Web Substance Meets Style

Ok tinkerers. Now it’s your turn. You know a little about CSS. You’re pretty sure you can follow some basic instructions. You understand your blog should not look like every other one on Blogger or WordPress. You drew this kick-ass picture you just have to use for your header. You read the first step to Finding the Perfect Blog Theme—your notes are ready and your blog elements list is at hand.

But you have no idea where to start. We are here to help. Keep reading to find your almost-perfect blog theme (YOU are going to make it perfect).

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Step 2a is for the blogger who is NOT going to modify their selected theme. This article is for bloggers looking for themes to use ‘out of the box’. In the next few days, step 2b will be posted for bloggers who like to tinker.

In step 1 of Finding the perfect blog theme, your homework was to take pen to paper and determine exactly what your blog will need. Why are you blogging? Who is your audience? What is your purpose? The answers to these questions, and the blog elements list you created for step 1 are about to be put to the test. Consider these your rules. Rules that cannot be broken.

Armed with these rules, it is now time to begin the search for your perfect blog theme.

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When designing for a blog, there are more design issues to consider than if you are designing a website. I’m not taking anything away from website designers–I happen to be one. Blog designers, however, must consider web design elements in addition to blog design elements. These things include but are not limited to:

• layouts to incorporate advertising space, widgets, personal information, tags, etc.
• common widget elements (tags, categories, calendar, blogroll, etc.)
• comments and replies
• knowledge of PHP and CSS
• specialized design elements (date icons, sidebar icons, sidebar separators, etc.)
• archives

Of course the list above is not exhaustive, and it should give you a good idea as to the additional work involved when designing a blog. This is why 90% of the bloggers out there (myself included) scramble to find and incorporate pre-made themes. Personally, I have struggled with this factor at my family blog for years. I’ve gone through multiple themes, only to find they didn’t really meet my standards or were not as easy to modify as I initially believed. (Generally, when choosing a theme, I’m looking for a layout–not design. I’m going to change most if not all of the graphics and I want a good skeleton to dress.)

So, for those of you looking for the perfect theme for your blog, let’s talk about choosing a pre-made theme. You’ll be surprised to find out what the first step is.

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