“Design is not just what
it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works.” - Steve jobs

You’re Already On Your Way•
WordPress works pretty damn well “out of the box”• Don’t let your theme & widgets get in the way of that• Good site design should emphasize your content, not itself

But…

“Everybody thinks they have good
taste and a sense of humor but they couldnt possibly all have good taste.” - When Harry Met Sally

Good taste is subjective.Good design:not
so much.

Photo: emiliokuffer on Flickr

Look Around. Get Inspired.• Pay
attention to what you like about other sites• Find & Follow creative curators on the web and via social channels (like fastcodesign.com)• Listen to recommendations from designers• Apply what you learn

Start by makingyour site your
own.

Photo: LeonMMelissa on Flickr

Color

Color• The easiest way to
make any site stand out• Mix pairs of unusual colors or pick one dominant color for emphasis• A little goes a long way, even monochromatic tones can be powerful

Hex Colors• Annotation for the
combination of Red, Green, and Blue color values (RGB)• HEX values are specified as 3 pairs of two-digit numbers, starting with a # sign

Typography

Type Tips• Web fonts (@fontface)
now allow you to use a variety of different fonts• Perfect way to add a unique touch to any design• Don’t use too many• Be careful when mixing

Photos

Show Don’t Just Tell• Great
photos are another powerful way to make your design stand out• Create rules for formatting and be consistent (rounded corners, specific width, right- aligned, etc.)• Always credit sources. Don’t steal!

Page Templates

Use Different Page Templates• Built
into many themes• Creates variety,• Can enhance different types of content

Theme Customizer• Introduced in WordPress
3.4• Make changes, preview them in realtime, before going live• More options to as theme developers further integrate it into updates

Premium ThemeFrameworks

Plugins

Plugins• Choose plugins that add
functionality but allow control over their style/design• Take advantage of those controls to tie into your site’s style whenever possible

Sidebar

Triage Your Sidebar Often• Only
include what you NEED to• Avoid too many third-party widgets (Facebook, Twitter, Flickr), can slow page load times• Limit # & size of ads unless you are making lots of money• Animated anything = annoying

:(

:)

Default widgets usually need tweaking

Consider consolidation

Other Bits & Pieces• Create
& usa a favicon• Use built-in text formatting for posts & pages (H1, H2, blockquote, etc.)• Less is ALWAYS better. Simplicty is never a bad choice.

“A designer knows he hasachieved
perfection not whenthere is nothing left to add,but when there is nothing leftto take away.” - Antoine de Saint Exupéry

Photo: Tsahi Levent-Levi on Flickr

Thank you! Mykl Roventine myklroventine.com
@myklroventine Headshot: Glimpses of Soul Photography