by Michael Fletcher

Created on: June 24, 2010

For the uninitiated, Wordpress is a content management system designed primarily for blogging. Besides all the great built-in functionality, wordpress also has huge number of themes which can be applied to alter the layout and functioning of the site.

Themes

When setting up your Wordpress site the selection of a theme is your first port of call. If you are able, your best bet is to hire a professional designer to build you a custom theme. Failing that there are tons of cheaper options which will stop you from having a generic "Wordpress" look.

Purchasing a premium theme is an option, these are highly customizable professional themes. Most have great functionality and reduce the need for tinkering after the initial installation and setup. If you are not too technically inclined and can afford it, I highly recommend spending the money and getting a premium theme and someone to assist you setting it up. Themes like Thesis and Socrates stand out as excellent investments which can be customized to ridiculous extremes.

If you are not in the position to purchase a Custom or Premium solution, don't worry you're like 90 percent of the bloggers out there. With a little bit of work and technical savvy you can still get a (mostly) unique and functional website.

Colour

Colour is key, make sure that you choose carefully. Dark themes with light text look really good however have a look around at the really big sites out on the Internet. How many have dark colour schemes? Not many and there's a reason for that, light text on a dark background looks great while editing your theme or during your quick checks on the theme. Reading lots of information like that is very taxing on the eye and tends to turn some readers off.  I remember asking a reader of one of my earlier blogs what she thought of my site layout. Her response, she hadn't seen it, she visited my site subscribed via RSS and never came back as reading on the site hurt her eyes.

Ps. Keep the reader in mind when looking at the font size too.

Header

Your first port of call when selecting a theme is to try to find one that allows you to insert your own header image. Inserting your own brand at the top of your shiny new site is the quickest way to make a theme your own. I'm often amazed at what a difference this little change makes. If you can't find a theme you like that let's you change your header you'll either need to change the theme files yourself or use one of the many plug-ins which allow you to change headers. Both of these options require some HTML knowledge so tread carefully when trading aesthetics for a theme that allows you to change headers in the options.

Widget areas

Widgets are little "windows" which sit on your blogs side bars and provide very specific information or functionality. Common widgets display recent comments or allow users to subscribe to your RSS feed or follow you on twitter. If you plan to monetize you site you'll no doubt end up using your widget areas for advertising as well. Make sure your theme has widget areas that fit your needs. Remember these are the places you'll be placing your advertisements and everything else you want users to see.

With the Release of Wordpress 3.0, users can start changing menus straight from within the Wordpress interface for the first time without a plugin. With the Wordpress core becoming more and more stable it seems that themes are finally taking centre stage.

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