Free (Highly Customizable) WordPress Theme: Introducing NomeBlog
Written by Alex Denning, a Twitter fan who has finally got around to launching his own blog, Nometech.com!
Recently WordPress has had a huge popularity surge, with the rise of ‘magazine themes’. At the same time that WordPress’ popularity has soared, people have forgotten about what WP is all about: fundamentally, it is a blogging system. Trying to keep that in mind, I’m releasing my first WordPress theme, NomeBlog.
NomeBlog is as simple or as complicated as you’d like it to be; those of you who don’t have much experience coding or don’t want to edit your theme files, you can just install the theme and leave it at that. However, those of you who are into theme customization, you’re going to love NomeBlog! Why? I’ll run down some of the features:
- XHTML valid code
- Auto-image resizing
- Breadcrumbs
- Awesome jQuery navigation
- Widgetised sidebar
- Author info at the bottom of posts
- Related posts automatically displayed
- iPhone support
- ‘Login’ option displayed on the navbar to those logged in
- Customised default gravatar (+gravatar support)
- Support for WP-Pagenavi
- Sidebar blog
- Built in archive
- 125×125 ad ready
- Feedburner subscribe by email ready
- Homepage thumbnail support
NomeBlog prides itself in ease of use - I originally built the theme, or at least what I based NomeBlog on for one of my other sites, Nometet.com. Why did I build it? It was taking me too long just to post something on Nometet, resizing images, inserting custom fields; I needed something that did the hard work for me. The solution was to build the NomeBlog theme.
As I’ve already said, NomeBlog is as simple or as complicated as you’d like it to be, so I’ll quickly run through some of the more advanced features:
- phpthumb built in - the script that timthumb was built off, phpthumb is the image resizer to end all image resizers; it is great! Check out the getting started guide (link below) for details of how to use it in posts, alternatively, you can create the custom field ‘Image’ and on the homepage will be displayed a thumbnail of the image you’ve input.
- iPhone support - as I wrote here a short while ago, iPhone support is becoming increasingly a necessity. NomeBlog supports the iPhone through the use of the iWPhone plugin, which I’ve customized. You can download the customized version of the plugin (which looks great!) here.
- Customised default gravatar - fed up with random monsters and boring silhouettes being displayed next to Gravatar-less-comments? NomeBlog has built in support for your own customized Gravatar. Just upload your own image file (again, see the getting started guide) and you’re done.
It is hard to show off all the features briefly, so for the full, complete list of features and details on how to get started, check out my new blog, where there is a lengthy getting started guide. To keep updated, make sure you grab the Nometech RSS feed too!
And of course, you can view a live demo here or download the theme. It is free, but please keep the link back. Any comments would be appreciated.
How To: Find the Right WordPress Theme
Although WP Hacks was originally setup with WordPress Hacks in mind, based upon our readers needs we’ve invested a lot of time over the past year and a half into researching WordPress themes and providing you with a large selection of WordPress theme galleries.
Back when this website was launched the premium themes market didn’t exist yet, so we had originally placed our focus on the different types of free WordPress themes. The result was a bunch of galleries broken down into types.
Since that time, a second market has emerged known as premium WordPress themes (premium was the term originally used to describe a more advanced or higher quality WordPress theme). Over time we adapted and now offer a variety of both types of theme galleries.
I always felt there is a market for both types of themes in the WordPress community, but some shoppers don’t know which of the two they should be looking at. Add in the fact that too many designers over the past year have released low quality themes under the ”premium” business model, and a lot of people have been left unhappy with their purchases and an overall loss of trust in the premium themes market as a whole.
So, if you were shopping for a new WordPress theme for your website or blog, what should you be looking for? Based upon the individuals needs of the shopper, there are a variety of factors that should be considered, but it mostly boils down to three essential factors:
- Price - Is the theme free? If there is a cost associated with the theme, am I getting the right value for the price? In the price category, free WordPress themes are always going to have an advantage, but there are a few downsides to going this route. Free themes usually require you to leave the link in the footer, while many premium themes do not. Many free themes are also unsupported, so if you aren’t comfortable hacking your own theme, it may be worth the price to purchase a supported theme. There is also minimal risk of sponsored links or malicious code showing up in a purchased theme.
