There are many great reasons to set up a WordPress site. Simple to manage and maintain and highly user friendly, both for you and your online visitors, it’s easy to see why WordPress is one of the most popular web-building tools. But to make the very most of this resource requires time, care and a little expertise. Check out these killer design resources to help you bring your WordPress to life.
1. Starting Out
If you’ve never used WordPress before, the amount of resources available can be overwhelming. Start with a WordPress guide that will take you through the beginning steps of setting up your WordPress site.
2. Theme Development Framework
Choose your theme framework wisely, as this will be key to the design and functionality of your site. Two of the most reliable are Thematic and Whiteboard. Thematic is ready for WordPress plugins, like Subscribe to Comments, and has a 2 or 3 column design. It also features modular CSS and basic typography. Whiteboard is free and open source and is built with Less Framework for an instant mobile website.
3. Color and Images
Colors and images are very important for your inspiration as a designer, as well as for the overall appeal of your site. If you need color inspiration, or don’t have time to take high quality photos or design vector images yourself, check out these resources:
1. Adobe Kuler
2. Color Explorer
3. Shutterstock
4. Inspiration Tools
Inspiration is key if you want your WordPress site looking fresh and current. If you’re out of ideas check out these three inspiration tools:
1. The Design Inspiration
2. Behance
3. Style Vault
5. Cheat Sheets
If you have only just begun to explore the extensive range of functions available through WordPress, you may find yourself a little overwhelmed. To remind yourself of all the available tools, why not print a handy cheat sheet to save brain space? For rudimentary web design requirements, these cheat sheets from Tuts Plus should do the job, but there are many others available covering more niche areas such as plugins, theme development, widgets and more.
There’s no shortage of information available at your fingertips when building your first WordPress. From technical tips design inspiration, the web is chock full of friendly advice for first time WordPressers, so why wait?
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