Lessons Learned #3 – Quality in WordPress Themes #2

So I’ve gone looking through all these themes and what do I find?

Lots of really talented web designer/artist types.  With zero ability to develop web programs.

I also found (almost) zero theme’s that matched my needs — artistically or functionally.

In fact, the only theme I found that I liked was so limited that I couldn’t use it and couldn’t adapt it – at least not without a major rewrite.

And while it’s nice … it ain’t got that special thang!

So I’m going to end up going through this process all over again. Fortunately, not as extensively.

So what’s the solution?

First break the problem into two parts. After all, it’s going to take two different specialists to solve the problem.  The artist/designer to look after the overall graphics look. And the web developer who makes sure all the php and xhtml and other bits and pieces actually work. Especially the menus.

WordPress is very powerful. It’s very flexible. But it does do only one thing and does it in a particular way. There’s only so many choices that make sense.  Unless of course you are really creative in your business. And the truth is there’s no point.  This is a business tool not a personal toy.

That means that there are perhaps 1/2 dozen different variations on layouts for the WordPress theme. Plus a half dozen or so menu possibilities.

Spend some time, identify the ones you like and will use. For example, all the ones that have a left sidebar are out. Why? Because Google doesn’t like left sidebars. So there’s no point designing one.  (Yes, there are exceptions — this is an example only).

You’ll end up with a selection of basic templates. You should also end up with a basic set of requirements/needs. Hire a web developer and have him/her develop a theme for each of those templates you may want to use.  You may find that you end up with only one or two templates.

Then hire an artist/designer to design the overall graphical look. Have him design several screens. Don’t forget to include both static web and blog type pages. Once those designs are converted to CSS, you should be able to plug the design into the theme you’ve chosen.

Result. You’ve now got a quality theme with a look that shouts “BUY FROM ME!”

Lesson Learned #2:

If you’re going to do this regularly … spend some money and get some designs done in advance.

It’s a lot easier/faster to get a site up if you don’t have spend time figuring out which theme is best. And then have to test the theme to make sure it actually works.

So better to spend some money. Get a developer to put together a basic framework or three. Keep it flexible. Keep it simple.  Make it easy to modify.

Then hire an artist to put together a number of pages for you (meaning colour schemes, background art, and banners. All the graphics you will need).

Then when you start a new business or change an existing one, just select the form, select the theme and put them together.

Nice, easy, simple.  In the end cheaper too!