Tweaking Wordpress Themes for Resource Deprived Entrepreneurs
Content and design are, in my opinion, the top two things that make a blog successful. Several people argue that blog design doesn’t matter as long as the content is exceptional. I disagree, and so does Mr. Rowse (Problogger thinks that design influences credibility). Sure, several a-list bloggers have become very successful without beautiful designs, but for a low tier blog to become a leader in its niche, it is much easier and faster to do so if you have a great looking design.
Custom designs are always the best option, but they are not practical for resource deprived online entrepreneurs. A more affordable option that I employ is tweaking one well made Wordpress theme. With some basic HTML and CSS know how, it’s really not that difficult to customize your own themes. It is also really important to use a theme made by a trusted designer, so a lot of the SEO work is already done for you. If you use a theme found in the Wordpress directory you may have some SEO problems, so it’s easier to just avoid those potential pitfalls now than to try to fix them later. (the list of good themes is below)
I personally found one good theme from Brian Gardner that I customized to my liking. Then, every time I need to launch a site I just change the header, logo, and color scheme, and then I’m good to go with a theme that could be mistaken for a custom theme. This streamlines the launch process and saves a lot of development time.
For a visual, here is the original theme screenshot side by side with a tweaked version that I made in a few hours for my new Cancun Travel blog:
The list of some of the best themes available to tweak follows:
Then a few links for my design process:
- Colour Lovers – You’ll never have to worry if your colors match
- Urban Fonts – Free downloadable fonts that make logos unique.
I’m sure I’m one of many developers doing this. It’s really not too complicated, but it is a valuable process that can save a lot of time and resources in the long run.
Share your thoughts!!!