As you know I strongly advise people to set up a blog on their own domain using the free open source platform from WordPress.  Though WordPress is a powerful platform with boatloads of options, it can sometimes be a bit overwhelming to those who are new to blogging,

While some claim that it not 100% necessary to know HTML, CSS and PHP, to set up a WordPress blog, it certainly is very helpful.  You may have come across more than one WP blog that was still using the default “Kubrick” theme (with the basic blue gradient header), because the blog owner did not have enough patience or skill to properly customize it.

One of the ways around that quandary is to simply use a pre-designed WordPress theme which has already been coded with a specific look and feel.  Many of these are freely available at wordpress.org and can range from a simple single column layout, to a “magazine” format to one designed primarily for displaying images, as might be needed for a photography blog.

There are also a growing number of professionally designed commercial themes, known as premium themes.  Some of the more popular ones include:

• StudioPress

• Press75

• WooThemes

• Templatic

• iThemes

The next evolution in WordPress has come in the form of theme “frameworks”, which is a theme that is designed as a flexible foundation, while mitigating or eliminating much of the coding necessary to tweak a WP blog.  Advantages of these new frameworks are:

*  Valid and semantic XHTML.

*  SEO optimized out of the box.

*  Eliminates the need for many additional plug-ins.

*  Ability to build just about any type of site.

*  Rapid site development for web developers seeking a fast turnaround for their clients.

*  Easy changes to style elements and fonts without knowing CSS.

*  Control what pages display in navigation menus.

*  Active support forums to assist new users.

Some of the popular theme frameworks include the following:

• Thesis

• Frugal

• Headway

• Genesis

• Thematic

• Hybrid

• Gravy

So if WordPress customizing is not your thing, no worries – here are some options for you.

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If you resonate with this and have some ideas or encouraging words to share, I’d love to hear from you down below. And if you think the people over on Twitter would benefit, a ReTweet is always appreciated too, and if you think your Facebook following would benefit from these words feel free to share them with your friends.

Wishing you prosperity and joy,

Scott

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