WordPress websites: Changing the site template

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The appearance of each site is controlled by the site template. One of the primary reasons why WordPress was chosen as the CMS/blog of choice for our ship sites was due to the fact that changing the template of the site is very easy. There are literally thousands of free and pay-to-use templates available on the web. Changing templates on a site is as simple as uploading the new template and turning it on.

You are, by no means, required to change from the default template. It is simple, classy, and works well for our purposes. However, if you'd like a different look to the site, you can use the information below to find a new template for the site.

What to look for

There are two basic criteria you should look for when searching for a new theme:

1. Header banner. Because most themes out there are not space-oriented, it's important for us to "set the stage" for the viewer so they know what exactly this website is about. To do that, header banners are necessary. Some templates out there don't have header banners, by default, so that's a criteria you'll want to screen for.
2. Simplicity. There are many templates/themes out that are quite complex, and allow for things like ad spaces, and multiple column layouts, or "magazine" type setups. Avoid these if you can, because it adds more work than is necessary. Again, these sites are there as a quick-reference for our crews, as a news reel for crew information, and as an advertisement for your ship, and our community.

Where to find new themes

First place you'll want to go is probably to the WordPress theme gallery, found here:

• [1]

There are many other independent websites that also have theme galleries:

• http://www.bestwpthemes.com/
• http://wphacks.com/free-premium-wordpress-themes/
• http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/4-good-websites-for-great-wordpress-and-blogger-skins/
• http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/01/08/100-excellent-free-high-quality-wordpress-themes/

Examples and exceptions

Here are some examples of other themes you might consider using:

Cutline

• URL: [2]
• WHY IT WORKS: Even though it's a white-background theme, it's still very simple, clean, and easy to add our own branding to. There's a prominent "Title Text" area at the top where your ship name will be displayed, as well as a place to put the ship's motto below it, like we currently have. It also has a very large banner area, where a ship image would look great. The sidebar is easy to configure and change, because it's WordPress, so nothing to worry about there. Even though this is a very popular theme for WordPress, I definitely recommend it.
• SIMILAR: http://pearsonified.com/theme/neoclassical/

Gluttony

• URL: [3]
• WHY IT WORKS: This grayscale theme does have a banner area, where we could put a nice grayscale version of a ship banner, making it look very classic, perhaps even a little moody. We did something similar with the "pop-out" Paladin site (scroll to the bottom and enter the main version of the site). All the other standard accouterments are there.