Million Clues! » WordPress Themes

Rich WordPress Themes – Get Exclusive Discount and a Free Theme

Arun Basil Lal — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:37:06 +0000

This week, I had been in contact with a designer from Canada – Felix Krusch. He has just launched some quality WordPress Themes, to be exact seven purpose-built Professional themes.

At RichWP, you will find a set of themes, each one to fit into a specific purpose. I liked the way images are showcased on the theme homepages making the themes eye catchers and attractive.

Some Common Traits:

Featured Content Gallery has been blended well into some of the themes.
Most Themes have Sidebars in the right, which is good for SEO.
Themes are minimal and are fast loading. Minimalism is a new trend that’s catching up!
Themes have a Navigational bar at the top with smooth Drop Down menu that looks cool.
An additional Sitemap Template is included which lists the posts in neat organized fashion.
All themes that come in dual colors and have a Theme options page that lets you choose the color easily. You can change the color scheme without touching one single line of code!
The Readme file was amazing; it has detailed step by step instructions for installation and use of the themes.
Other stuffs like Widgets, Threaded Comments, Gravatar’s and the usual are all there.
With a Small tweak in the WordPress Media Settings, all the image sizes needed for the theme are automatically generated. That’s awesome thought and makes posting easier. Details included in the documentation.
All themes come with Unlimited Support.

Get Exclusive Discount and Early Bird Bonus

While purchasing the theme, use the discount code “MC10” and get 10% discount on the cost. Limited period offer only for Million Clues readers!

All themes are priced at $59.90 and the All themes Package is tagged at $249, so you will save either $5.99 or $24.9 with the discount code!

Felix is also giving off an Opening special offer. Purchase one theme, and contact Felix with details of the confirmation email and the theme you would like to have and he will send you the second theme free!

Plus, a light version of the Magazine theme is available free. Support not included. Download it here.

RichWP Theme Gallery

Daily News WordPress Theme

It is a blend between the Magazine style and the classic style. The homepage features three posts on the top in the magazine style and the rest of the posts come in the normal way. Single Right Sidebar. Comes in Two color variants.

Magazine WordPress Theme

This is the real Magazine theme of the set. Uses the Featured Content Gallery. Comes in two colors.

Personal Agency WordPress Theme

This theme features a photo gallery which showcases images from posts. Its tailor made for blogs which is a photo blog plus a normal blog. Auto detects images and grabs them to the gallery. The black version of this theme is a personal favorite!

Photo WordPress Theme

Made for Photo Blogging. The homepage shows the image categories and the category page hosts the photos in that category. Neat and clean photo blogging theme.

SuperBlogger WordPress Theme

A Magazine Styled theme which can efficiently show many number of posts on the homepage. Looks good.

Biz WordPress Theme

If you are looking to build a Business Website on WordPress, this theme is for you. Thought has been put into the business aspects of Branding where people would instantly wish to know more about the company rather than the products. The theme also has provisions to blend a blog to the homepage; Business blogs are getting poplar.

Fastblogger Magazine Theme

See the screenshot above, the magazine starts right at the top. It’s a bit different from the normal magazines; if your logo is small as in the demo, the navbar wouldn’t be noticed. I liked the way posts are projected plus the widget support on the Footer.

Latest WordPress Themes From RichWP

BlogBeast Magazine Theme

BlogBeast WordPress Magazine Theme

There are live demos and Screenshots available at RichWP. Have a look!

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Handsome Content Need a Sexy Queen

Arun Basil Lal — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 20:30:11 +0000

Question: Who is the King of the Blog Empire?
A: Content is the King
Q: Where is the Queen?
A: @#$%!

Oh boy! Design is the Queen!

In my view, a Blogger is successful when (s)he realizes that “Content is the King and there is not substitute for that”. And if you are one of them, you are already successful!

You can spend thousands of dollars on advertising, and plenty of hours on social networks promoting your links, you will get the traffic but people would just leave if they get nothing of value.

