Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
IV
•
Choose from the hundreds of free themes in the
WordPress Free Themes Directory, or search the Web for a
free theme outside the directory. Once obtained, you
might well be able to tweak it to your exacting specifica-
tions. Free theme developers can (and do) update their
creations, which then appear in the WordPress upgrade
system.
•
Pay for one of the many beautiful and effective premium
themes. These are usually quite tweakable as well, as are
the theme frameworks that have sprung up to serve the
ecosystem. These also can be updated automatically.
•
Hire a web developer to create the specific, unique vision
you have in mind for your theme. Updates to these themes
might be harder to come by.
•
Create your theme yourself. We give you some help with
that in Chapter 14, “Style Sheets for Building Themes.”
note
What's the difference between buy-
ing a premium theme and hiring a
developer? Consider the difference
between buying clothes off the rack
at Macy's and visiting a tailor to
give you a perfect fit. Premium
themes come with support (for
those minor alterations) and are
usually highly customizable. When
you hire someone to develop your
site's theme, the goal is to get
something that uniquely fits your
site's objectives.
As with clothes and most other
things, getting that unique fit will
cost you a bit more than buying off
the rack. Depending on your goals,
that extra expense can certainly pay
off in the end.
What is best for your site depends on the aforementioned
skills, time, and bank account, but also on what you intend
the site to be. Do you want your site to promote a business, online or offline? Maybe you don't want
your site to look like “Just Another WordPress Blog.” Do you just want a home on the Web that you
have control over, but don't want to obsess over the details of the web presence? A free theme will
likely do the trick for you. Are you looking to learn web development, or enhance your existing
skills to make yourself more marketable? Buying a theme framework might be just the investment
in your career that pays dividends down the road.
How you envision your audience is another determining factor in the type of theme you use (and
your choice of plug-ins, too). When your visitors are primarily friends and family checking up to see
what you're up to, you probably just want something usable, with a familiar look, traditional links,
and not too many bells and whistles. If you want your site to appeal to a particular niche audience,
you want to make the audience comfortable and attract their interest in what you have to say. Your
blog covering the latest news on mixed martial arts will probably have much bolder colors than
AnntheGran's embroidery site.
Figures 12.1 and 12.2 give you a sense of the variety of themes available to you in the Free Themes
Directory. Figure 12.1 is ZenLite, a single column with a white background and a natural header
image. Figure 12.2 is Dark Wood, a three-column theme with a background looking like a wood-
paneled office, blue headings, and white text. The nice thing is that both themes aren't too clut-
tered, and are readable.
