wordpress theme selection field guide
DESCRIPTION
The WordPress Theme Selection Field Guide includes helpful tips for business owners and web designers on how to pick the best theme for their needs. Learn theme evaluation processes, WordPress best practices and workflow strategies. This guide also includes a list of essential skills, the community, and upcoming WordPress developer trends all to make your journey a more pleasant experience. Presented at the Milwaukee WordCamp 2013.TRANSCRIPT
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
WordPress Theme SelectionField Guide
by Gloria Antonelli
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
about me artistdesignertechnologisttrainerconsultantweb strategistwordpress developer
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
stuff i know
htmlcss
phpwordpress
web standards
uxuiseographic designcontent strategyusability testinginformation architecture
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
session overview ux standardsbefore theme selectionWordPress skill set theme selection optionstheme qualitiestheme trends
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
How WordPress Works
Plugin
. ThemeWordPress
Core
PluginPlugin
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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documentation
developmentdesigndocumentation
WP GOLD STANDARDS
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
WordPress ThemeEXPECTATIONS
Code StandardsHTML5, CSS3 & Responsive
Design Typography &Minimalist layouts
Documentation
User instructions
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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“Don’t Make me Think”
www.sensible.com/
Do-It-Yourself Guide to Finding and Fixing Usability Problems
A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Steve Krug
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Before Theme Selection
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Before Theme Selection
• Plan Website Goals & Objectives
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Before Theme Selection
• Plan Website Goals & Objectives
• Content Strategy Development
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Before Theme Selection
• Plan Website Goals & Objectives
• Content Strategy Development
• Forecast Future Needs
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Before Theme Selection
• Plan Website Goals & Objectives
• Content Strategy Development
• Forecast Future Needs
• Features & Customization
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Before Theme Selection
• Plan Website Goals & Objectives
• Content Strategy Development
• Forecast Future Needs
• Features & Customization
• Evaluate Your Ability & Time
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project Evaluate current content
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project Evaluate current content Outline new content
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project Evaluate current content Outline new content
• Design Layout
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project Evaluate current content Outline new content
• Design Layout Simple mockup or Wireframes
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Content Strategy what content buckets do you need?
• Define the Project Evaluate current content Outline new content
• Design Layout Simple mockup or Wireframes
• Develop Content
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Multiple Learning Layers
Essential Advanced WordPress Admin UI HTML5 Theme Functionality CSS3 Theme Options PHP Theme Widgets JQUERY
“Learn” image Aaron Schmidthttp://www.flickr.com/photos/aaronschmidt/
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Users ProcessPlugin Selection
Set upTheme
ModifyTheme> > >
read docssearch webview videosview tutorials
Theme Selection
review on webselect & hopefor the best
read docssearch webview videosview tutorials
search webread reviewsread docssearch web
repe
at a
s ne
eded>
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Team of Developersmany hats, jobs & skillsCODE DESIGN UI UX IA
One person wears all the hats.
Who makes Themes?
“Hat man” Andrew Warrenflickr.com/photos/27273053@N05/4507100640/
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Theme Selection Paths
Free From WordPress.org
Randomly on the Web (danger)
Buy Commercial list on WordPress.org
Commercial Theme Shops
Theme Marketplace Sites
Build Hire Developer/Designer
Do It Yourself
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Random Themes from WebNot Recommend
“Free WordPress Themes” Google results may not be safe or reputable.
May have malicious code and hidden spam links.
Little support or documentation. You’ve been warned!
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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WordPress.org 1,763 Free Themes
WordPress Theme Review Process
Theme Unit Test
Ratings& Stats
Updates
SupportForum
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Theme Stats
Reflects how many times downloaded not how many are in use.
May be a good indicator for a quality theme.