- Quality - Another obvious point of comparison between free WordPress themes and premium WordPress themes is the quality of the themes. There are a number of high quality free WordPress themes and (as mentioned above) there are some low quality premium themes. When looking for your theme, the designer or design companies reputation is everything. Does the theme I want offer control panel options, cross browser compatibility, or widget support? Are there multiple layouts and color choices to choose from?
- Support - Although support isn’t going to be relevant for some people looking who have the ability to customize their own theme, for most shoppers this should be the most important factor. Some free themes offer support from the designer, but most do not. If you decide to purchase a theme, you are usually paying as much for the support as you are for the acutal theme! Does this designer have trustworthy testimonials? Do you know any existing customers who are happy with the support they are receiving?
What do you value most when shopping for the right free or premium WordPress theme for your website or blog? I know most of the WordPress theme designers read this site and will see your feedback, so let us know in the comments!
My Thoughts on Digg and Their Community
Despite the fact that I’ve been blogging for over three years now, the past two days have been a unique experience for me. For the first time in my blogging career, one of my posts made the front page of Digg. Truthfully, this isn’t the big accomplishment that it used to be as many bloggers make it there in their first few months of blogging, but this post isn’t about that. Instead I wanted to post about my experience being on the front page of Digg.
Funny thing is, the post that was Dugg was our best 3-Column WordPress Themes gallery, which was actually published on October 2, 2007. In that post, we featured our favorite 3-column WordPress themes in a gallery format for people to look through and find a suitable theme for their WordPress blog. This of course was before any of the premium WordPress themes or content management themes we have today. After I noticed the post was on Digg’s front page, I decided to revisit this post and noticed how “2007″ it was. WordPress has grown a lot since then and the quality of themes has really grown with it, making many of these themes really look outdated.
Anyway, I digress. It was Sunday afternoon before I realized WP Hacks had crashed due to being on the front page of Digg and it took a few hours before I tracked down the reason why and got the site back up and running. Once that was figured out I decided to dig through the Digg comments (pun intended) and was surprised with what I found:
1) Surely not the “best” themes out there.
Even though some look good, the others are really… well, insignificant.2) Is it just me or are all of these comments ridiculous? This has become very common on posts like this where they are a ‘best of’ list. My guess is someone is paying people to digg their article and make it FP.
3) Wow, someone just randomly grabs a heap of themes with no discernible consistency of quality at all, jams a bunch of screen shots together into a blog post, then by virtue of having dug every submission of of anyone in his list of ‘friends’ in the last six months, gets this propelled to front page. Then he logs in his army of fake accounts and makes a bunch of comments about his own post.
4) These aren’t that great, and all of these comments look like spam . . .
Seriously?!? I wasn’t even aware this post had been Dugg for almost 24 hours and suddenly I have an army of accounts and I have friends digging for me? Is it not possible for people to legitimately make the front page of Digg these days? I guess I don’t use Digg enough these days to know the “rules for getting to the front page.” With that said, probably the funniest part is this post being close to a year and a half old, yet people act like it was a fresh post showing current themes.
Anyway, for years now I’ve never really focused on Digg traffic and I think the comments above show why. It is simply a rush of traffic which is usually not targeted to your niche topic, so there is little chance of converting them into readers. Why exactly would someone want their post on the front page of Digg? The only potential benefits I can think of are incoming links I suppose. Otherwise it is more of a hassle than anything.
So, what are your thoughts on Digg? Do you still use it?
Oh, and to our new readers, if you’re looking for a new WordPress theme, here are a few updated theme galleries we’ve made:
140+ Free & Premium WordPress Themes Gallery
Updated: March 25, 2009
As WordPress continues to grow in popularity, more and more designers are realizing the potential of building WordPress themes. In addition to the financial benefits, designers can also use WordPress themes to create additional inbound links, improve their reputation as a designer, and of course help generate freelance work.
Because of the huge size of the WordPress theme market, it has become increasingly difficult to find a good way to browse through the available WordPress themes. Unfortunately I don’t have a solution, but I have spent several hours trying to sort through the available themes and create a gallery to display many of the top designs in both the free and premium WordPress theme markets. Currently this page has over 150 WordPress themes, plus a few known theme clubs thrown in at the bottom for people that prefer that route.
Due to the size of this post, I have broken the themes contained within this post into 6 categories for easier navigation. Simply click the link which applies to the type of WordPress theme you are looking for and you’ll be directed directly to that section!
