Hi guys, and welcome back to the next part of the WordPress in Plain English series In my previous post Themes Part 1 I mentioned that we'd talk about the concept of theme frameworks, child themes and which themes I use for my own projects and on client's sites/blogs.
Before we start, I know this question will come up so before anyone asks me "what is the best WordPress theme"... there is no such thing as a "best theme". That is like asking what is the best house or car to buy? It depends on your needs, likes and budget.
If you ask 10 geeks or designers, you'll probably get 10 very different answers so feel free to use or ignore my recommendations. There are literally thousands of WordPress themes available and what looks easy or beautiful to one person might seem difficult and ugly to someone else.
Since so many of you have been asking me what I use, here is the short list...
Theme Hybrid by Justin Tadlock, one of the most respected and talented developers in the world of WordPress. Hybrid is so full of features and specialized plugins developed by Justin, this is my # 1 choice for any complex project I'm asked to work on. It probably has more built in features and options than any theme out there but it's a lot to handle so I wouldn't recommend it if you're totally new to to WordPress.
The Thematic theme framework by Ian Stewart is another favorite of mine (for many of the same reasons I use Hybrid) because of all the the extras built in. I've turned this theme into more designs and variations over the past few years than I can begin to list (you can see a few examples listed below).
And 3rd but super easy to work with is the new default WordPress theme Twenty Ten also by Ian Stewart and the team at WordPress. Ian's coding and design work is so impressive that he was hired by Automattic (the company behind WordPress) as their chief theme wrangler. That is why we're beginning to see so many cool features built right into in the default WP theme. I'll be writing a detailed post about Twenty Ten soon.
I use themes like Hybrid, Thematic and now Twenty Ten because they are like master themes (a framework) that you can use to build other themes (child themes) from.
As with most WordPress themes, you'll have to have a certain amount of ability with graphics and CSS to really customize them but... with new themes like Twenty Ten, a lot of the customization can now be done without knowing anything about CSS. I'll give you an example when I do the Twenty Ten tutorial.
If you've never seen or heard of theme frameworks, here is what one looks like right out of the box. Basically it's a master theme that can be used to build derivative or child themes.
Thematic by Ian Stewart
Take a look at the 3 themes below, believe it or not they were all created from Thematic(photo above).
Zebrowski Consulting
Lake Norman Real Estate
The advantage of using child themes instead of modifying or customizing the parent theme (i.e. Hybrid or Thematic) is that when the main theme is updated with new features, the child theme (i.e. Lake Norman Real Estate) retains the customization (new graphics, fonts, layout, etc...) and adopts all the new features of it's parent theme.
I don't plan on trying to teach CSS design techniques in a basic series of tutorials like this but it's an important concept for you to know about and should ask any designer you work with to be sure that your theme has this feature. Otherwise as Wordpress or your theme is upgraded with new features, you might have to re-do your theme's customizations all over again.
So how does this help a WordPress newbie? The good news is that earlier this year (April 2010) WordPress introduced a new default theme (Twenty Ten) that allows you to totally change the look of your theme without knowing anything about CSS and includes features like...
- easy to add/change custom blog header
- easy to add/change custom background image
- easily change the color of your header/background
- remove the sidebar on a post by post basis for wider photos, etc...
A mistake many people make who are just starting out with WordPress, is that they try use or purchase themes that are too much to handle or too difficult to customize. Twenty Ten solves that problem and with very little effort, you can turn it into something very professional looking for next to nothing or even free. That is the next tutorial...
If you're confused about anything or if you have any questions about this tutorial, just ask me in the comments.
If you have additional topics you'd like to see covered or would like more information about custom graphics, themes or to book a 1 on 1 consultation to create or customize your WordPress or ActiveRain blogs, you can reach me here Later...
For more info about how we can help you stand out from the crowd, contact GiselleStCyr@garaughty.com
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