Customising Your Header

While I was trolling the internet looking for themes I came across SimplyWP and was quite taken with their style.  It’s not for everyone; I think  you’ll either love it or hate it.  They have a selection of free WP Themes that you can download or you can have them create a custom theme for you (£250 US).  I couldn’t afford or justify having a custom theme but they did offer to do a custom header for me ($30-$75 US).  I’m over the moon with the result and the service was excellent the whole way through.

I emailed them with the colours I liked, current fonts I was using and a vague idea of what I was hoping for.  Kathie, from SimplyWP, sent me off to istockphotos to choose some images that I would like to use.  She said it would take 2-3 days for the first draft.  By the end of the 2nd day I had the first draft and it only needed a few minor changes.  She also offered to upload it free of charge. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the host information.  However, she did send me a good set of instructions so I could upload it myself.  But, too be honest, I had a friend (@adrianburns) do it as it was a bit beyond me.

The only thing they ask (don’t demand) is that you give them credit in the footer.  I’m more than happy to do this once I work out how to do it! :-)

I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Andrew and Kathie at SimplyWP.

I’m in the process of trying to wangle you guys a discount and will let you know how I get on.  Just for the record I don’t receive any kick backs for recommending them.  I just like to spread the word when I experience good service.

Great News Kathie and Andrew from SimplyWP will give a 10% discount to people who come via  mediocremum.com. Just tell them I sent you.

My Journey from WordPress,com to WordPress.org

Registering a Domain Name and Renting Server Space

Exporting Your Blog

Choosing a Theme

Redirecting Traffic (TBA)

Plugins (TBA)

Technorati (TBA)

Choosing a Theme

No word of a lie, I wasted a good part of 3 days looking for a new theme for my blog.  I have the same problem when I go shopping; I have something in mind and never find exactly what I’m looking for.

I trolled the internet and wordpress.org.  All I wanted was a customisable header and 3 columns (left and right sidebars).  I really didn’t think it would be that difficult.  I tried Vigilance, Mumrik, Vinica, Lysa, Atahualpa, JSo4w, Constructor, Blass and many more.  They all started off well but as soon as I wanted to do something simple like change the font, headers or column widths I became unstuck. I found I couldn’t get it exactly as I wanted, unless I had some knowledge of coding and cascading style sheets (css), which I don’t.

I really wouldn’t recommend messing about with the css unless you really know what you’re doing.  I did and I made a right mess of the template.  Luckily, I have a friend who managed to sort it out for me.

In the end, after speaking to @violetposy, I decided to purchase a theme!!!  Well, I persuaded my hubby to get it for me for Mother’s day.  I know it sounds insane to spend money on a Theme when there are so many free ones, but once I calculated the amount of time and stress it would save me it really wasn’t that expensive (£56).

The reason I like the Thesis theme is because of ease in which you can customise.  The options are endless and it doesn’t require knowledge of coding.  You can choose fonts; number of columns, where you want them and you can use a custom header. Here is an example of the design options.

When I purchased it I also noticed that they have an affiliates program so I thought what the hell.  I think it’s great and if I can earn a bit back why not.  So, if you decide to purchase the Thesis Theme from DIY themes, I would be most grateful if you used this link.

Other Posts in the Series

My Journey from WordPress,com to WordPress.org

Registering a Domain Name and Renting Server Space

Exporting Your Blog

Customising Your Header

Redirecting Traffic (TBA)

Plugins (TBA)

Technorati (TBA)