I started blogging a little over a year ago and those of you who have been following me, you’ll be pleased to learn that I graduated from free hosted blogs on WordPress.com and Blogger to a full- fledged blog on self-hosted WordPress and my own domain. My new blog Basic Blog Tips was officially launched a few weeks ago and I’ve been adding new posts regularly in addition to importing a few gems from the archive of Ms. Ileane Speaks and 2 BuddyPress blogs at the Blogging Wire.
During my stint at Blogging Wire I was able to dabble with plugins to some degree, but it was a major struggle to get themes and blogs working together as one cohesive unit on BuddyPress. I must admit, I continue to fuss with coordinating plugins, themes and widgets even with WordPress 3.0.1 code name Thelonious! I’m sure some of you experienced headaches when themes and plugins collide on your WordPress blogs too. Here’s my wish list for true Theme/Plugin/Thelonious harmony.
- Built in Social widgets – nice looking, bold social icons in a sidebar widget that includes Google Buzz and Blip.fm
- H1 tags that are smaller than the font for the post title – is it just me or do people always mistake your H1 tag for your post title?
- Custom header area – many themes have this feature and rightfully so
- Subscribe to Comments – It took almost 2 full weeks before I noticed I need to download a plugin for this (honestly I think this should be part of the core in Thelonious).
- Comment counts – comment counts should follow the authors name and date! I’m using the Digg Digg plugin as a temporary solution
- Webmaster Authentication code fields for every search engine – there’s plenty of plugins to help manage SEO for WordPress in fact there’s WAY TOO MANY! It’s going to take me another 6 months just to pick the one I like.
- Google Analytics insertion field – DOH! What blog owner doesn’t want to play around in GA!
- Favicon insert option – this is another no-brainer. Besides Blue Host doesn’t have the cutest little favicon so it’s gotta go!
- Multiple Sidebar options – sometimes one sidebar is not enough; this is another feature that most themes probably include already.
- Free – yes I said it! I want all of this is a free theme.
It’s very likely that I’ll never find all the features from my wish list in a free theme but maybe this post will inspire one talented theme developer to start working on one. Plugins and toolbars are great but we all know how they can slow down page load times especially if you have an abundance of them.
Now that you’ve seen my wish list, what’s on yours?
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Twitter: my_frugal_ways
Definitely agree with #10 =)
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
plin, I hear you!
Twitter: z3olyte
theres a way to resize the font size of the heading tags… you’ll need to code them manually using span style in the post editor.
I would like built in social widgets as well in my sidebar.. anything with lesser coding
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
Cindy, when I grow up I’m going to learn how to code like you! In the meantime I still need help…LOL!
Twitter: dragonblogger
These are all very nice items for a free theme, I would add the ability to put custom banner URL in the theme options, and maybe even have a sidebar ad widget in the theme. But I found I had to just make about 100 modifications to my own CSS to achieve what I wanted. Particularly regarding images and alignments, margins, padding….etc
I agree that subscribe to comments should be a default.
Justin Germino recently posted..Dragon Blogger Review of Up in the Air
Twitter: Ileane
Justin, your blog has such a custom feel that it’s pretty obvious that you put a lot of work into it, and it really looks great. Do you ever post any CSS tutorials? I’d love to check them out. Let me know when you get a chance.
Thanks!
Twitter: WaynesBNP
Yea, there are some good free themes out there, but I took the plunge and slapped a premium theme on my blog. Reason being? If there is a good free theme with all those features, everyone would begin to use it and everyone’s blog would look alike! At least with a premium theme, that seperates an entire segment who don’t want to pay for them.
Twitter: Ileane
Hey Wayne, which theme did you end up getting? btw – love the new avatar!
Twitter: DennisEdell
Why do you want two H-1 tags in one article?
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
Hi Dennis, I’ve been seeing you on the net a lot today! I want the font for the H1 tag to be smaller than the font for the post title, that’s all.
Twitter: marketifyblog
Nice wishlist Ileane. Oh, about the two h1 tags, Dennis, Google actually allows us to have two h1 tags in the post. You can use two h1 to mark something important, says your blog title and comment section, etc
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
Hi Mike, thanks for sharing the info about Google and the H1!
Twitter: DennisEdell
That’s the first I’ve heard of that, I’ll have to bring it up to my SEO. I’ve recently started outsourcing it and she (a whiz at SEO) kinda balked at me for having two.
Perhaps I misunderstood. Can you point to something in writing from Google?
Twitter: creative_ace
That’s a lot for a free theme. I think you’re biggest issue is going to be #6. If you find one that works for all search engines, ring me.
I’m with Dennis on the H1. What do you want the Post title (i.e. H1) to be smaller than. To change it, it’s simply a matter of going into your CSS and changing the size from the default to something smaller (e.g. H1 = 22px to H1 = 16px).
Scratching my head on H1, but ya got me thinkin’…hmmmm
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
Hi CJ, about changing the CSS – sooner or later I’m going to start coding because if I end up getting a paid theme, most likely I’ll come up with a whole new wish list
Twitter: creative_ace
That’s how it all starts, just a little tinkering here and there and the next thing you know, BAM! You’re coding a whole theme.
Twitter: DennisLarine
A nice list. If I ever decide to make my own theme (I’ve been thinking about it for a while), I’ll definitely include most of these features in it.
Dennis recently posted..Application Icons Need To Be Realistic
Twitter: BasicBlogTips
YEAH!! Thanks Dennis. Keep me posted on Twitter ok?
Twitter: colleenlane
Along the lines of the custom header area, I would like to see easier image management for the header. In our theme, it’s a bit of a chore to change header images.
Colleen recently posted..City of Pasco WA Parks and Recreation Sports Clinics and Classes
Twitter: Ileane
Hi Colleen, that’s a great one to add to the list. Inserting the image in the header should be much more user friendly. Thanks!
Twitter: AnneOnline
It’s so hard to find a theme with everything one wants. I gave in and bought Headway and it’s highly customizable, but almost too customizable. Is there really such a thing? lol But, on one of my other blogs I have the plug-in Favicon in place. http://emyl.fr/ongame/poker/plugin-favicons/ I found it through WordPress’ plug-in page, but the site shows you a nice snapshot of how it works.
I would love a custom header option that allows rotation of image and/or different headers for different pages. I have ideas and no idea how to implement them.
Anne Bender recently posted..The Wedding- 10 Years in the Making
Twitter: DennisEdell
It’s funny you mention that Anne. I recently purchased FlexSqueeze for future blogs (the developer version for future clients).
While all the features are child-simple to customize, there area LOT of them.
Some cool header options you mention there, I’ll have to browse FS to see if it does it.
Twitter: Bikergal78
Your my hero!! Wish I used WordPress though. I’m on Blogger. Although there are some really cool items I’ve been able to get for free also.
Twitter: jronaldlee
I don’t think the “free” part is reasonable. I’ve paid for a couple of premium themes, and may do it again.
I just want control. I want to control every aspect of my design, and don’t want to have to use plug-ins to do it. That’s not been my experience, though, so I’m looking at learning how to do some of what I want myself.
James recently posted..Fortune Cookie
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