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Introduction to WordPress Themes

By on June 23, 2012 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

Introduction to WordPress Themes

Without a doubt, WordPress is one of the most popular blog and website creation tools. That is, WordPress.org which is the WordPress version that is hosted on the hosting company of your choice. WordPress.com is rather limited and is hosted on WordPress own servers. It is free, but you are limited to a small number of themes and the customizations options are limited. As long as you are willing to pay for your own hosting service, ie – Go Daddy, JustHost, MonsterGator, etc., WordPress.org is the way to go.

Most of the top blogs use the WordPress platform. By looking at these blogs, you can see a great variety in their design. In fact, many of them don’t look like blogs themselves, but look like traditional websites.

The reason for this is that WordPress allows users to create their own themes, and upload them to the WordPress website. Many people do this for fun or the good of the community. However, some create what is called a premium theme which is basically a paid version. Some of the themes offer a free starter theme, but a paid version gets you more features.

One of the strengths of WordPress is also a weakness. There are almost too many themes out there. It can get frustrating finding a theme that suits your purposes, especially after reviewing hundreds of similar themes.  To eliminate some of the frustration, consider the following:

What do you want in a theme. On one hand, there are people who are just interested in their blog writing, and they want it to look nice. Commercialization or ads do not interest them. On the other hand, there are other people who are interested in their blog, but would also like to make a little money.

This generally involves AdSense, banner ads, etc. However, the placing of these ads (or the HTML code that supports them) on a blog or website is of prime importance to the advertiser, and also to the website owner. You don’t want ads to distract from your website, but complement it.

WordPress accomplishes this by having areas of your blog where you can place widgets. Widgets are basically place holders where you can place a great variety of content. It could include a link page, a poll, a photo, text, or HTML code that generates an ad.  However, depending upon the theme, widgets will be in different places and different sizes.

The WordPress database allows you to search for specific elements of themes.

For example, when you search the WordPress database, you will find hundreds of themes that say “”ad sense ready.””  Many of these themes have only a few widget areas available for ads, and some have as many as 11 different widget areas.

Generally, the more widget areas the better in a theme, because no matter what your purpose, it gives you more flexibility. 

Another factor that comes into play is that many themes are highly customizable.  Don’t be deceived by the initial appearance, look at the option page before you move on.   Many themes have great features, you just need to choose the appropriate option.  Background image, color, placement of widget sidebars, etc. are all common things that can be customized.

Finding a theme you like is a trial and error process.  However, before you begin, have an idea on what you want to accomplish.  Do you want widget space for small rectangle ads?  Or do you want widget space that will accommodate skyscraper ads, leaderboard ads, and the other popular banner ad formats? Do you want a widget space that will accommodate a particular photo dimension format?

The process of looking for a theme you like is a daunting task, but if you have a general idea of what you want, it will make the process go faster.  With the thousands of WordPress themes out there, you are bound to find one you like.

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Boardwalk WordPress Theme – A Fun and Unique Look For Your Blog1

By on June 13, 2012 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

Boardwalk WordPress Theme – A Fun and Unique Look For Your Blog

WPnow are a popular source for WordPress themes, and with the Boardwalk WordPress theme, they certainly do not disappoint. Gaining scrutiny from web masters, WPnow have been known for creating absolutely stunning themes for the blogging platform, however, they are quite heavy on most hosting accounts, loading slowly, and providing an overall unoptimized experience for visitors to blogs sporting their themes.

The Boardwalk WordPress theme still has not improved entirely on previous problems with their loading times, however this can easily be fixed using a super cache plugin. In fact, this is the only situation that I would personally use one of their themes. Having said that though, their themes are stunning, and require very little work with their included admin panel making customization very quick and easy, and regardless of the load times that can be fixed with the use of a plugin, this is a great theme that suits those who want a colorful blog that has an outdoors style appearance.

The theme itself has somewhat of a magazine style layout, not more suited to those who want to run a personal blog, but those who want to create an information based website. Posts are laid out quite well on the front page of the theme, making blog contents very easy to access. Navigation is also very well thought out, with the strange addition of “”click to drop down”” menus in the category navigation for second tier pages and posts, which although seems a little strange, is a welcome addition to this theme.

