Sunday
May042008
Wordpress Design Spice Up Tips
Everyone wants to present their content with a great design. Wordpress makes it easy to update content and make it look great. It takes as much or as little effort as you want to put into it. Try one or more of these tips and see what happens!
The completely unstyled Basic 1.0 Wordpress Theme
Wordpress has themes and you could just download a ton of freely available already made themes. If you're daring enough or already have some HTML or CSS knowledge, I'd suggest make you go forward and make your own theme. Starting out with a completely unstyled theme like basic 1.0, you can develop your own design with your own branding. The theme that comes with Wordpress has too much of its own design elements that can creep into your site. Ultimately it's worth it if you want to have control over your site.
The web is dynamic, so keep adjusting your theme to make it look better and better over time. Consider design problems and solutions, don't do things just because they are "cool". Think in terms of interest and focus.
Your first stop should be the Category Template documentation. By default, the most basic design is just a boring listing out the categories in the same way as your date archives. Instead, create a category.php file that looks like a main index page design. The documentation also tells you how you can hand code a template for each category if you wish! Suddenly you can have a new site populated with your own blog's content.
Read about adding images and text in Performancing's Make Your Wordpress Category Pages More Interesting. That page has some great tips including adding category images and editorial content.
Wordpress OpenID Login
I know this isn't really a design thing, but the OpenID is a usability element you might want to take a look at. The OpenId Plug-in is a quick install that lets your commenters log in with their open id url. You also may want to look into using your blog url as your openid. Using both of these methods together, you can login to Wordpress itself with OpenID.
Don't forget!
You will have to apply everything you know about basic design principles. Great design is about putting things together in a way that makes sense. Organize the visual information. Never be afraid to re-read the basic design principles and look at your work critically no matter what your level is.Make your own theme
The completely unstyled Basic 1.0 Wordpress Theme
Wordpress has themes and you could just download a ton of freely available already made themes. If you're daring enough or already have some HTML or CSS knowledge, I'd suggest make you go forward and make your own theme. Starting out with a completely unstyled theme like basic 1.0, you can develop your own design with your own branding. The theme that comes with Wordpress has too much of its own design elements that can creep into your site. Ultimately it's worth it if you want to have control over your site.
The web is dynamic, so keep adjusting your theme to make it look better and better over time. Consider design problems and solutions, don't do things just because they are "cool". Think in terms of interest and focus.
Design your category pages
Create or edit the category template to make it a site of its own! For people looking for topical information, your category pages can become information hubs. Suddenly you have a whole miniblog all about art or tv. This is a great chance to make a new entry point for your site that you may not have thought about before.Your first stop should be the Category Template documentation. By default, the most basic design is just a boring listing out the categories in the same way as your date archives. Instead, create a category.php file that looks like a main index page design. The documentation also tells you how you can hand code a template for each category if you wish! Suddenly you can have a new site populated with your own blog's content.
Read about adding images and text in Performancing's Make Your Wordpress Category Pages More Interesting. That page has some great tips including adding category images and editorial content.
Style your comments
You can create style that helps you address your readers. Take a look at these tips for professional looking commentingEnable OpenID
Wordpress OpenID Login
I know this isn't really a design thing, but the OpenID is a usability element you might want to take a look at. The OpenId Plug-in is a quick install that lets your commenters log in with their open id url. You also may want to look into using your blog url as your openid. Using both of these methods together, you can login to Wordpress itself with OpenID.
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3 Comments tagged Art, Blogging, Design, Wordpress, graphic design, openid, tips, web design
Art, Blogging, Design, Wordpress, graphic design, openid, tips, web design 
Reader Comments (3)
thanks i always wonder how to design a wordpress theme and this post is nice to help a dumb like me
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