Top Banner
Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers Elana Rudick - @designisyummy
28

Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Aug 13, 2015

Download

Design

Elana Rudick
Welcome message from author
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
Page 1: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Elana Rudick - @designisyummy

Page 2: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Elana Rudick @designisyummy designisyummy.com

Page 3: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

You chose this session over sleep.

THANK YOU!

Page 4: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

What’s a Theme?A WordPress theme leaves your content

the same, but changes how that information is displayed to the user.

(i.e.: visual changes to the site’s layout)

• Site Performance • SEO • Look and Feel • Extensibility

Page 5: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Theme Types

Page 6: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Free• Code Quality • Support • Backlinks

0 $

Page 7: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

PremiumPricing models: Single site license Multiple site license Theme club (membership)

Page 8: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Premium Themes: The Pros• Better documentation • More updates • Better security • Better SEO • Ongoing support • No attribution links • Custom administration panel

Page 9: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Premium Themes: The Cons• Custom administration panel • Too much configuration • Unwanted features • Unwanted plugins • “Bloated themes”

Page 10: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

FREE: WordPress theme directory: wordpress.org/themes/

PREMIUM: elegantthemes.com themelab.com studiopress.com designwall.com headwaythemes.com ithemes.com

rockettheme.com themeforest.net themify.me woothemes.com

Where to Look For Reputable Themes

Page 11: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

What to Look For When Choosing a Theme

Given: Responsive, mobile friendly, retina display support (Google’s mobile-friendliness tool)

• Functionality • Feature-light • Large file formats = bad • Plugins + Compatibility • Design • Usability, UX

Page 12: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

What to Look For When Choosing a Theme

• Compatibility • Documentation • Common problems • Good code (updates) • Ease of customization • Support

Page 13: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

What to Look For When Choosing a Theme

• Speed (GTmetrix, Google PageSpeed Insights) • SEO (SEO Site Tools) • Security

Page 14: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

No theme is perfect

Page 15: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Custom• Built from scratch • Use custom code • Only the plugins you want • More streamlined / less heavy • $$$ • Time

Page 16: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel.

Page 17: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Customized• Custom look without the custom cost • Less development time • Cost savings*

Page 18: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Disclaimer: Create a child theme if you plan on modifying the theme’s code.

Page 19: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 20: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Planning Your Theme StrategyASK THE CLIENT:• What type of website? • What do they need the site to do? • Specific plugins to be integrated? • Budget? • Timeline? • Style?

Page 21: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

Planning Your Theme StrategyASK YOURSELF:• What is your skill level? • What do you think the site needs to do? • Specific plugins to be integrated? • Budget? • Timeline? • Style? • Are you trying to reinvent the wheel?

Page 22: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 23: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 24: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 25: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 26: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers
Page 27: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

whatwpthemeisthat.com OR WPSNIFFER

Page 28: Themes That Make You Go Hmmm: Theme Strategies For Designers

@designisyummy

Questions?