This project started a looong time ago, when I first started working with Ellen Petty of Identity Kitchen. As we worked together on custom blogs and websites for photographers, we started brainstorming ways to make something similar available to everyone. The goal was to create Affordable, Easy-to-use, WordPress Portfolio Websites for Photographers. Our Goals We put together a long list based on what worked best with the common features we were using in our custom sites: social media integration, customization, easy-to-use backend, unlimited galleries, integration of fantastic photography tools like ShootQ, etc, etc. Like all of our custom sites they needed to be an all-in-one website AND blog, all built in WordPress and 100% HTML - no Flash. Flash sites are invisible to iPhones and create difficulties for search engines. Unfortunately, until now, Flash templates have been the only realistic option available at an affordable level. Regardless of what was used for a
Tagged with: ‘WordPress Themes’
PhotographyBlogSites is Launched!
November 3, 2010
Custom WordPress Development for TeenTruthLive.com
January 14, 2010Teen Truth started as a video documentary by Horizon Intertainment, created by handing teens video cameras to get their take on school violence shortly after the Columbine massacre in '99. It has since grown into a series of documentaries and Teen Truth Live, a live motivational speaking event that has now spoken in front of millions of students across the country. Their website had been a static HTML site, difficult to update and lacking the ability to comment or interact in any way. Producers JC Pohl and Erahm Christopher asked their original designer, David Richards to update his original design and brought me on to program the site using WordPress as a backend. David's new design stayed true to the original idea and maintained the well-established brand of Teen Truth, while modernizing it, bringing some greatly improved navigation and adding some moving pieces that really bring the site to life. By
Custom Blog Site for Studio Diana
January 13, 2010One of the great things about working with talented people is that the end product is something you wouldn't have been able to accomplish on your own. I have worked on several sites now with the talented brand and identity designer Ellen Petty of Identity Kitchen (see previous post with examples), all custom blogs designed by Identity Kitchen and programmed by myself using WordPress. But the site for Studio Diana is an all-in-one portfolio site and blog, the culmination of a lot of time and planning about what the ultimate possibilities of WordPress might be. With one login and only one site to edit, there is access to several categories of photo galleries, essentially unlimited pages, and a fully integrated blog. The design is customized on every page, with varying layouts and thumbnails for each section that really bring this site beyond the typical design. At the same time, the look
BlogStarter Version 1.1
May 27, 2009A couple weeks back I released BlogStarter, a free WordPress theme, actually two themes in one created as a starting point for easily building custom WordPress themes. After putting it to the test with my last couple WordPress sites, I was able to make a few quick improvements. You can find all the details about the BlogStarter theme for WordPress developers. Or just get the newest version here: DOWNLOAD Both Themes (.zip) Changes: Version 1.1 (released 5/27/09): Fixed and cleaned up some CSS Added a theme settings page to the admin area (easily taken out or edited to fit your new theme). For now it is only a couple links, eventually I will add a message about whether there is a new version available. Dropdown menu in the OneColumn version works better - lists archive in a dropdown, categories in a drop down, and the blogroll in a dropdown.
BlogStarter – Behind the Scenes
May 12, 2009WARNING: If you're not a CSS or WordPress geek, this post could be a little boring and tech-heavy to you. You can read the quick and easy version here. Or... VIEW LIVE DEMO DOWNLOAD (.zip) Why yet another Free WordPress Theme? As I have developed more and more sites, I have found myself repeating a lot of steps just to get started. I tried a few themes that other designers have made available with the promise of being a good starting point but was never happy with any of them. The Problem with other starting point themes The inspiration for this theme came because I saw others attempting to offer emptied out, basic themes as a starting point, or complex theme frameworks. Some were out of date and needed updating to be compatible with the latest versions of WordPress. Some were packed with options and settings within the admin area. These are great for someone with out
BlogStarter – Free WordPress Theme for Developers
May 11, 2009With this post I am announcing my very first WordPress theme. It is called 'BlogStarter' and is made specifically for WordPress developers (like myself) who are looking for a quick and easy way to get a new blog theme going. It is actually two seperate themes, a two-column verion with a widget-ready sidebar and a one column verison, complete with working dropdown menu at the top. VIEW LIVE DEMO - BlogStarter Two Column Version VIEW LIVE DEMO - BlogStarter One Column Version DOWNLOAD Both Themes (.zip) If you are interested in reading about why and how I created the theme you can go here: BlogStarter - Behind the Scenes. The Basic Features: Two Column Version has a Basic Two-Column blog layout One Column Version is ideal for quickly making photography blogs, with lots of space for photos. 960px wide (easily adjusted) no background colors or images (so you can quickly add your own) Highlights: WordPress 2.7.1 compatible (including threaded comments) Includes wp_head()