Unit 7: Introduction to Themes

Introduction:

Once you have set up a basic structure for your blog by adding a few placeholder pages, categories, and themes, you can dress your blog up with a different skin. In this unit you will replace the generic, plain default skin with something more interesting and suitable.

Themes for WordPress have come a long way in recent years. In addition to the free themes available in WordPress’ back-end interface, there are also private companies that give away free themes or sell premade premium themes. If that wasn’t enough, there are even companies that will code your own beautiful design from a Photoshop file into a WordPress friendly skin.

Select a Theme

If you are looking for a free professional theme, visit this website. It lists over 20 of the best free WordPress themes for 2023. Some forums do discuss the topic of free themes not being supported well, but sometimes you’ll find some great free ones. Selecting a theme through the WordPress backend is easier than downloading and installing one from another website.

Here is a good tutorial on how to install a WordPress theme or a custom WordPress theme.

Here is another a great resource which provides a complete guide on how to use the WordPress Gutenburg Block Editor.

For your current purposes for this course, you will simply pick a theme from WordPress’ back end. Click on Appearance on the left of the Admin panel and then click on Themes. On the right tab at the top, click Install Themes.

You can try a keyword search to see what relevant themes are related to your blog. For example, if you are creating a blog about boats, you could try typing in a keyword such as ocean or underwater. In addition to keyword searches, there are filters that let you choose by number of columns, colours, and other parameters.