Wordpress theme for a highschool website

June 18, 2009 1:40 PM

Help me find a free or premium wordpress theme for a school website

I am looking for a wordpress theme ( free or premium (within $50) ) that would be suitable for a high school website.

I have been browsing themes for about a week now and there are simply too many out there to chose from. Furthermore, I don't know if I should be going with a "business" style or a "magazine" style theme.

posted by Danniman to computers & internet (3 comments total)

Perhaps in trying to choose something now, you're putting the cart before the horse.

It sounds like you need to spend some time thinking about the content of the site. Ideally it's the content that will determine the most appropriate presentation.

As a gut reaction, I'd probably be more engaged by a school website that presented itself as a magazine rather than a corporate brochure. But again it goes back to content.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:14 PM on June 18

I would agree with le morte de bea arthur's (great name, bytheway) assessment, both in terms of letting form follow function, and in the preference for an eventual magazine-style theme. Wouldn't you want something youthful and vibrant that reflects the energy of the kids at your school?

You could get the kids' imput regarding some of the decisions, taking suggestions for look as well as content. They probably have lots of fun, interesting ideas, ones that the kids reading the site would appreciate. Maybe you could have some sort contest or poll that would get them involved? I'll bet that some of the parents would be helpful, as well, if you needed any further ideas/help at some point.

Good luck with your project.
posted by Samantha the Curious at 2:49 PM on June 18

IMHO, the biggest mistake people make when doing these kinds of projects is not putting the design cart before the content horse, or deciding between blog and magazine layouts. It's thinking "teh kidz, yo!" and shrouding the whole site in black.

Go for a clean, contemporary layout like Wave, Our Magazine, or New Wind. Vineyard would be ace, but you will have to replace the logo and the little guy, perhaps with your school logo.

If you do insist on using black, Rockable is a very nice presentation.

Tip: If you buy a theme with ad blocks, keep them (they tend to be pretty integral to the layout.) Just re-purpose them by making ads for four sections or four things you want to highlight.
posted by DarlingBri at 4:23 PM on June 18 [1 favorite]