WordPress Themes

Why I Really Like WordPress 2.8

Posted on June 22, 2009

I have been slowly updating the sites that run WordPress over the last week or so and have started to really love WordPress 2.8. The reason for this sudden burst of affection are a couple of new features that version 2.8 introduced.

wordpress-upload-themeThe first feature that I really like is the ability to upload themes and plugins via the WordPress interface. This has eliminated the need to break out Dreamweaver or another FTP program to get something uploaded to a site.  That is significant because I usually download plugins and/or themes to my desktop. If I have to upload either of them with FTP I have to put them in a particular folder and hopefully I already have the FTP info entered into my program. If not then I need to go through those steps. With the web based upload feature I can quickly upload in a few steps.

The other feature that I like is the built in code editing for themes and plugins. I know this feature has been around for a while but 2.8 added code highlighting. This makes it much easier to find and edit small items without having to break out an FTP program and code editor.

These two features have reduced the time that it takes me to do small edits and I am truly gratefully for them.

Fessing Up and Building My Own WordPress Themes

Posted on March 24, 2009

pulling-hair-outFor client work I always work on a custom website design and layout and then transform that into WordPress template for the client’s website. For my personal sites I will admit that I generally rely on the work of others to get something up quickly and have even resorted to purchasing some memberships to theme sites and outright purchased themes. It is the same adage of a chef that does not cook at home, you do it all day as work so the last thing you want to do is do it at home.

Recently I decided to take the easy way out on a couple of personal sites by purchasing a few themes for them. The main reason that I purchased these themes is that out of the box they seemed to do exactly what I wanted and even seemed to be a step up from what I usually produce myself. Unfortunately with both of these themes I spent more time fixing theme to run properly then I would have if I would have built them from scratch myself. In both cases I could tell that the people building them while excellent Web Designers were not that well versed with WordPress.

I supposed this is just a testament to the fact that the easy way out is not always the best way to go.

Back to Photoshop & Dreamweaver I go to make my own themes!

/Rant over.

The Frustration in Choosing WordPress Themes

Posted on October 8, 2008

myImage I think frustration is maybe a little strong word to use given my situation. My “frustration” stems from me trolling several sites that offer free or even very inexpensive WordPress themes. I do not really think it is fair on my part to be “frustrated” because hey, these people are giving these themes away for free (or for very cheap).

The part that does frustrate me though is that I cannot find a theme from my dan.idano.net website in the layout that I want. I would think that what I want is simple but it is just not proving to be that way. The layout that I want is simple –

  • Has Pages and Categories along the top in the header
  • Has the first post section on the blog be a “Featured Posts” section where I can control which posts show up there
  • Has recent posts under the featured posts section
  • Has a two column sidebar for ads, links, and my network feed
  • Has a footer that can have different sections for Blog info, Archives, etc
  • Have just the recent posts on the 2nd page + when paging through content
    I have the above sketch that I whipped up really quick and it looks like I am just going to have to build it myself. Oh well, maybe I can distribute it for free in order to get some free back links from it. 

The Halloween WordPress Theme Updated to v1.4

Posted on September 23, 2008

halloween-theme The free Halloween WordPress Theme has been updated to version 1.4. This new version includes the following updates:

  • Added support for Tags
  • Added support for native WordPress Photo Galleries
  • Verified to work with WordPress 2.62

It has also been accepted in the Official WordPress.org Theme Directory as well. It can be downloaded from the directory here. You can see a Live Demo of theme at the Halloween Theme official site.

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Finally! A Better Looking Theme Here at idano.net

Posted on July 22, 2008

I had really trashed the other theme that was here previously but know we have something that is a little better looking.

This is the WP Premium theme from by WP Remix.

I have made a couple of modifications to it to fir this site but the underlying theme is still intact. I will probably look to change the color from red to blue down the road but the red color scheme is much better then what was here before.

Anyway, I have gone through it and everything seems to work correctly. If you find anything that doesn’t please drop me a line.

Updates and Refresh of Site

Posted on May 5, 2008

Well as you can see things are looking pretty different around here. It has been a while since I posted and/or did any maintenance around here but the day has finally come to clean this place up.

I have a new theme up named YoMel by andrastudio that I will be making modifications to over the next few days. The biggest change will be the color (I like blue) and I am going to aggregate feeds from the rest of my sites in the side bar.

Anyway, I am still around and kicking so you should see new and improved things popping up here and there from now on.

WordPress SunFlower Theme – 500 Downloads in 2 Weeks

Posted on August 18, 2006

Screen Shot of the Custom WordPress Theme - SunflowerSimply Amazing.

The Custom WordPress Theme named Sunflower that I made for my wife’s blog has been downloaded over 500 times since it was released 2 weeks ago.

This theme as you know is a rendition of my Beach House WordPress Theme that has been downloaded over 2000 times in the last 2 months (see my post Over 2000 Downloads of the Beach House WordPress Theme).

Just a reminder I have made the Photoshop file available for download for this theme so that you can customize it yourself.

Thanks to all those who have downloaded and are using this theme!

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Over 2000 Downloads of the Beach House WordPress Theme

Posted on August 14, 2006

563-medium.jpgWOW! I had checked the last part of last week to see how many downloads the Beach House WordPress Theme had gotten and it was at 1991.

I checked back today it it blew past the 2000 download mark. At writing it is at 2093.

I just wanted to say thank you to everyone that has download it and is using it. I plan to add widget support in the near future one my plate clears a little.

Also, if you like the Beach House theme and know PhotoShop check out my Sunflower WordPress Theme which is based off of the Beach House theme. The thing about the Sunflower theme is that I have made the PhotoShop files available so that you can customize it for you blog.


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The Sunflower WordPress Theme

Posted on August 3, 2006

screenshot.pngI have released a new theme that is similar to my Beach House theme.

It is called The Sunflower theme and can be downloaded over at it’s own sub domain at my
Round Rock Web Design web site – sunflower.roundrockwebdesign.com.

The inspiration for this theme was my wife who really likes flowers – specifically sunflowers.

I have also made available the PhotoShop files that I used to create the theme so people can modify it themselves.


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