Several years ago I wanted to update my blog and create a whole website integrating a common theme. After doing a bit of research I came do a stunning conclusion: I have no idea what I am doing.
I had created a couple of websites from the ground up, but it was extremely labor intensive to accomplish the smallest task. I was using CSS and HTML, with Dreamweaver, and I learned quite a lot in a short amount of time due to necessity.
When it came to my site, I decided to ask for help. Okay, I decided to have someone else do it. A friend of mine does this sort of thing and is pretty darn good at it, so I turned to her and her expertise. She created the OnBeingMe theme, installed Wordpress, and a couple of site pages. It turned out really well and was a good representation of me at the time.
My needs have since changed and, while I know a heck of a lot more about PHP, CSS and HTML than I did, it would still be extremely labor intensive for me to go about creating my own theme.
Let’s face it. I don’t have a whole lot of time on my hands and am a sucker for instant gratification. I set out on a search for some ready made themes that I could just upload and activate. It’s difficult to find quality themes that can stand on their own right out of the box, and I am grateful for the hard work that designers put into creating some really good ones. One of the best things about maintaining my own website is being able to have everything exactly how I want it. Having an aesthetically pleasing, ready made theme is nice while I chip away at my own a little at a time.
The good ones are not easy to find though, so I wanted to share the nicer ones that I have come across lately.
The first one is GreenLight. It’s a visually striking, 2 column theme that is widget ready.
The next one has a great balance of colors, is AdSense ready and has rounded corners on the tabs. It is also fixed width but has a nice border.
This one is a cute theme that I could see a pre- or elementary school teacher using to keep parents updated on the classroom. It is widget ready, has two columns and a left sidebar.
This last one, Green Mile, is very feminine and clean. It supports all of the basics the other ones above do.
Of course there are more themes on the sites that these link to. Given their wide variety, I’m sure you can find something you love. You know, until you get that custom one finished.