- Blog WordPress Themes
- News/Magazine WordPress Themes
- Small Business WordPress Themes
- Portfolio WordPress Themes
- Video WordPress Themes
- WordPress Theme Clubs
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Blog WordPress Themes
Vintage Theme
Blues Theme
Shades of Blue Theme
Typebased Theme
PassionDuo Theme (3 Colors)
Green: Demo | Download, Red: Demo | Download, Blue: Demo | Download
WP Freemium Theme
SimpleWP Theme
Evolution Theme
Source | Download | Demos: Blue, Green, Red
GlossyBlue Theme
Color Paper Theme
StudioPress Theme
Blak Magik Theme
Several3 Theme
Mag on Wood Theme
Simply Ornate Theme
Agregado Theme
Notepad Chaos Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
WordPress Fun Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Daily Press Theme
Curious Theme
Rewire Theme
Pixeled Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Daily32 Theme
Digital Statement Theme
Curved Theme
Accord Theme
Webby Green Theme | Webby Blue Theme
Source | Download (Green) | Download (Blue) | Demo (Green) | Demo (Blue)
Maggo Theme
iPhone Theme
Firebug Theme
Padangan Theme
Free Revolution Theme
Black and White Theme
Xplosive Theme
Xplosive Reloaded
Blog oh Blog Theme
Langit Theme
Blue Block Theme
Dark Zen Theme
Tomodachi Theme
Blue Dream Theme
BizFresh Theme
Simple Red Theme
Source | Download (Requires free registration) | Demo
True Blue Theme
Source | Download (Requires free registration) | Demo
Resurrection Theme
WP Premiere Theme
Silveray Theme
Rhea Theme
Aspire Theme
Velocity Theme
Techicon Theme
Biz Theme
Quadruple Blue Theme
Lightsource Theme
Comes with $20.00 subscription to Elegant Themes Club!
Flexx Theme
- Over 1,000 Possible Layout Combinations!
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($249.95)
Gotham News Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Blog Theme
Single-Use ($40.00), Developer’s ($90.00)
Omni Social Networking Theme
Single-Use ($79.99), Developer’s ($199.99)
Over Easy Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Blubs Theme
Single-Use ($49.95), Multiple-Use ($99.00)
Killian 1.0 Theme
Personal ($49.00), Developer ($159.00)
Thesis Theme
Personal License ($87.00), Developer’s License ($164.00)
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Magazine/News WordPress Themes
OpenBook Theme
Options Theme
Hamasaki Theme
Structure Theme
Massive News Theme
Visionary Theme
Mimbo Theme
Morning After Theme
Forte Theme
The Studio Theme
Arthemia Free Theme (Premium Version Also Available)
Source | Download | Demo | Premium Version of Arthemia
Guzel Magazine Theme
Newsweek Theme
Studio WordPress Theme (Available in Blue, Green, & Red)
Transparency Theme
Slick Press Theme
Cellar Heat Theme
MonarTech Theme
Premium News Theme
Small Magazine Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Revolution Church Theme
Revolution Lifestyle Theme
Revolution Office
One Theme (5 Color Choices Included)
Single-Use ($99.95), Three-Use ($199.99), Developer’s License ($299.95)
Thick Theme (20 Color Combinations)
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Open Air Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Gemini Theme
Single-Use ($60.00), Developer’s ($120.00)
Pass It On Theme
Single-Use ($85.00)
Fresh News Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
WP-Magazine Theme
Basic (Single License $99.00), Premium (Multiple Use $199.00), Developer ($299.00)
Papercut Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Live Wire 2.0 Theme (Available in Green, Red, and Blue!)
