How to map out your new blog theme and why you should do it.
You have a lot of interests, I know. And you want to visual;;y promote them as best you can. And now, as you look at your current blog does it need to be updated?
Does it have a modern feel to it or does it feel old, ancient, and you haven’t upgraded it in a very long time. Maybe even some features don’t even work anymore?
Is that possible? Yep. As WordPress keeps updating it’s platform you’ll need to update your blog that’s compatible with WordPress. Some themes just never get updated and that’s bad for you especially if you’re using a free theme.
Where to begin?
First, what are you trying to achieve with your blog? For new bloggers they often think for each interest they have they have to create a new website. Wrong. If you believe, agree that the BEST BRAND is you, you should only have ONE website that includes everything you do and offer. Why?
- Keeps visitors on your website longer
- Visitors want to know WHO you are
- Your Brand should be your name because you will ALWAYS BE YOU, but your interests can change
- You’ll only have one website to maintain so less stress
Second, look around on the internet at all the themes offered by different companies. An easy way to do this is click on the dashboard in your WordPress theme. Scroll down to APPEARANCE, then click on THEMES. On the page look for ADD THEME. Then see all the free websites listed. If you see one you like, click on PREVIEW AND DETAILS. Read abot the website’s features and often you can find a DEMO link at the bottom. Check out the demo because you’ll see what other theme styles there are and the purchase price if you decide to by one.
Themes that use the WordPress platform off basic WordPress features. Yet the theme designed by a specific company may add features, so what you can do with a theme will depend on its design and layout.
So let’s say you find a theme you really like but it’s a bout Beauty. There’s a lot of fashion and beauty images on it but you like how its visually laid out. No worries! You just replace the images, add your logo, change the text to reflect what you want on this website! Voila!
Now that you’ve picked your new theme do this next:
Avoid winging it! Throwing things around on your website – NO! Now it’s all about organizing your content.
- Take screen shots of your current website.
- Create a record of what looks like now, what’s on the main menu, how is your content listed
- On the menu – are too many topics listed?
- Do certain topics relate to other topic on the menu?
- Can some topics be combined under one main topic
- Learn more ways to enhance your website
Screen shots of your current website AND the one you want to use helps to map out where you want to place content, how you want to organize your content. This can save you a lot of time in planning your new website.
[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none”]When you “Wing-it” you waste time and make a lot of mistakes and do overs which can be frustrating[/tweet_box]
Here’s a list of features to look for in a new theme”
You know what you already have and worked with in your current website theme. But here’s a few more and plugins can add different website functions.
- Does it offer custom sidebars? This is a good feature because you can assign sidebars to different pages and posts. You can create your own course using sidebars
- Does it have a typography feature? This enables a change in text size, font style, and color
- Centered content on pages and posts. This is a good feature because it makes you content stand out without the distractions of cluttered sidebars
- What kind of widgets come with the theme?
Putting time and effort in mapping out your new website with pay off. You website/ blog is your online real estate, your home online. How you present your website to others does make an impression. So take the time to plan it well.