From an SEO perspective, the theme can be optimized quite well, however keywords would need to be emphasized in titles, as they are created using H2 tags. Text can be used in the H1 format for the blog header, however if the need to use an image arose, this would mean that you would lose the ability to have keywords in the header, however this can be emphasized by using title tags for the images by using the editor. Thankfully, the coding structure behind the Boardwalk WordPress theme is labelled well, and fairly easy to understand, even for those who have a very basic understanding of website coding.

Before I lead us into the part where I will cap off this article, I will make it very clear that this theme is a theme that is not suitable to all bloggers. Whilst there are some great themes out there, such as Thesis and Frugal that serve many purposes, and are heavily customizable, the Boardwalk WordPress theme is one that is suited to those who already like the layout of this theme, and are prepared to use that theme, as is, for their blog. Sure, certain customisations can be made willingly, if you have the know how, however, for the kind of layout that this theme uses, there is only going to be a certain level of customization that is available.

Having said that, this theme is an outstanding theme, it is easy to use, it is pretty to look at, and it is easy to customize within its own boundaries. It may not be as fast as possible, but this can be solved using the super cache plugin. The plugins that come with this theme are welcome, and offer extra functionality as well, all in all, for bloggers and publishers of news, out of the various top WordPress themes that re available, this one should turn your head a little.

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Boardwalk WordPress Theme – A Fun and Unique Look For Your Blog

By on June 5, 2012 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

Boardwalk WordPress Theme – A Fun and Unique Look For Your Blog

WPnow are a popular source for WordPress themes, and with the Boardwalk WordPress theme, they certainly do not disappoint. Gaining scrutiny from web masters, WPnow have been known for creating absolutely stunning themes for the blogging platform, however, they are quite heavy on most hosting accounts, loading slowly, and providing an overall unoptimized experience for visitors to blogs sporting their themes.

The Boardwalk WordPress theme still has not improved entirely on previous problems with their loading times, however this can easily be fixed using a super cache plugin. In fact, this is the only situation that I would personally use one of their themes. Having said that though, their themes are stunning, and require very little work with their included admin panel making customization very quick and easy, and regardless of the load times that can be fixed with the use of a plugin, this is a great theme that suits those who want a colorful blog that has an outdoors style appearance.

The theme itself has somewhat of a magazine style layout, not more suited to those who want to run a personal blog, but those who want to create an information based website. Posts are laid out quite well on the front page of the theme, making blog contents very easy to access. Navigation is also very well thought out, with the strange addition of “”click to drop down”” menus in the category navigation for second tier pages and posts, which although seems a little strange, is a welcome addition to this theme.

From an SEO perspective, the theme can be optimized quite well, however keywords would need to be emphasized in titles, as they are created using H2 tags. Text can be used in the H1 format for the blog header, however if the need to use an image arose, this would mean that you would lose the ability to have keywords in the header, however this can be emphasized by using title tags for the images by using the editor. Thankfully, the coding structure behind the Boardwalk WordPress theme is labelled well, and fairly easy to understand, even for those who have a very basic understanding of website coding.

Before I lead us into the part where I will cap off this article, I will make it very clear that this theme is a theme that is not suitable to all bloggers. Whilst there are some great themes out there, such as Thesis and Frugal that serve many purposes, and are heavily customizable, the Boardwalk WordPress theme is one that is suited to those who already like the layout of this theme, and are prepared to use that theme, as is, for their blog. Sure, certain customisations can be made willingly, if you have the know how, however, for the kind of layout that this theme uses, there is only going to be a certain level of customization that is available.

Having said that, this theme is an outstanding theme, it is easy to use, it is pretty to look at, and it is easy to customize within its own boundaries. It may not be as fast as possible, but this can be solved using the super cache plugin. The plugins that come with this theme are welcome, and offer extra functionality as well, all in all, for bloggers and publishers of news, out of the various top WordPress themes that re available, this one should turn your head a little.

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How to Make a WordPress Theme – Learn the Correct Steps on How to Edit WordPress

By on April 28, 2012 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, affiliate marketing, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

How to Make a WordPress Theme – Learn the Correct Steps on How to Edit WordPress

Do you want to know how to make a WordPress theme? You can learn how to edit WordPress and create your own customized themes. This is one of the most beautiful things about using WordPress. It enables you to truly express yourself by customizing all of your blog posts.