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Commercial Theme on WordPress.org
65 ShopsListed
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Commercial Theme Companiesalso called “Premium”
• Membership-Based • Renewal (monthly/annually ) for
updates, support & new releases• All Theme Packages - Lifetime Support• Startup Fee• Niche themes (Hermes Themes $200)• Pay-What-You-Want
Generally commercial themes offer good customization, quality and support.
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Theme MarketPlace
• Market for developers/designers selling their themes.
• Support directly from the developer not the marketplace.
• Choose carefully - some ignore WP Standards & best practices.
• Read user feedback on authors & themes
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Theme Marketplace Issues
“Many of us are tired of fixing issues with or coming up with workarounds for ThemeForest themes.”Justin Tadlock
“…QUIT GLOBALLY REPLACING CONTENT OUTPUT AND BREAKING OTHER PEOPLES CODE…”
@carlhancock tweet started that discussion.
Carl Hancock
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
“Theme Arms Race” Problem
Theme authors are marketing to make more money. They are packing as much into themes as they can to make a sale.
• Feature Bloat• Baked in Shortcodes & Features• Kitchen Sink Option Pages
wordpress.tv/2011/09/29/brandon-ryan-jones-the-anarchist-and-the-patriot/
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
When You Can’t Do It Yourself
Growing developer community - choose wisely.
Pick a theme/framework that has an eco system supporting it.
e.g. Many pitch themselves as a Genesis theme developer.
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Building a Theme
http://evansolomon.me/notes/premium-themes-are-a-lie/
In my experience, most themes are not of high quality anyway. The only true way to have
high quality website code is to hand build it. By high quality I mean standards and
accessible compliant, page speed optimized, SEO optimized, minified, free of divitis, and
many other aspects that make website code a high standard. I have rarely seen any
theme available online that is of such high standards, I get the impression people just
want to build themes quick and sell cheap. That’s why we hand build all our websites and
stay away from any free or “premium”.
Laurence CopeAugust 16, 2012
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
types of themesout of the boxone size !ts alldrag & drop interfaceparent/child frameworksstarter themescustom themes
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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One Size Fits All Option Page
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Packed Full of Features● custom layout templates ● advanced support for custom
post types ● customizable drop-down menus ● featured
sliders ● tabbed sidebars ● magazine layout ● enhanced
widgets for Twitter, Flickr, Google ● translations in many
languages ● RTL language support ● WP 3.0 Menus ●
Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomies integration ● 19
widget areas ● one-column, two-column and three-column
fixed-width & flexible-width layouts ● 8 pre-defined templates
● 19 pre-defined color schemes ● Suffusion
Theme Bloat!
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Child Themes
/*Theme Name: My Twenty Twelve ChildTheme URI:Description: My Child themeAuthor: Your NameAuthor URI:Template: twentytwelveVersion: 1*/
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
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Framework“A stand-alone base/starter Theme that is intended either to be forked into another Theme, or else to be used as a Parent Theme template.”
Built-in functions and jQuery/AJAX scripts to allow you to create Child Themes with the minimal amount of coding.
May include…• Custom functions in the Theme• Custom action hooks and filter hooks• Theme options page integration
wordpress.org
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
judging theme quality
not just on visual appealdoes it fit my site needscan it be extended or customizedavoid “theme lock in”html structure for seoreviews from developers(not from affilliate link sites)
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
support & documentation
most are behind a walled garden forumhelp desk - ticketed systemuser documentstheme updates
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
the buy indon’t know what to expect everyone is different
your cost is timebefore ・during ・after
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
theme trendsadaptive web designmobile firstuser centric designweb standardizationdesign simplicityspecialty themescustom post typescustomizerless built-ins · more pluginsless shortcodes
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
Join the
WordPress Global
Community
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmke
thank you!Gloria Antonelli
@GloriaAntonelligoogle +linkedinfacebook
Web Strategist WordPress Developer Consultant & Trainer
Thursday, June 6, 13
WordCamp Milwaukee June 2013
@GloriaAntonelli #wcmkeThursday, June 6, 13