“Hey, why are you telling this to me? I already know that”

Sorry, that was just an appetizer.

There is a second part to a blog that many often neglect. The Queen of the empire, THE DESIGN!

A theme is a backbone of the blog on which the body is built. A good theme helps you in SEO and more importantly, a unique theme helps in Standing-out of-the-rest.

Chris Pearson is arguably one of the top theme designers. (Yes! He designed the Thesis theme.) He explains the functions of a good theme as one that’s accessible, flexible, and usable and of course Search Engine Optimized.

I would say that a theme has more work to do…

A good theme acts as an eye-catcher and helps in impressing the reader. Remember, netizens scan first before reading.
A well chosen theme should high light your work and give your blog a professional look.
It should set the mood of the reader and should make him stay longer on your blog.

Thankfully, there are lots of free WordPress themes available, but how do you choose one for your blog? The thumb rule is; YOU should be happy about your theme. Along with that, consider these.

Finding the Right Theme for Your Blog

Choose a theme that matches the style of your blog. Make sure that it can project your work. For example, if yours’ is a photo blog, pick one that can showcase your pics as an image gallery.

Check if the basic H1, H2 tags are in place. This guide on WordPress Header Tags should help you decide better.

Pick a unique Theme, that’s not so popular on your niche. This is going to be an issue, because even premium themes are highly over used. Try to get something as unique as possible.

Make sure it meets your needs. If you plan to use 125 x 125 button ads, see if there are place holders for the button ads.

Consider reading this guide on choosing a WordPress Theme. (Authored by Lorelle!)

I would say that you go for a Premium theme. Premium themes are designed for the demanding users and come with great support and frequent updates.

Make sure frequent Updates are available. Why are updates important? It would be so painful to find that a latest feature on WordPress is not supported by your theme when a new version of WordPress is out. Most premium themes don’t have this issue and some free themes like the Vigilance Theme and the Freemium Theme are regularly updated.

The Ultimate Solution?

If you can afford it, hire a custom designer. Someone who can design a custom theme for you to match all your needs, that would be awesome. It solves the issues of uniqueness, flexibility and the availability of updates.

Whatever theme you choose, make sure that every part of the theme is complete. Don’t leave the default pages and place holders as such. Customize it to the best of your limits!

Did I miss any? Please tip me guys

My friend, Ajith is looking for a new WordPress theme; if you have any suggestions for a theme that suits him, please have your say.

(P.S.: I have kept it as a goal for the coming year to hire a designer to build on the current StudioPress Church theme and give it an ultimate facelift. If you are someone who can do that, or you know someone, please be in touch)

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Affordable Professional WordPress Themes @ Elegant Themes

Arun Basil Lal — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:48:33 +0000

A premium wordpress theme is a definite add-on to your blog and your online image. A good theme is a framework where you can build your blog. A good unique theme is a factor in your success as a blogger.

Sadly, many bloggers neglect the importance of a unique theme. They adopt one of the free themes available without even editing the basics. And they copy the designs of others without realizing that they are ruining their own brand!

Why should you have a premium theme?

A premium theme is seldom over-used, so it helps you stand out from the rest.
Premium themes are well structured and well coded and often updated, so you can be sure that you have a great framework to blog on.
Premium themes are of top-notch quality; it helps you brand your blog better.
A blog with a premium theme sends out the message, ‘I am damn serious about blogging’!

What keeps the bloggers away from a Premium theme is often the cost factor. Bloggers who fail to realize the importance of a unique theme are lured by the wide pool of free themes, not to mention the hole that a premium theme might leave on their pockets.

Twist in Story!

Elegant themes come to your rescue! Elegant WordPress Themes do not sell you the themes as such. Instead you get a club membership for one year. You are free to download all the available themes as long as you have the membership and you can use those themes even after your membership is over!

One year membership at Elegant Themes Club costs $ 19.95. Right now there are 22 themes and many more will be added soon. So 19.95 divided by 22, is $ 0.906! I think that’s the best deal in the Blog Street!

Why Elegant Themes?

