Designing Your Blog Presentation [Chapter 2&3]

Designing Your Blog Presentation

Now that we have WordPress naked, it's time to take a deeper dive. Like all CMS, a WordPress blog consists of 3 key elements:

1. CMS Nucleus - the system we have previously installed using the automatic installer,

2. Themes - the "front-end" of your blog, this is where you control what your blog looks like, and

3. Additional - add-on that gives you control and functions on your blog (more about that later)

To design or customize a blog view, all we need to do is customize a series of PHP and CSS files commonly found in / wp-content / themes / directories. These files are separate from the core WordPress systems and you can change them as often as you like.

Most individual bloggers do not create their own blog themes from scratch. Rather, what most of us do is choose a ready-made theme (or a raw theme) and customize it to suit our needs. There are endless numbers of beautiful WordPress themes around the Internet - a simple Google search will lead you to millions.

If this is your first time setting up a WordPress blog, my suggestion for you is to start with a ready-made theme and tweak it along the way.

Here you can find the ready made WordPress templates:

1. WordPress Theme Directory (free)

2. WordPress Theme Clubs ($ 89 / year - $ 400 with a charge)

3. WordPress Themes Marketplace ($ 30- $ 100 with a charge)

We will consider each option below.

1. The Official Directory of WordPress Themes:

https://wordpress.org/themes/

This is where you can get all the free WordPress themes. The themes listed in this directory follow very tight standards offered by WordPress developers, so, in my opinion, this is the best place to get free theme designs without the least hassle.

2. WordPress Paid Themes Club:

Another way to get high quality paid themes is to subscribe to WordPress Theme Clubs.

If this is your first time hearing about Theme Clubs, here's how it works: You pay a certain fee to join the club and get the different designs offered at the clubs. The themes offered at the Theme Club are usually professionally designed and regularly updated.

Elegant Themes, Studio Press and Artisan Themes are three WordPress themes I recommend.

There are so many more out there - some clubs even cater to a particular industry, such as realtors or schools; but we will only cover three in this article.

Elegant Themes

https://www.elegantthemes.com/

Elegant Themes is probably the most popular WordPress theme club in the industry. With over 500,000 happy clients, the theme site offers over 87 beautiful and stunning themes to choose from. It also allows you to download premium programs that will overload your online business. Subscription to Elegant Theme is quite affordable. You can enjoy access to all topics on unlimited sites for $ 69 a year. If you want to use plugins too, you have to pay $ 89 / year. If you love Elegant Themes, you can also buy the life plan for a one-time payment of $ 249.

My experience with elegant themes was generally positive and I have no problem recommending them.

Studiopress

https://www.studiopress.com/

If you've been a WordPress user for a long time, then you've probably heard of StudioPress. It is popular for Genesis Framework, minimalist framework and SEO-friendly WordPress for all StudioPress themes. StudioPress offers flexible pricing based on your needs.

Artisan Themes

https://artisanthemes.io/

Artisan Themes is not your usual WordPress theme class. Instead of downloading themes with pre-made sketches, this theme club lets you build a theme from scratch using the 20 Modules (call to action, tile displays, portfolio elements, etc.).

You can drop modules into its themes. Two of the most functional and contemporary themes are Abyss and Modules. Unlike other WordPress theme sites, you can purchase themes separately for $ 129 each. Simply choose the theme that best describes your business so you can set it up for a few minutes. You can only use available sites if you have installed the theme from the store as specified.

3. WordPress Themes Marketplace:

WordPress Marketplace Themes is where you can choose and purchase professionally designed themes from multiple vendors. Because WordPress has such a large user base, there are actually a number of great marketplaces (and thousands of vendors and developers) to choose from.

For example, my personal favorite - Market Envato, offers a huge collection of premium WordPress themes neatly organized based on themes, date added, user ratings and pricing.

Chapter 3.

 Adding Functions with Plugs

Seed is WordPress plugin?

A plugin is an add-on app that runs on top of WordPress and adds new features and features to a WordPress blog. There are more than 55,000 extensions to the official WordPress.org Add-ons Directory now and tens of thousands more available in the marketplace.

Bloggers use the plugin to add all sorts of features to their WordPress blog. For example, you can:

1.Create an online store using the WordPress WooCommerce Plugin

2.Build a worksheet using the WP Manager Plugin

3.Make a podcast website using the simple Podcast Press Plugin

4.Essential plugins for WordPress newbies

If this is your first time using WordPress, here are some essential (and free) add-ons to get you started:

Plugins for spam security and protection

Akismet WordPress plugin

For spam security and protection - Akismet, Vault Press, WordFenced and iTheme Security are the plugins I recommend.

Akismet is one of the oldest plugins that comes with your WordPress by default. This plugin helps you check all your comments against its service to see if they are spam. It collects all spam and allows you to review it under your admin 'comment' screen.

Vault Press on the other hand, is a real-time backup and security scan service designed by Automattic. This plugin gives you the functionality to copy and sync all your posts, comments, media files, reviews and panel settings to servers. WordFence and iThemes Security are plugins that integrate all the necessary WordPress security features. The main function of this plugin is to strengthen the security of a blog without having to worry about conflicting features or missing anything on your site or blog.

The other two performance plugins you should also check out are Cloud Blast and WP Super Cache. Cloud Flare is an additional add-on provided by CDN company, Cloud Flare; while WP Super Cache is developed by Donncha and Automattic, the company that developed and operates WordPress now.