[Gaystoryman]

The choices we make, can determine how well the blog will work. Some are the 'slap & tickle' type, who simply grab a theme, toss it up, add some RSS feeds, and think they are going to be joining the Millionaire Club in the Bahamas.

Boy are those days over.

When you get yourself a blog up and running, it is funny how we forget some of the basics in being a webmaster.

For example, you have the choice to either have the front page of your blog be a static type page, or to have your current posts displayed.

IF you choose the latter, then you have to decide how many posts to display. Some seem to have the opinion that you go with the default of 10, but think about that for a second. IF you have ten posts showing, add original text content of 300 words, your front page is going to be showing 3000 words along with all the other garbage that goes with a post.

Anyone wonder what G thinks of that?

Sure, Google knows it is a blog, and they seem to adapt to that pretty good, but then let's look at it from the standpoint of the surfer. We are told that a page needs to load quickly (depending on who you talk to, some say as low as 3 to 5 seconds, while most say average of 10 seconds) So how fast does your page load, with 3000 words of text and several photographs and ads etc? Most blog posts will contain a collage, maybe 4 to 5 pics, a video clip. Multiply that by TEN.

Consider too, how will the surfer feel about all that scrolling downwards? Will it make them want to see more, will it make them search your categories for more, or will it simply be Oh nothing here, off till the next post.

Then we have the 'excerpt' theme. A solution to having endless post dribble, or a limiting factor in sales? My Only Sex blog uses an excerpt theme.

Excerpt themes are those that display only a brief description (sometimes with a thumbnail, sometimes just text ) on the front page. So instead of a long post of pictures, video clip, and text, it has a brief outline. Most 'excerpt' type themes will use the text you write in the 'post excerpt' or will simply pull a selected amount of text from the post, if you don't have the excerpt.

The problem some associate with these type of themes, is that it makes the surfer click more, in order to get to the goodies. These 'others' also say that surfers are too lazy to click through, but aren't too lazy to scroll endlessly down and down to read more posts.

So simply tossing up a theme, really isn't what blogging is about. Yes, most will tell you it is the easiest way to get into the adult webmastering business, but I wonder, is it? I mean there are a myriad of other choices, associated with running a blog, that have to be factored in. So perhaps, the real solution is to learn the basics of CSS (as most blogs are driven by CSS more than HTML) and some basics in HTML & PHP.

I learnt a long time ago, from people like his nips , rushing well get you nowhere fast. Taking the time to understand the procedure, is what will make you successful. Well, that isn't quite true, what it does is give you a better shot at being successful. And frankly, that is about the best one can hope for these days.

Now what was that someone posted, about changing your theme with every post?

[gonzogone]

GREAT post!

I don't know how some people choose their themes - some look sooooooo good while others I look and just go... WTF?!

I usually go for an appearance that I like that will match the site concept - that's the starting point. Then, I want to know how it lays out the code to see if my content will be at the top of the rendered page. The right sidebar better load last...

From there, I hope that the CSS makes sense and is done well. Can I make adjustments to it easily if needed to change the overall color scheme. Are there added graphics that I may need to change the colors of if I totally change the theme colors?

Yeah... takes me a while sometimes to find a theme I want to work with and I usually use the same one more than once.

I like that you pointed out it doesn't end with picking a theme though - there are other decisions to be made. They are easy to adjust, but you have to consider them at some point early on! I tend to use the <more> feature to limit how much of a post shows up in category pages, but that's just me. Easy for my brain to process.

good stuff!!

[Gaystoryman]

How true, that to begin with, one needs to find a theme that looks good. But even then, you have to know if you are looking for a one column, two column, or three column theme. Then there is the footer. Do you load it up with widgets, or simply go for the sidebar(s)?

I think too many simply toss it up, forgetting that if they go with excerpts for the front page, that having a three to five column footer would make good sense. This helps one limit the sidebar and thus keep the asthetics purdy.

I mean okay, say you go for a standard multiple post front pae (ignoring excerpts). You either have to load up the sidebar, to keep the white space to a minimum, but then, when you look at the single post, you have miles of ads with no content to the side. It looks butt ugly (like some of the guys I've date when I was single )

The 'more tag' is usefull, if you aren't using the 'excerpt' feature in the theme, ( if it has one ). On the flip side, if you are using the excerpt feature in a theme, then the 'more' tag becomes superfilious. Again, without planning all this out, you can wind up really having a naff looking blog. Nothing turns a surfer off, than an ugly looking blog.

