What is a Theme?

A “theme” is the framework and graphical layout that defines and frames your blog.  They are developed using CSS (cascading style sheets) which creates a cohesive look and feel to all pages of your site.  The theme is separate from your blog content. This makes it easy to try different themes until you find the one that works for you. It’s an easy process to change your theme and you can “try on ” as many as you like!

There are thousands of free themes available for your WordPress blog website.  You can find themes in just about any color combination with various layout selections.  WordPress 3+ is installed with the basic theme called “Twenty Ten” . It is a nice clean theme that can be customized with your own header graphic and more.  However, there is no need to limit yourself to the default WordPress theme.

Choosing a theme for your WordPress blog

Start by clicking on the “appearance” tab in the menu on the left in the dashboard area, then click on “themes.”  This will open the theme management area.  You’ll see your current theme displayed at the top.  Look for “install themes” a tab at the top of the window.  Click that and you’ll be taken to an area to search for themes.  You’ll see a filter area where you can choose colors or layout style. You can also choose from specific features if you like.  I prefer to just enter a couple of colors and click the “find theme” button at the bottom.  All of the themes with the attributes you entered will be displayed.

Want to Browse All Themes?

If you don’t really know what you want, just  leave all filter boxes  blank and click the search button next to search box at the top without entering any text.  You’ll have over 50 pages of themes to browse.

Some themes may be more complex than others.  We suggest you choose a simple theme to start with and then, later on as you feel more confident, you can change it to something else.  You can actually change your themes anytime you want, but keep in mind that complexity can be confusing at first.  Start with getting your word out, then move on if you like, to more complex themes.

Installing Your Theme

Sound complex?  Nope!  There are two steps:

  • Click the INSTALL button on the theme you’ve chosen
  • Click the ACTIVATE THEME button in the appearance window
  • View it by going to your site!

Now you are ready to work with the theme to change your background images if you like.  Now is a good time to add widgets too! More about widgets in the next post! But go ahead and click on widgets under appearance and experiment with moving them around in your side bars.

Purchasing Themes

Not all WordPress themes are free.  Some companies do design themes with a fee.  The “Thesis” theme is an example.  You can also have themes custom made for you, but with so many options available with the free themes, we suggest you start there.  All themes can be endlessly customized with widgets, and custom code.  You can even make your own theme free on several sites like Cool Template.

Unless you have a major enterprise application there are plenty of free themes to get you going. Hopefully you’ve chosen one and are getting to know it.  We are here to help with issues with your themes so just email us if you have questions or need any custom work done.

Write ON!