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
WP Vybe Theme
Basic (Single License $99.00), Premium (Multiple Use $199.00), Developer ($299.00)
Shiva Pro Theme
Single-Use ($89.00), Multiple-Use ($149.00)
Tauren Pro Theme
Single-Use ($69.00), Multiple-Use ($128.00)
Chimera Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Multiple-Use ($109.00)
Flash News/Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Premium News: Gazette Edition
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Deep Blue Theme
Single-Use License ($50.00), Developer’s Pack License ($199.00)
Citrus Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($99.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Scarlett Theme
Arthemia Premium Theme
Single License ($70.00), Five Licenses ($140.00), Developer’s Pack ($240.00)
Traveler Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($179.95), Developer’s License ($279.95)
Celebrity Press Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($179.95), Developer’s Pack ($279.95)
Celebrity Gossip Theme
Single-Use ($35.00), Multiple-Use ($95.00)
MagNews Theme
Single-Use License ($49.00), Developer’s Pack ($199.00)
Newspaper Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Mutiple-Use ($159.00), Developer’s License ($259.00)
NewsPro Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Mutiple-Use ($159.00), Developer’s License ($259.00)
Suvi Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Mutiple-Use ($159.00), Developer’s License ($259.00)
iTeam Theme
Single-Use ($59.95), Multiple-Use ($149.95)
iNews Theme
Single-Use ($49.95), Multiple-Use ($79.95)
Springs Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($150.00)
bSocial Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($150.00)
Ultimate Blogging Theme
Single License ($67.00), Unlimited License ($97.00)
Credit Crunch Theme
Single License ($70.00), Unlimited License ($249.00)
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Small Business WordPress Themes
Essence Theme (6 Colors to Choose From)
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($249.95)
Coldstone Theme
Comes with $20.00 subscription to Elegant Themes Club!
WP-Remix Theme
Personal ($75.00), Multiple-Use ($275.00)
Titanium WordPress Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($149.95)
WP Realtor Theme
Single-Use ($79.99), Multiple-Use ($149.99), Developer’s Pack ($349.99)
Colonial Real Estate WordPress Theme
Single-Use ($59.95), Multiple-Use ($149.95)
iRealEstate WordPress Theme
Single-Use ($49.95),Multiple-Use ($59.95)
Deep Order Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($249.95)
eCommerce Theme
Single-Use ($49.00), Multiple-Use ($199.00)
Industrial Series Themes (Includes 6 Different Colors)
Single-Use ($49.95), Multiple-Use ($99.95)
Deep Stack Poker Theme
Single-Use ($79.95), Multiple-Use ($199.95)
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Portfolio WordPress Themes
Viz | Biz Portfolio Theme
Single-Use License ($79.95), Multiple-Use License ($150.00)
WP Showcase Theme
Single-Use License ($59.00), Multiple-Use License ($99.00), Developer’s Pack ($159.00)
Simple Site Theme
Single-Use License ($49.00), Multiple-Use License ($149.00)
VibrantCMS Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
Cassiopeia Theme
Single-Use ($80.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Fresh Folio Theme
Single-Use ($70.00), Developer’s ($150.00)
eGallery Theme
Comes with $20.00 subscription to Elegant Themes Club!
eVid Theme
Comes with $20.00 subscription to Elegant Themes Club!
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Video WordPress Themes
Revolution Album Theme
Revolution Elements Theme
Revolution Charred
Revolution Chrome
Revolution Black Canvas Theme
Revolution Video
——————————————————————————————————————————–
WordPress Theme Clubs
Theme Hybrid Club
All themes are free with limited support. $25.00 for full support!
Single Subscription (3 months = $150.00 or 6 months = $250.00), Developer Subscription (3 months = $225.00 or 6 months = $375.00)
iThemes Theme Club
EVERY iThemes release for only $399.95!
Elegant Premium Themes Club
EVERY premium WordPress theme for only $19.99! Optional yearly renewal.
WordPress News & Notes - October 23, 2008
Here are some WordPress-related news and notes I’ve run across over the past week and felt were worth sharing with everyone:
- Price Reduction at Theme Hybrid - The theme club by Justin Tadlock, Theme Hybrid, is currently offering a $10.00 membership to his theme club for the first 100 members. You can read more about the club here.
- How to Integrate Pagination into your WordPress Theme - Jean-Baptiste Jung has explained how to build PageNavi plugin functionality directly into your WordPress theme.
- 15 Premium Quality Free WordPress Themes - Noupe is at it again, this time with a collection of free WordPress themes that they consider to be premium quality. I think they did a pretty good job narrowing this down to 15 quality themes.
- How to Add PollDaddy Polls on Your WordPress Blog - Leland of Theme Lab has written a detailed write up explaining how to add PollDaddy polls to your WordPress blog.
- Building a Control Panel for Your WordPress Theme - Custom Theme Design has published a great post about building a control panel into your WordPress theme. The example even includes code snippets.
- How to Exclude Categories from your RSS Feed - Have a few categories on your blog that you don’t want your feed readers to see? Web Kreation has written a great post explaining how to prevent certain categories from showing up in your feed.
i love these themes, in mag designs. 
huge list.. pretty nice..! 
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