT OF THE BOXWordPress comes with default themes:
Twenty-ThirteenTwenty-Fourteen
THERE ARE
Thousands of Free WordPress Themes
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes
THERE ARE
Hundreds of Premium
WordPress Themes
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/commercial
OMG!
How Do I Choose?
OPEN SOURCE
WordPress is: Open Source
• WordPress, WordPress themes and WordPress plugins all have a General Public License.
• No one can actually own them. Anything made from the code inherits the license.
FREE OR PREMIUM
Free is free and there are some good free theme from reputable theme developers that have been around for a while.
But if you have the money, a premium theme from a reputable theme developer may be more reliable over time
FREE THEMES
2. Look for Free Themes in the WordPress Repositoryhttp://wordpress.org/extend/themes/
FREE THEME
You can choose a free theme from within your WordPress Dashboard.Go to “Appearance” then select “Theme” then “Add New”.
PREMIUM THEME
Premium Themes are best!
Find one with active support & community.
Answer questions, Updates the theme, Fixes bugs, Keeps it viable over time.
PREMIUM THEME
To find a reputable Premium Theme Vender:http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/
CUSTOM THEMES?
Usually not as good as a site customized from a really good Premium theme framework, unless you have very specific needs for your site’s functionality and resources to pay the developer to code upgrades.
CHOOSE A THEME?
Favorite Premium Companies:
-Studio Press Genesis Themes
-Woo Themes & Woo Commerce
-Organic Themes
CHOOSE A THEME? Premium Theme with Lots of OptionsCanvas by Woo ThemesHas two templates:• Magazine style template • Business style with full sliderHas Easy User defined options
THEME STYLESChoose the layout that you need.
• Blog Style • Magazine Style• Business w/ Static Home• Portfolio• One Page Scrolling• Etc. . .
BLOG STYLE
Focus Pro Theme by StudioPress.Blog entries on home page.
New Tricks uses this blog style theme with a customizedsticky post as first blog entry.
MAGAZINE STYLEMagazine Pro Theme by StudioPress
Home page features content from differentpost categories.
BUSINESS STYLEExecutive Pro Theme by StudioPress
Home page features Slider hero area and three service areas.
PORTFOLIO STYLEPortfolio Pro Theme by StudioPress
Home page features portfolio images.
ONE PAGE SCROLLBe careful with this style these since search engines see it as one page.
Your about section, services, portfolio and such do not come up as separate Google search terms since they are sections on one page.
THEME STYLES
Choose a theme with similar styling as what you want.
• Corporate look with hero image
• Artsy look and special fonts
• Sidebar elements with backgrounds or headings a certain way
• Posts displaying a certain way
• Minimalist, clean with great typography
CUSTOMIZING IS HARD
Caveat:
If you are not technical customizing a theme is tricky.
USE CHILD THEME Whether free or premium theme,
if you are customizing, use a child theme or have a custom CSS file for your customizations.
This keeps your changes from being overwritten when your theme gets upgraded.
USER-DEFINED OPTIONS
Beginners:Built-in User Defined Options,LikeThisare helpful.
Otherwise, to change design you must know css code.
CUSTOMIZED THEME
Like this.
CUSTOMIZED THEMEWoo Canvas: Plain Theme with User Options.
Canvas out of the box Customized Canvas
StudioPress’s Going GreenTheme, out of the Box
Going Green customizedhttp://cabbagetownchronicles.com
CUSTOMIZED THEME
Elegant Grunge Blog Style - free theme
Customized http://baybottomnews.com
CUSTOMIZED THEMES
CUSTOMIZED THEME
Big Feature Theme demo http://urbaneats.net
CUSTOMIZED THEME
Photocrati Theme
Photocrati Customizedhttp://alicefranklinstudion.com
NEED HELP?
WordPress Web Design, Branding and MarketingContact: Judi Knighthttp://newtricks.com
“It’s never too late!”