And then there is the other part, of the whole theme balancing act. So many these days comes with lots of bells and whistles, that it can actually weigh against you, when it comes to the SERPS. Not only that, a rich looking theme, takes the surfer's attention away from the content. The two become a competition, and frankly, I'd rather the content be the showcase, not the theme design/colors.

But hey, I am blond

[gonzogone]

if you're not thinking about the overall site layout from the start with how many columns you want and at least an idea of the placement of things - you're going to be in a world of hurt at some point no matter what...

You really do have to watch out for the built in bells and whistles. They can be too much and you never know where there may be hidden bells and whistles... the kind that advertise for somebody else that you didn't catch Plenty of those crap themes out there these days.

I have yet to use widgets in the footer. Only have one theme in use that supports it off the top and not sure what I would put there anyway.

No doubt, the theme should compliment the content rather than be the showcase that appeals to the surfer more than the content.

Depending on what type of look you are going for, I recently had a really good experience tweaking the default twentyten theme for a mainstream site. Was a snap to do a lot to it in the CSS and it was the first time I was able to play with the menus for a top navigation. I think it worked out really well. I have a lot of static pages, including the index, and then a blog section.

[Tigger]

great posting Ian you get awarded 1 wine point for that only 1000 more to go and you get your VERY own glass of wine

The problem with blogs is people (webmasters) assume they can take the theme straight out of the box so to speak and start adding contact with little or no though about the blog structure or even trying to control the way postings are made and displayed and lets be honest we've seen more than a few of those here

When choosing a theme I tend to go for looks over 2 or 3 columns after all the only real difference between 2 or 3 is less banner space so you just work with the sponsors that stand a better chance of a sale

[Gaystoryman]

Originally Posted by Tigger

great posting Ian you get awarded 1 wine point for that only 1000 more to go and you get your VERY own glass of wine

The problem with blogs is people (webmasters) assume they can take the theme straight out of the box so to speak and start adding contact with little or no though about the blog structure or even trying to control the way postings are made and displayed and lets be honest we've seen more than a few of those here

When choosing a theme I tend to go for looks over 2 or 3 columns after all the only real difference between 2 or 3 is less banner space so you just work with the sponsors that stand a better chance of a sale

I'll DISAGREE , that was worth at least 2 Wine Points if not 3

[Tigger]

you didn't read the contract when you joined the forum did you ?

your posting was ONLY 620 words - had it been 621 you would have got the full award - but keep trying Ian and if you need help on your writing skills just drop me a me a pm

[gonzogone]

Originally Posted by Tigger

y but keep trying Ian and if you need help on your writing skills just drop me a me a pm

just don't ask for spelling help

[Gaystoryman]

Originally Posted by Tigger

you didn't read the contract when you joined the forum did you ?

your posting was ONLY 620 words - had it been 621 you would have got the full award - but keep trying Ian and if you need help on your writing skills just drop me a me a pm

You forgot to count the title in the total

[housekeeper]

I tend to choose my themes carefully, choosing the wrong theme will surely put you in a trick bag. Of course the fact that you can replace one theme with another is a great tool and can actually save you, without having to do much clean up.

I think it is essential to have your concept in place way in advance, and with respect to the appearance make certain you can match it up as close as possible. Of course themes don't always look the same once as they do in the display, so that's something to be mindful of as well.

Very important to read the description of the theme before you download, the code and what it is capable of handling is something to be mindful of before you start.

I do a combination of things that GSM described, some themes I use the excerpt. I never have more than 4-5 posts on the opening page, not simply from a scrolling standpoint but by virtue of size from a visual standpoint.

For me the thinking should be what would your concept be if you were building from scratch, also when choosing a theme I always keep in mind how I may be able to customize it, and that goes back to making certain the theme you choose is easy to customize. They all need augmented, it shows you care and your not another schmuck who slapped down any old thing, surfers know.

[housekeeper]

Another good practice I use when I find a theme I like, first thing I do is open the background image and check the properties, Many themes don't tell you what the width is, whether it's fixed or otherwise you have to consider your header and size. You'll be surprised sometimes when you find a theme you like, only to find out the header is 800px width or smaller and you set out looking for something larger.

[gonzogone]

this thread is just full of good stuff!