- Buy a professional template for better tech support and programming
- If you need to redesign the site, get feedback from readers
Finding A Blog Template
The first step in blog design, particularly in Wordpress, is finding a template.
I started out with a free template. To find a template, I searched magazine-style Wordpress template. That search linked me to the both paid and free templates. When the free one became too limiting, I found magazine-style template through a Google search. The template cost about $100.
Why Buy A Template?
There are 3 major reasons to pay for a template:
Reason #1: Tech Support
The cost of the template includes tech support whenever you need it. The free version of the same template doesn’t include tech support. When I had an issue, Studio Press, who made my template, was really good about coming back and letting me know what wasn’t working.
Tech support was one of the things I looked for when choosing a template. If I had an issue, I figured I could ask my husband for help, but I didn’t want to annoy him.
At the beginning of Little Austinite, he just shook his head and thought the whole thing was crazy. This is one of many ventures I started.
Reason #2: Better back end
Most templates are so user-friendly that the back end is already written. You can just choose your color palate, and it will change automatically.
The template I have is an older version of the one available now. The new template changes automatically, but mine doesn’t.
I knew that I wanted to customize my blog, so having a flexible back end was really important to me.
Reason #3: Programming Flexibility
I have some programming experience. If you use Wordpress, you don’t really need to know HTML and CSS. The template allowed me to code and customize. If I had a problem or botched something, I could go back to tech support to see what was wrong.
Scaling Up
When Little Austinite grew quickly, I realized I had to make changes to scale the website to be larger.
The first thing I had to do was get rid of the template. The stats had skyrocketed. Within a couple weeks, I had several hundred people checking the website regularly.
I added a post on Facebook saying I would take the site down for a couple days and that it would look messy, but I was able to complete the overhaul overnight. A lot of big sites had signs saying “under construction,” but I didn’t want to do that.
Facebook allowed me to get feedback on the new layout. It took about a day or two for everything to look right, but while it was “under construction” the site was still navigable.
I found a template that worked for my time limitations. I could change the background, graphics, and masthead easily. I used the template that was easy to maintain and customize.
In short, buy a professional template, which costs about $100, for maximum customization and professional tech support. When it comes time to scale larger, make the process interactive; ask for feedback.
