Since I started offering WordPress themes, I’ve noticed that a far majority of new bloggers want to customize their theme. I don’t blame them, that’s what I did too. Many of these new bloggers who are using one of my themes, contact me when running into things that they can’t figure out. I realize that there is a real blind-spot when it comes to how a page is laid out. In this post, I hope to shed a little light and hopefully clear up some of the confusion.

All Themes Are Not The Same

Generally speaking, I think that most of us have probably tried to change a few things on a CSS stylesheet before. It would make sense that what works on one, will work on the next. Unfortunately, there’s a little more to the equation. I’ve noticed that many will assume changing the width of the header, for instance, will have the same effect on all themes, however, this isn’t the case. It truly depends on how the theme is laid out in the first place. Remember, any styles applied on the stylesheet, are adding style to the HTML elements as they are defined within the HTML. So header isn’t necessarily the same from one theme to the next. It depends on how that component is defined within the HTML.

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With all the changes that are happening at the WordPress Theme Viewer, I’ve decided to offer my WordPress themes for download here on this site. Since WordPress made the decision to no longer include sponsored themes, they’ve been going through the whole database of themes they have and weeding out the sponsored ones. During this process, they’ve closed the site to ALL designers who would like to upload new themes or update the ones they presently have featured on the site.

The situation has made me realize that no matter how great a tool the Theme Viewer is, to use it exclusively for offering themes is putting the availability of my themes completely in someone else’s hands. I have several new themes that will be available soon, and I’ve been waiting several weeks for the WordPress Theme Viewer to open back up for designs. I hope to continue using the site in the future, however, they will still be available here.

I’ve set up a demo site which will feature the previews of each theme. When you go to my “Themes” page, for each theme is a screenshot, a preview link, and a download link. Hopefully, this will also make the process easier for those interested in downloading…..one less click.

If any technical issues pop up with this new set up, please let me know.

This past week, I introduced you to a new design I created for my wife’s embroidery business. I had built the site with XHTML and CSS on static HTML pages. I asked for constructive criticism, and I got what I asked for pretty quickly. Based on the feedback I received plus several ideas of my own, I’ve made several major revisions. Here are the changes:

• site is now built on WordPress 2.2
• changed the domain from .info to .org – (.info address is forwarded to .org)
• new item pictures that are more consistent with each other
• did away with the sidebar – same links are in the horizontal nav bar
• h1, h2, etc. are being used more appropriately
• front page photos now click-thru to the appropriate pages
• added dialogue to the contact form

At some point, I may still change the site over to a shopping cart system such as OSCommerce. Presently, I believe this set-up will serve the purpose of the site. I also think using WordPress opens up some new possibilities, all of which I’ve yet to grasp. WordPress is such an awesome system, the possibilities are endless.

Embroidery and More

This week, I’ve redesigned my wife’s online store, Embroidery and More. Her site has gradually shifted to 100% children’s items as that’s been the far majority of her business online. Offline, shirt designs for local business seems to be her niche.

The Tools

What CMS platform is the store built on? NONE. I’ve looked at and tested multiple shopping cart systems and haven’t found the right fit as of yet. So at the moment, the site is powered by static web pages and Paypal’s free shopping cart solution. In the future, I would like to add a full shopping cart if I find the right one(that doesn’t cost an arm and a leg). I’m undecided what to do as far as the domain name. Presently, the store sits on a .info domain. I also own the .org address of the same name.

The Design

As for the design, I wanted the store to have a simple, clean design with a color scheme that screams KIDS! I’m very pleased with the results. IMO, the different shades of blue provide just the right contrast for the subtle pinks, greens, and yellows.

I would love to get some feedback. Constructive criticism anyone?