Out Standing Quality: See the Gallery and you will fall in love with them. It’s a hard task picking the right one
Elegant Themes look awesome: Remember netizens are scanners, not readers. A cool theme acts as glue and sticks them to your blog.
Great Support: The club membership comes with access to forums and you get great support.
SEO Ready: I have a habit of evaluating a theme by checking out the SEO basics on it. These themes passed all my tests. The basic tags and elements are right in place.
Unique: Each theme is unique and not a color change of the other.
Great Navigation: Though there are lots of cool features for each theme, the navigation bar with awesome drop down menu is worth mentioning. The comment boxes are great too. But that’s just the beginning; you will have lots to say!
Purpose Built: Some of the themes are built for specific purposes. For instance, the eVid theme is good for Video Blogging. It comes with custom functions to easily add and host videos. Some themes are in magazine style while there are others in the traditional blog style. Boy, you have lots of options to choose from.
Lifetime License: The themes that you download once you get the club membership are yours for the rest of your life! You can use it on any number of blogs and customize it the way you want. However, you will not get future upgrades unless you renew your membership and you cannot resell them or use them on your client’s sites.
Adsense Ready: Themes are designed with provision to insert Adsense ads and private ads. Great Ad locations.
Social Media Ready: Thought has been put into and themes are already blended with popular social media and social book-marking icons.
Full Package: The theme comes with all the elements of the theme including the Logos. Logos are included as Layered PSD files which can be easily edited to suit your site. Logo design is yet another issue and usually costs at least $30, but here you don’t have to hire a designer.
Highly Affordable: Already discussed, its light on your wallet.

Here are snap shots of some of the themes available. Find more themes and preview in the Themes gallery.

Elegant Themes - eGamer Theme

Elegant Themes - eVid Theme

Elegant Themes - Interphase Theme

Elegant Themes - Bluesky Theme

Elegant Themes - GrungeMag Theme

Elegant Themes - Bluemist Theme

Elegant Themes - ColdStone Theme

Elegant Themes - Cherry Truffle Theme

Elegant Themes - Earthly Touch Theme

Elegant Themes - StudioBlue Theme

If you are serious about blogging you should consider getting a Premium theme and Elegant Themes is a good choice. I am totally impressed with the pricing of the themes and the idea of club membership. That definitely keeps apart from the rest of the world! Kudos!

Attention: Elegant Themes would be an ideal choice for niche bloggers who have a series of blogs. Imagine how cool and professional your blogs would look if you have a premium theme on each of them?

Get 22 Premium WordPress Themes for $19.95 and tell the world: ‘I am damn serious with my blog’

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15+ Free and Open Source Logo Designs

Arun Basil Lal — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 10:15:14 +0000

A product is as good as its package, and a website is as good as its design. An impressive website design is a must have to impress a reader, and the best part of website design is the logo design. Web 2.0 logos (like the twitter logo, Skype logo etc.) rule the best part of the web, making the text logos look too old. If you still don’t have a web 2.0 logo, design one today or use one of these fully editable free logos!

All these Logos are:

Free: You are free to use it for both commercial and personal uses.
Open Source: The download includes the actual psd file. I used Adobe Photoshop to make them. There are lots of other free editors on Google!
All in One: The download contains all the things used to make the logo including the fonts and textures. I have used original (my own) or free textures and fonts only.
Cool: Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so tell me how beautiful your eyes are!
Free Support: If you need any help regarding customizing these logos for your site, just drop me a mail.

Free Logo Designs for Your Website

Cool Metallic Logo

Cool Metal Free Logo

Ever since I did this site a redesign, I had been getting lots of requests for the logo design. Infact, it’s those requests that inspired me to make the rest of the logos. This logo looks like blended soft steel. The Logo looks good on blogs with dark backgrounds. As I have told all those who already have it, please don’t use the exact copy. I already have it on my pages, try to be different.
Bonus: A Christmas Logo is also included with the download.

