Over the past several months, I have received emails from people asking various questions about the design of the site: how was it created, how would they get started with their own site, etc. Back in December, I wrote a post about how to get a site started. In this post, I’m going to talk specifically about WordPress themes and how to use them on your site.
Before we get started, however, let me just say that I am by no means an expert nor do I have all of the answers. The information written here is based on my experience and my learning through trial and error. What worked for me may not work for you, so please keep that in mind.
I have to admit that I love WordPress (WordPress.org, not WordPress.com as they are different). I’ve used other programs — Typepad, Blogger, Square Space, even Site Sell – and WordPress is by far my favorite. It has so many options and it’s incredibly user friendly. And once you understand a few basics, you can do things on your own. This is what the dashboard of your site will look like once it’s set up.
Downloading WordPress
If you’re just starting your website, this is your first step. After purchasing your domain name (the name of your site) and choosing your site’s host (where everything will be stored), then you’ll need to download WordPress. A quick word about choosing a host. There are a lot out there with prices varying from free to $50 a month and more. Just starting out, you could use something like what I went with which is Dreamhost. For $6.95 a month, I hosted a couple of websites and it was all I needed. I eventually switched to Liquid Web for $25.00 a month simply because they offer better service. If there’s ever a problem with my site, I can call them at any time of the day and they look into it. Doesn’t get much better than that.
Depending on who you your host is, downloading WordPress will more than likely be an automated process. I know with Dreamhost, for example, you just click a button and it downloads for you. So easy. If you have questions, you can ask your specific site host or look through their tutorials.
Choosing a Look
Once you have WordPress downloaded, your blog will look like this:
Not bad, but kind of plain. You can dress it up a bit by changing the colors, but if you really want to do something fancy, you’ll want to find what’s called a “theme.” For this, do a Google search for WordPress themes and you’ll get hundreds of hits showing themes under every possible topic and style. There are themes with three columns like this one:
Or there are the traditional two-column themes such as this one: 
You may have seen plenty of sites featuring what’s called the “magazine theme” which looks like this:
or this:
This is the basic style from which my site was based. It’s classifed is a magazine theme called Flash News. Do you recognize it? From Single to Married looks different after some tweaking and adjustments, but this is the bare bones theme and it can be found on Woo Themes.
If you’re looking for themes, some of the best sites to start looking are Smashing Magazine, Free Theme Layouts, and Daily Wp. If you don’t mind paying for your themes, then you’ll definitely want to check out Woo Themes, Studio Press, and Elegant Themes. Expect to pay anywhere from $50.00 to $100.00 for one of these themes. But keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Typically these themes are well made and uploading and customization is fairly easy. Also keep in mind that if you want to add something to the theme such as the items in the sidebar, you’ll want to choose a theme that is “widget-ready” (more on this in a second).
You Found Your Theme, Now What?
Now that you’ve found the theme you want to use (out of the thousands of themes available), it’s time to upload it. There are tutorials online that walk you through this if you need more details, but I’ll give you the overview. You’ll want to use a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) software. I use Filezilla because I find it very easy to use. It’s basically a way for you to transfer files from your computer to your server where your website is stored (remember, at this point you have your website that is stored with a hosting facility). Download the software from the Filezilla site and open it up.
On the left hand you’ll see all the files of your computer and on the right side you’ll see all the files on your server. Look for the folder that contains your website (you can ask the host if you are not sure what it’s called). Inside that folder will be several other files. You are looking for the one labled “wp-content.” Inside that folder is a file called “themes.” Open the folder. As you can see on mine, I have a lot of themes uploaded. Now all you have to do is drag your folder from the left side (your computer) to the right side (the server) and drop. It’s as easy as that.
Now go to your WordPress dashboard and look for “appearance” on the left-hand side. Click on “themes.” Here is where you’ll find the themes that you have uploaded. All you have to do now is click on it and activate it.
Now comes the fun part. The theme will look like it was custom designed, with the exception of a few things that may need a little tweaking (the Woo Themes need some behind-the-scenes work such as a graphic to be used as your title and some other work if you’re using pictures). If your theme is widget-ready and you want to add things to the side bar(s), look and see what came with the theme.
Just click on “widgets” and you’ll see your list. The great thing about widgets is that you can download all sorts of things to add to your site. You can add Flickr photos or allow pictures of your last commenters such as on my Experiencing Motherhood site:
Have fun with it, there are a lot of options and things you can add to your sidebar. Go to WordPress.org and look at the available widgets, just make sure they’re compatible with your version of WordPress before downloading them. To put them on your site, you’ll use the FTP server again only this time you’ll look for the folder in “wp-content” called “plugins.”
The whole process is really pretty straightforward but it may take a little playing around before you get the hang of it (at least it did for me). If all of this seems like too much work or you want some additional customization to your theme, you can contact a developer to help you out. I work with Jeremy of Papertree Designs (who is fantastic, btw). He is fair and honest and charges me for the work performed without taking advantage of my lack of HTML knowledge. So now, when I create a new site and it still needs some adjustments made, he’ll do the work for me at a reasonable price.
Of course if you have the money to spend and want a custom-made site, that’s always an option too. Just be aware that it will usually cost you usually anywhere from $600 to $5,000, depending on the site. That’s why I like themes, you get a professional, clean site without all of the cost and you’re still able to customize it. It’s a win-win in my book.
Do you use WordPress? Do you have any questions?
RELATED POSTS:
YOU CAN DO IT: Building a Website
Related Posts:
29 comments