Variations on a WordPress Theme . . .
Even with the limits imposed by WordPress on the best xhtml/css source ordered negative margin layouts, there is still a lot you can do to customize a WordPress Theme.
Whether you make your columns LOOK like columns, or instead box out the side column lists by adding borders to all sides, whether you round the corners (oh, but that’s been SO overdone!), decorate the top and bottom of your lists, or dress out the section headers with a background, there are so many different looks you can achieve that it boggles the mind. It’s all in the css coupled with the use of background images, for the most part.
The search and comment forms can be dressed out to match your theme. If you peek in the Kubrick theme there’s a way to hang a style handle on alternate comments so they can have a slightly different color background which I’ve successfully ported to some of my own themes. Simply adding a bottom border to the ol li in the comment list will also set those comments off from each other nicely.
Backgrounds can be layered throughout any layout and if you use transparency some interesting effects can be achieved. If you use the themeswitcher on the lower right column and check out the Kickass-Squawk Theme, where four distinct layers of images, three of which have transparent areas, make up the header to create a design that is truly flexi width.
Border color and background color without using any background images at all can also achieve a whole lot. Setting a top and bottom border in a contrasting color, then adding a background color to your h1 with a distinct text color, pops it right out of the top of the page and into the eyes of viewers with no images and a very fast load. Of course, simply adding a background image to a header behind the text will also add drama and spice. (Test-drive Kickass-SpookyBlue on the Themeswitcher.)
Customizing your template tags so that you can use WordPress in a more CMS like fashion, along with a custom home.php and a plugin to use a static “Page” as the homepage, allows you to build a more conventional site with WordPress, but without the updating hassle. This is an especially cool approach for small business or non-profit brochure websites.
The possibilities are staggering . . .
[tags]Customizing WordPress Themes, CSS, Style, WordPress Design, Template Tags, CMS, Small Business Website, Non-Profit Website[tags]