Many started using the exact logo, so I was forced to remove this to save my brand, blame them. Sorry

Colored Blocks Logo

Colored Blocks Free Logo

The Colored blocks are all about freedom and fun. This logo especially suits life-style blogs, which discuss about people, girl stuffs or fun. But in the hands of a brilliant artist, this might turn into another tech blog logo!

Download Colored Blocks Logo (Zip Archive, 116 KB)

Born To Blog? Get this Logo

I am a Born Blogger Free Logo

Inspired from the Skype Logo, it suits well in blogs that discuss about Skype and related technologies. Do you have a personal blog instead? Then grab this, its all about personality. You can change the blue color and make it look good on any page.

Download Born Blogger Logo (Zip Archive, 70 KB)

FreqOut Neon Logo

Freqout Free Logo

Let the Neon Lamps tell the world what your site is all about. This Neon bulb logo looks great on dark backgrounds. Let the party begin!

Download FreqOut Logo (Zip Archive, 101 KB)

Logo in Bits and Pieces

Bits And Pieces Free Logo

This was the logo I used to have in my blogspot blog. A slight change of color makes the logo look totally different. Try it out.

Download Bits and Pieces Logo (Zip Archive, 122 KB)

Lillie’s Bliss, Metal on Green Logo

Lillies Bliss Free Logo

Some rounded metal, a Green Frame and some Shadows, that’s what this logo is all about. Must suit any kind of blog, I would recommend you to use a font with rounded edges to suit the style. It’s all yours.

Download Lillie’s Bliss Logo (Zip Archive, 77 KB)

Go For Wood, Logo in Wood

Go For Wood Free Logo

Statutory Notice: No trees were cut down to make this logo!

Add some antique touch to your blog with this all wood logo. The texture used is included with the zip archive.

Download Go For Wood Logo (Zip Archive, 247 KB)

Daily Blogger Logo

Daily Blogger Free Logo

Your daily readers will adore the gloss and curves of this logo. The strips on the background are mere street markings. Try a do-not-cross police line instead.

Download Daily Blogger Logo (Zip Archive, 139 KB)

Going Green, Checked Out Logo

Checked Out Free Logo

That’s the letter X all around the image, I love the color, I love the font, and so its here now! Simple logo, so it must suit any kind of blog.

Download Checked Out Logo (Zip Archive, 122 KB)

Twips Online, Twitter Style Logo

Twips Online Free Logo

Twitter has exceeded Digg in terms of traffic, and I am already bit by the twitter birdie. This logo is for all the twitter fans out there. Let’s meet up on twitter. (New to twitter? Read the Twitter Quick Start Guide)

Download Twips Online Logo (Zip Archive, 47 KB)

Hack Bay Logo

Hack Bay Free Logo

A Web 2.0 Logo in sizzling red. Dark backgrounds will adore this logo.

Download Hack Bay Logo (Zip Archive, 68 KB)

Gooldie Logo, Time to get Rich

Gooldie Free Logo

Gold meant wealth, power and authority in the past. Get rich soon with blessing from the past. Finance Bloggers and the make money online gurus will love this.

Download Gooldie Logo (Zip Archive, 167 KB)

Infinite Lines Logo

Infinite Lines Free Logo

A stream of parallel lines for any kind of blog. Well there are a lot of things that you can do with this logo.

Download Infinite Lines Logo (Zip Archive, 242 KB)

Dreamy Blog Logo

Dreamy Blog Free Logo

Made for those blogs that write about girlie stuffs. I guess you will have to use a magnifier to notice the glowing tips.

Download Dreamy Blog Logo (Zip Archive, 127 KB)

Black Magik Logo

Black Magic Free Logo

Web 2.0 style logo in black with a tingle of gloss. Don’t mind the colored blocks in the preview here, its much better when used on pure white pages.

Download Black Magik Logo (Zip Archive, 96 KB)

Reflectoo Logo

Reflectoo Free Logo

The logo speaks on itself. I have used a gradient stroke to get the slimming effect. (The letters get slimmer towards the bottom.) When you change the background, remember to edit the stroke as well.

