A simple customizable Wordpress theme?
August 23, 2011 1:13 AM Subscribe
I would really like a simple Wordpress theme where I can customize the header image, and change the colors to anything (backgrounds, fonts, links, etc). Something simple. I'm even willing to pay for it. Any ideas or tips? Thanks guys.
It really sounds as if you should try building a child theme from the default Twenty Ten. Whether or not you know much/any CSS right now, it's an excellent way to learn, because you're just copying style elements from the main theme and pasting them into your child theme stylesheet, then messing with fonts, colours and dimensions.
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:25 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by le morte de bea arthur at 2:25 AM on August 23, 2011
lmdba has a good idea there. you may also want to try Weaver, which has the ability built in to do a lot of the things you're talking about there. It's a simple to set up theme you might find you like a great deal.
posted by mephron at 2:59 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by mephron at 2:59 AM on August 23, 2011
Take a look at Mystique - it's currently my theme of choice for my blog.
posted by chrisinseoul at 3:06 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by chrisinseoul at 3:06 AM on August 23, 2011
The visual editor for Headway is super beginner-friendly, and makes changing anything you want really easy.
posted by blazingunicorn at 3:21 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by blazingunicorn at 3:21 AM on August 23, 2011
I'm using BrandedPro at the moment - you can customise the colours/header etc
posted by cardamine at 4:33 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by cardamine at 4:33 AM on August 23, 2011
This does way more than you want but makes just about everything relatively easy to customize without knowing any CSS: Suffusion
posted by JaredSeth at 5:08 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by JaredSeth at 5:08 AM on August 23, 2011
I used Weaver for a project recently. You can easily customize just pretty anything in the theme .
posted by COD at 5:08 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by COD at 5:08 AM on August 23, 2011
Suffusion is pretty great (haven't tried Weaver yet), but can be a bit confusing because the options are so very, very extensive! Less complex than Suffusion, but also very, very customizable is Atahualpa. I've made sites with both, and the learning curve for Atahualpa is much easier, but I hesitated to bring it up because it seems like more than the poster is looking for.
The good thing is that both are used by a lot of people and have active forums where you can get help, and the theme developers for both are still actively involved, with updates, etc. This is important, because you could find a brand new theme that suits your needs perfectly, but if there isn't an active knowledge base for when you run into trouble later on down the road then you're pretty much on your own. Likewise, there is the theme equivalent of abandonware, in which you can get something wonderful that just isn't going to work with new updates of WP because the developer isn't that invested.
(Also, as you go along and begin finding that you want to customize more than just colors and headers, you will be happy to have a theme that does offer more user-friendly customization options before you need to or decide to get into making your own html/css/php changes.)
And, paying for a theme doesn't necessarily mean you get a better theme. In fact, I have found that this is not true at all (obviously, not in all cases -- YMwillV). At any rate, I highly recommend tipping the cookie jar generously for the free themes that work out well for you!
posted by taz at 6:55 AM on August 23, 2011
The good thing is that both are used by a lot of people and have active forums where you can get help, and the theme developers for both are still actively involved, with updates, etc. This is important, because you could find a brand new theme that suits your needs perfectly, but if there isn't an active knowledge base for when you run into trouble later on down the road then you're pretty much on your own. Likewise, there is the theme equivalent of abandonware, in which you can get something wonderful that just isn't going to work with new updates of WP because the developer isn't that invested.
(Also, as you go along and begin finding that you want to customize more than just colors and headers, you will be happy to have a theme that does offer more user-friendly customization options before you need to or decide to get into making your own html/css/php changes.)
And, paying for a theme doesn't necessarily mean you get a better theme. In fact, I have found that this is not true at all (obviously, not in all cases -- YMwillV). At any rate, I highly recommend tipping the cookie jar generously for the free themes that work out well for you!
posted by taz at 6:55 AM on August 23, 2011
Best answer: Start with one you like. Download stylizer. Even if you don't begin to comprehend CSS, you can make the template whatever you want it to be in about 15 minutes. It's an awesome tool.
posted by TomMelee at 8:39 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by TomMelee at 8:39 AM on August 23, 2011
Seconding Atahualpa, which is what I'm currently using. Learning to customize things was not especially difficult and I really only had to scratch the surface to get a layout I'm happy with. Also, as taz mentioned, there's a lot of support out there too.
posted by Monster_Zero at 9:09 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by Monster_Zero at 9:09 AM on August 23, 2011
I would recommend Stealth which costs $35. It is not as basic as you would like, but it is VERY customizable if you take the time to learn how to use it. It really doesn't require any HTML knowledge (it can be a plus though) and you will have a really high end blog to show for it. Also, the guy that made Stealth also has other themes worth checking out.
posted by darkgroove at 9:14 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by darkgroove at 9:14 AM on August 23, 2011
I'll add Constructor to the list. It's really flexible and tinker-ready. I made a this little band site with it, and I have little to no idea what I'm doing when it comes to web design.
posted by quarterframer at 11:02 AM on August 23, 2011
posted by quarterframer at 11:02 AM on August 23, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by stlboi at 1:18 AM on August 23, 2011