Wordpress Themes

[Oracle]

Considering how quickly wordpress themes evolve I thought it would be useful to start a new thread.

What would you consider the best themes for affiliate websites? Ideally I would be interested in themes that can be downloaded from the official wordpress website.

On a side note would it be possible to install a customised gambling calculator on a wordpress website?

Thanks.

 

[DaftDog]

I use a premium theme called Canvas from Woo Themes. I prefer using premium themes as they are constantly updated and there is also a forum to help with your questions.

With regard to the customised gaming calcualtor you'd have to talk to the designer to see if there is perhaps a plugin for WordPress or if there is another way of incorporating it.

 

[rak]

I agree with ixian - I prefer to go the premium themes. Their have great panels, and sexy functionality which standard themes dont have.
I also like the fact that they are constantly being updated.

 

[baldidiot]

TBH I'm not a big fan of the premium templates that come with all the bells and whistles - I find I don't need or use 99% of the features and it just slows the site down so I end up ripping them out (much to the developers horror).

I'm actually considering creating a stripped down theme that's as basic as it gets for me to modify or, if I feel adventurous/bored one day, building my own system from scratch.

Having said that, there are a few themes or CCK's that have some decent features for affiliates that I do use on various sites - flytonic is good (although I've found it needs quite a bit of fiddling under the bonnet to bend it to your will), and the Zoo framework from Yootheme looks really interesting - might have to give it a go one of these days.

 

[LuckyX]

I'm with baldidiot on this. I tend to find that I rearrange a template so much it resembles nothing of what I started with, which means I often start from scratch too.

However if you don't know how to do custom changes to templates then it can be a good place to start with a template or theme, the thing you will find though is that you will spend more time searching for one that fits your needs than you meant to. Over at Themeforest.net you'll find a good collection of wordpress themes, but like I say might take some time to find one that fits your needs. Time better spent on a developer perhaps.

As for the gambling calculator there are definitely ways a developer would be able to incorporate one in to your site, through some custom javascript and html. I've not seen any wordpress plugins for this kind of thing around though.

 

[muffincrumbs]

New themes are fun... but I would not do themeforest personally. Too tailored to making money and less about what is the new hotness. I make a lot of websites for a lot of different businesses, from country music out of NC, to one of the top clothing appeal shops in IL. I find a lot of people want thier site to look good mobile too. My advice is to search for "bootstrap" themes and "responsive themes" to find out about themes that are multi-device friendly, social, and pretty... or go with really any Woo theme. =D

 

[emmaw]

try premium theme called Canvas from Woo Themes.

 

[edgarf76]

I would go with Flytonic Themes. They are always coming out with new themes, and they are relating to the Internet Marketing in our niche. They are extremely good for affiliate site, they allow you to redirect all of your affiliate links and the designs are excellent.

 

[AussieDave]

I agree with ixian - I prefer to go the premium themes. Their have great panels, and sexy functionality which standard themes dont have.
I also like the fact that they are constantly being updated.

I agree too. Plus most free theme's are cut down versions of a premium theme. Then there's the footer theme designer links, which must stay intact. And some of the free themes have additional links in the coding. Most times in the form of base 64 or even with comment tags.

IMO free themes are for personal site's only. I doubt anyone with a legit business would run it from their car boot or a cardboard box. Always go for a professional approach and it will pay dividends

 

[yervand]

I wouldnt go with those pre-fab casino/gambling themes. I've tried theme and found them to be out dated and sometimes with a lot of bugs. I would go with something more modern looking that you can Customize yourself and add the plugins you want.

 

[Guard Dog]

I agree with most of the above... I have used either custom (built by me) or professional wordpress themes like genesis and thesis (those are a couple I have used and liked). Tons of them out there.

Just as an FYI - I would look for themes that are considered 'Responsive Designs'. This is important in this day and age. Responsive means that you can view it on varying devices and it will look nice (computer, tablet, phone...)

Anyway, good luck... but buy a pro template. Then you don't have to worry about hidden links and other stupid crap (and bad coding).

 

[Oracle]

I like avada and will be getting a website designed that will incorporate the wordpress theme into one page to make it easy for me to submit articles without having to do any coding or use dreamweaver which i only know the absolute basics.

 

[AussieDave]

One thing to be weary of before purchasing any theme is the coding.

The theme maybe responsive and look totally awesome. But, if your opening body tag doesn't start till code line # 300 and the theme is not SEO optimised then isn't so fantastic.

EG - If your using a logo, it's more than useless having that sitting inside a h1 tag. Yet most themes use this structure. Similar issue with the h2 tag on the home page. Then there's the seo plug-in. The meta data should sit directly under your title tag. Instead, Yoast, OIOSEO etc etc, implement the code via the wp_head call. Which places this meta data well away from where it's supposed to be; where it serves your site the best.

These are just a few extra things I thought I'd add as a heads up
There are heaps more but you can Google all this and more.

 

[Oracle]

Thanks for all the replies.

I am going to go with Avada for a couple of reaons.

First and foremost, I have looked at a few examples of websites that use this theme and I really like the layout.

Secondly the support seems very good.

And third i am starting with wordpress from scratch, looking at videos and reading what I can to figure out how to make my website a reality so it makes sense to go with one of the most popular themes as there would be a lot of helpful information online specific to this theme.

 

[kolo]

Flytonic all the way............fab assistance and forum for users/members + will always do extras do accommodate individuals requirements and realistically priced

 

[Oracle]

Flytonic all the way............fab assistance and forum for users/members + will always do extras do accommodate individuals requirements and realistically priced

That is more expensive that most newer, more advanced themes such as Avada and does not seem to be responsive which is a must these days.

 

[kolo]

That is more expensive that most newer, more advanced themes such as Avada and does not seem to be responsive which is a must these days.

Not arguing as each to their own, but they are responsive and they regularly add new elements to main frame and themes

 

[Guard Dog]

By responsive he means RWD (Responsive Web Design), not how responsive their support/design teams are. RWD essentially means the site will look good on a phone, tablet, computer, or any other form factor.

 

[PaaskeUK]

By responsive he means RWD (Responsive Web Design), not how responsive their support/design teams are. RWD essentially means the site will look good on a phone, tablet, computer, or any other form factor.

This is exactly what he is saying at what flytonic is offering. I use it myself with great results. Responsive design coded in HTML5.

 

[Perc]

RWD essentially means the site will look good on a phone, tablet, computer, or any other form factor.

Not necessarily, I guess it depends on who you're asking when it comes to "looking good". It really just means that it will "fit" on any device, usually at the cost of looks and/or functionality.

Depends on the website too, it works well and looks good for some, but 90% of the websites I visit on my phone the first thing I look for is a link to the full website or button to turn the mobile theme off.