Download Reflectoo Logo (Zip Archive, 62 KB)

How did you like it?

As I said at the start, beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, so tell me what you think about these logo designs. If you really like it, use the cute buttons at the end of this post to submit it to the social networks that you are a part of. Also you may consider subscribing to catch updates in the future. (Via feed, via email)

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Revolution 2 Premium WordPress Themes – Free Download

Arun Basil Lal — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 17:32:45 +0000

Note: I am often emailed asking for help regarding these themes, if you need me, you can always hire me as your designer and SEO. As an added offer, if you purchase the StudioPress Pro Plus All-Theme Package using my referral (i.e., by following links from here), I will help you install the theme and recommended WordPress plugins for free. Contact me with your sales details (Sale ID).

The Revolution StudioPress team had recently made their whole set of Premium Themes available for free download. Soon, they removed the free tag and made all the themes premium themes. Which means you can’t download them for free anymore.

Luckily, I had downloaded almost all of the themes when they were freely available. Here I present, the whole set of Revolution Two StudioPress Premium WordPress Themes. All of them are available for Free Direct Download.

Update: The StudioPress teams have dramatically upgraded these themes and now includes many cool features not present in with the older versions that you will find here. And they are gonna upgrade them every now and then with never seen before features. So if you are going to use any of these themes for something that you are passionate about, I recommend you get the latest themes.

The Free Copies in here are outdated.
Get The Latest Versions From StudioPress!
(Latest Versions are Fully Automated)

Common Features:

Adsense Ready: All Revolution Two Themes have a Theme Options Menu in the WordPress Admin. You can add your Adsense code into the Theme Options and they will right-away appear at the ad-spots.

Fixed Width: All Revolution Two Themes featured here are fixed width themes.

Right Sidebar: Right sidebars are the best for maximum Search Engine Optimization. Luckily, all these themes have their sidebars on the right.

Widget Ready: All Revolution Themes come with a bunch of pre-installed widgets.

Top Menu: There is a Navigational Menu on the top of all these themes. Some of them even have a sub-menu that shows the categories of your site.

Wordpress 2.7 Compatible: These themes are compatible with WordPress 2.6+ and have been successfully tested on WordPress 2.7.

Featured Content Gallery Support: Revolution Themes are fully compatible with the featured content gallery plugin. This plugin is included in most themes or can be downloaded separately. See the Featured Content Gallery homepage for installation details and free download.

What’s New @ Revolution StudioPress?

Rebranded: Revolution is now known as StudioPress!

New Themes: More themes are now available like Metro, Corporate, Tubular and Agent.

Version Updates: New versions of most of the themes are now available including Streamline, Church, LifeStyle and Chrome.

Live Theme Test Drive: You can test drive a theme in a real wordpress blog before you purchase!

New Themes are PowerPacked: The latest versions of the themes have more advanced and flexible Theme options page and easy to handle widget boxes.

More to come: If StudioPress team works on the themes the same way they do now, we can be sure that in the future they will come up with themes that we have never imagined of.

So make sure that you don’t loose the competition! Get the latest themes from StudioPress

Latest StudioPress Themes

StudioPress Tubular WordPress Theme

StudioPress Tubular WordPress Theme - Black

StudioPress Tubular WordPress Theme - Light

This theme comes in two versions, black and a light one. You get two for the price of one!

Get StudioPress Tubular Theme

StudioPress Education WordPress Theme

Get StudioPress Education Theme

The Revolution Two Studio Press Premium WordPress Themes

Blog Themes

Revolution StudioPress Code Blue, Code Gray and Code Red

Revolution Code Blue WordPress Theme

Three column theme with white background. The download includes three themes packed together. You can choose between three colors, Blue-Gray-Red in the Design Menu of WordPress Admin, so you can switch the color scheme of your blog in a few clicks. Great idea to keep the blog always fresh!