When you have used the standard WordPress installations there are several themes which you get to choose from. This is good for starting out. However, after awhile you will find that this is not enough. You will need to find some more themes if you are going to keep your blogs interesting.

If you want to change the themes on your blog you should click on the theme that you want then click “”activate “”. Of course, if you are tired of using the themes that came with WordPress you can always import some of your own. If you want to use a new theme for your WordPress blog you will need to download it. There are many WordPress themes which are available on the internet. You can go to the galleries and find a theme which perfectly suits you. Be sure that you choose one that is going to add a sense of style to your blog. There is nothing which turns people off of a blog faster than a boring theme and dull site. If you want to enhance your blogs you should download a new theme.

After you have downloaded your new theme you should be sure to upload it. You can either upload a zip of your theme or you can extract the theme and then upload it. The choice is yours. Either way you have to get the theme uploaded before you can use it. Once you have to theme uploaded you should see the option to select it as your site’s default theme.

There are many different WordPress themes. You will be able to find something that suits your tastes and the style of your site. If you are looking for WordPress themes you should start by looking online.

If you are looking for advice on how to use WordPress you should start by looking on the internet. This is best place to go when you are looking for themes as well. There are many great themes out there which you can download for not charge. You can use these on your blogs to keep things fresh and exciting on your site.

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WordPress Leading the Way

By on December 10, 2011 in !Randy Roedl Internet Marketing, Blog Business, wordpress, Wp Headers, Wp Themes

For many reasons, WordPress is preferred as the leading blog publisher for websites. Its structured and sophisticated features make blogging so enjoyable and fun. One of its modern features, Kubrick template, is easy to install and customize. Kubrick comes together with WordPress as the default style. For advanced version of Kubrick, K2 is modified to make blog administration easier with the addition of logistics- handling tabs. However, users feel that Kubrick is not user- friendly enough simply because there better themes out there. It is custom theme that can be personalized accordingly.
Bloggers find Kubrick boring after a few posts because of it lack of customization. Upon installation of WordPress, the default theme is Kubrick, which is not sustainable in long-term use. This is because plug- in need to be installed to keep track of comments left by readers. Although WordPress allows easy installation of plug-ins into your blog, it is still a hassle compared to other custom themes that often comes with plug-ins.
In these days, it is not a good idea to use Kubrick as the base theme for WordPress as this leads themes that are difficult to customize. Moreover, Kubrick theme has little documentation and it makes unattractive layouts. For beginners, this is a source of headache when changing layout with Kubrick seems to take forever. In short, Kubrick theme is not user- friendly to bloggers.
Kubrick theme might look too formal with its rigid vertical columns for art lovers. People with art and graphic base often choose more organic and soft-edged designs instead of rigid designs that you would see in Kubrick theme. This is why Kubrick should be changed into a more beautiful theme that suits everyone’s taste.
Also, Kubrick theme should be developed in minimal way for easier customization if it is still going to be WordPress default theme. People always prefer to break away from the default look by tweaking the codes. However, Kubrick codes are not easy to work with. The theme should be plainer so that customization is easier. Therefore, in long-term, Kubrick is not a good base theme for its bad workability.
It is not the end of the world for those who are not good in CSS and HTML editing but yearn for a revamp for their blogs. They can always download themes from websites such as WordPress Theme Generator and IMJTK. These highly informative and useful websites dedicate themselves to provide countless gorgeous WordPress themes to replace Kubrick theme. Downloading and uploading your custom theme is easier this way and saves a lot of time too.
You can also switch themes as much as you like to check the theme’s suitability to your blog. You can always remove the theme if you find the theme looks awkward in representing your blog posts. Unlike Kubrick, there is not much you can do if you find the design not attractive enough for your taste. You need to tweak the finest details to get the result you want which means more time is spent on blog layout rather than concentrating on the blog content.
All in all, custom theme is so much better than Kubrick theme because of its versatility and functionality. It is hoped that one day WordPress decides to replace Kubrick theme with a better-looking theme that is easy to be customized.

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