Tag: WordPress

Twenty Sixteen child theme with enhanced customizer options

I started with Twenty Sixteen and embarked on my latest child theme project. Along the way discovered a lot of great things that can be done with a child theme given a bit of research and some creative effort.

When it came time to refresh the look my website this year I looked into a number of themes, both free and commercial, and while I liked elements of many of the ones that I looked at, none really offered the full package of what I want. Most of the ones I previewed looked great but offered limited customization options, and were so convoluted at the core as to make further customizations via a child theme impractical. So I once again went back to the idea of making my own child theme from one of the other WordPress default themes.

Twenty Sixteen is the latest in the list of annual default themes offered by WordPress. Twenty Sixteen goes back to what I like about the older WordPress default themes. It is a simple, minimalist design that’s not overly blog-focused. Out of the box the default look doesn’t suit my tastes, but the basic design itself looks like a good starting point for a child theme I could tailor to my needs and design aesthetic. Continue reading “Twenty Sixteen child theme with enhanced customizer options”

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Site Updates

Back in June, the WordPress community released a major update to its popular blogging tool. Since the core files have undergone some dramatic changes, I thought it best to hold off for awhile on an upgrade to my site and wait until my plugins had been updated or, at least, tested for compatibility with Version 3.

This weekend I took the leap and upgraded my installation of WordPress and spent quite a bit of time re-theming the site based on the new engine. There were a few hair-raising moments, but the changes are now in place. Continue reading “Site Updates”

New Year, New Look

Seems that since I started using WordPress, I can’t go more than a couple of months before I decide to change the look of my website.

Well, I’ve gone and done it again. Seems that since I started using WordPress, I can’t go more than a couple of months before I decide to change the look of my website.

This latest iteration – which just happens to coincide with the start of the new year – is inspired by and built on the Modern Business 3 Dark HTML template by Jonathan Atkinson. This template is an HTML/CSS only site template (not a WordPress theme) available from Themeforest.net. Continue reading “New Year, New Look”

SEO: What NOT to do.

It doesn’t take Google long to decide that something on a website is in violation of one or more of their guidelines and the website will be promptly removed from their index

Search engine optimization is an important part of web design, but how does one go about attracting the critical eye of search engine spiders without drawing their ire? The first thing to understand is that search engine optimization is one thing, while spamming is quite another, and search engines are continually working to improve their algorithms in an attempt to filter out the spammers – who are trying to manipulate the system – from the legitimate sites that are providing valuable content and just trying to improve their site rankings. Continue reading “SEO: What NOT to do.”

The Google Blacklist: It does exist

I’ve since learned that Google has a whole set of rules regarding what one can and can’t do in order to try to affect page ranking, and I broke one of those rules

It all started quite simply: I just felt it was time to redesign my website. Along the way I thought it would be a good time to learn a little something about search engine optimization (SEO) and see if I could improve my search ranking. Continue reading “The Google Blacklist: It does exist”

Up and running…

I’ve learned a lot about WordPress, tuned up my HTML and CSS skills, missed out on quite a bit of sleep, and enjoyed nearly every minute of the process – all thanks to the many wonderful tools that the WordPress community has made available to the public.

I’ve spent the past few weeks working with WordPress to set up various elements that I’ve wanted to include in my website, and I’m pleased to say that the design phase of the news and information section is now complete.  If you read my previous post on integrating WordPress into my site, it’s obvious that what you see now is worlds away from what I started with.  Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about WordPress, tuned up my HTML and CSS skills, missed out on quite a bit of sleep, and enjoyed nearly every minute of the process – all thanks to the many wonderful tools that the WordPress community has made available to the public. Continue reading “Up and running…”