Try Old Code Blue Pack | Get the Latest Code Blue Theme

Revolution StudioPress Elements

Revolution Elements WordPress Theme

Two Column, 125×125 ad ready, WordPress theme. Elements has a classy look with a curly bracketed top menu bar. Innovative design.

Try Old Elements Theme | Get the Latest Elements Theme

Magazine Style Themes

Revolution StudioPress Church

Revolution Church WordPress Theme

Three Column magazine style WordPress theme with lots of customization possible. Church has a built in template for a blog page, full width page, and an archive page that lists all your posts. It has a drop down submenu below the main menu displaying the categories.
Church also includes the Breadcrumb plugin that displays the hierarchy of the page from the homepage. This blog now uses Revolution Church Theme.

(Extreme overuse, so download link removed) | Get the Latest Church Theme

Revolution StudioPress Lifestyle

Revolution Lifestyle WordPress Theme

Three Column magazine style WordPress theme which is very similar to Revolution Church. Lifestyle has a built in template for a blog page, full width page, and an archive page that lists all your posts. It also features a drop down submenu that lists the categories. Lifestyle includes the Breadcrumb plugin.

(Download Link Removed on Request) | Get the Latest Lifestyle Theme

Media Themes

Revolution StudioPress Charred

Revolution Charred WordPress Theme

Charred is a two column theme in the dark shades of Black and Brown. 125×125 button ads are pre included in the theme, so you can start using them right away.

Try Old Charred Theme | Get the Latest Charred Theme

Revolution StudioPress Chrome

Revolution Chrome WordPress Theme

Two column theme with a unique faded design of the right sidebars. The icon set included in this theme has special icons for block quotes and RSS Feeds.

Try Old Chrome Theme | Get the Latest Chrome Theme

Revolution StudioPress Streamline

Revolution Streamline WordPress Theme

Three column wordpress theme with Breadcrumb pre installed. Streamline has a unique design with the menu bar very close to the logo to ensure maximum visibility above the fold.

Try Old Streamline Theme | Get the Latest Streamline Theme

Revolution StudioPress TV

Revolution TV WordPress Theme

Two column wordpress theme optimized for videos. It has a dark design that will project all your videos for greater visibility. Ideal choice if you are a video caster.

Try Old TV Theme | Get the Latest TV Theme

Photo Themes

Revolution StudioPress Album

Revolution Album WordPress Theme

Show case your photos with the Revolution Album. This is a two column wordpress theme with lots of variations. Various color schemes included in the theme are blue, brown, gray, purple, red, rust and sepia.

Try Old Album Theme | Get the Latest Album Theme

Revolution StudioPress Black Canvas

Revolution Black Canvas WordPress Theme

Two column black theme for your photo blog. Neat and simple design.

Try Old Black Canvas Theme | Get the Latest Black Canvas Theme

Revolution StudioPress White Canvas

Revolution White Canvas WordPress Theme

Two column white theme much similar to the Revolution Black Canvas. White Canvas and Black Canvas can be used interchangeably to maintain freshness in your blog.

Try Old White Canvas Theme | Get the Latest White Canvas Theme

Professional Themes

Revolution StudioPress Office

Revolution Office WordPress Theme

Two column theme with a wide rolling image gallery. This WordPress theme is specially groomed for a Pro Blogger. Unique design and pleasing colors make this theme an eye candy.

Try Old Office Theme | Get the Latest Office Theme

All these themes are released under the GPL license. You can get extended theme support from the Revolution StudioPress team by signing up for the specific theme package ($59.95) or the Pro Plus All-Theme Package ($149.95). Both these packages include, unlimited theme support, customization tutorials and professional theme design.

Read the included Read Me files for installation instructions. If you can’t configure the themes yourself, (given the power-packed features it has) you should get a support package from StudioPress.

To all Commentators: I really appreciate you guys (and gals) for all the support and cheers and criticisms shown. I hope you have used what you got from here in the best possible way. Kudos to you all.

To All Critics: What you have given me have shaped me into something new. A special thanks for all that. I respect all your viewpoints and will try to stay away from similar blunders in future!