» Themes

This topic might be for the more advanced users out there, but there is now a way to transfer your PSD (Photoshop) files into a Wordpress Theme. While many of us can use Photoshop, it’s always been an increadible challenge to transfer your PSD file into a readable Wordpress theme file. Unless you have a very advanced knowledge of both software platforms along with CSS and HTML, it literally just wasn’t possible to the average Joe blogger. In fact, there are many companies out there that will do this for you….for a couple thousand dollars. No, I’m not joking. It’s a very profitable business as it takes a special and unique talent to do.

However, thanks to the good guys at the Divine-Project, we average Joe bloggers now have the ability to do it our self. They’ve released a very impressive piece of software that will now allow you to covert your PSD Photoshop files into workable Wordpress Themes, for free. Yep! For free! Now, I should note it’s currently in beta so you might run across a bug or two and it is only available for Windows computers (sorry Mac’s!), but with all that said it’s very much worth the download.

I’ve seen a few people who’ve used the product and they’ve fallen in love with it. They report that it’s functionality is incredibly easy to use and so far, they’ve ran into no problems with bugs or glitches.

To visit the Divine-Project website, click here.

To download the program, click here.

It doesn’t matter if you’re a novice blogger or an advanced one, a problem almost all of us run into is the design of your blog. Thankfully, there are a lot of talented and non-greedy web designers out there that spend hours creating blog templates/themes for free, allowing us to spice up our blogs with the click of a button.

But, as you advance into your blogging, there might be a time when you’re desiring more for your blog other than a “standard” blog theme/template. So, what do you do then? It takes a special and unique talent to be a web designer, a talent many of simply don’t have. Sure, we can try to teach ourselves but the amount of time required simply might not be worth it to many. In this situation, we need to look for some professional web designers, especially those that specialize in blog designs.

Below, I have listed a a few awesome web design teams that will put your blog on the right track to perfection for a pretty small price, in many situations less than $100 dollars. To visit the site, simply click the name:

The Blog Studio - This website is very professional and makes very professional themes, some that are pretty pricey if you’re just blogging for fun. However, if you own a business, this is a place you need to check out.

Moxie - A very interesting website that has a collection of amazing pieces in their portfolio. While they do customize any blog style, the majority of work does point more towards female related blogs, such as “Mom blogs”, etc.

Unique Blog Designs - UBD is one of the most popular, if not the most popular custom blog design website on the net. With a vast portfolio of work, you’ll be amazed with their work in a few moments.

Radiiate - When you visit the Radiiate website, you’ll be taken back by the creative designs this self proclaimed “Wordpress Rockstar” has created. If you’re looking for something a little different, a little off the wall, and something that could never be replicated, he’s your man.

One thing you also need to look into when creating a custom blog design is creating your own unique logo. Many, if not all custom blog design companies will create a custom blog logo for a small fee, so make sure you ask about this as it’s vitally important for such a small fee.

I know that there is a lot of information on this blog about the Wordpress platform, but, I don’t want you Blogger platform users to think I forgot about you - I haven’t! So today, I’m back to give you Blogger platform users a few great resources to improve your Blogger blog look.

Below, I’ve included a few really unique and great Blogger Template websites which will change up the design and look of your blog. It’s a very simply process to do if you’ve never done it before. Click HERE for a step by step process on how to change your template on Blogger. Now, be aware, that when you do change your template on the Blogger platform you quite possibly will lose your sidebar widets, so make sure you back them if if you want them to remain intact with your new template. You don’t have that issue with Wordpress, which is why I recommend it, but you should be aware of that before you go through with the change.

Anyway,  here are the websites that will help your Blogger blog look incredibly fancy! (Click the name of the website to have a new window open up)

1) Blogger Styles - The templates/themes here are rated by you, the user, and ranked accordingly. A very cool website with a ton of styles.

2) Ipietoon - This website has some very unique templates/themes, and range from futuristic looks to sweet mommy blog styles. If you’re looking for something different from the normal, do visit them.

3) Blogger Templates - They offer a large selection of exclusive (as in, not duplicated to Wordpress, etc) themes and templates here that you won’t see on any other platform.

4) Zone Cerebral - This is actually a Spanish language site, but, I’ve translated it into English for you when you click on the link. It’s unknown to many English bloggers, but, they have a large variety of Blogger templates/themes that are converted from Wordpress themes. So, if you’ve seen a Wordpress blog you liked before, check them out to see if they have it.

Hopefully you’ll be able to find a few themes/templates you like from the above sites. And when you do choose to go through this process, try a variety of themes out. Just because it looks nice in a demo doesn’t mean it will look great on your blog, or vice versa. You have the ability, so, try a few out!

Do you remember those silly little pieces of information you’d get in the mail a few years ago, you know - buy 12 CD’s for a penny? I always got a kick out of those…and they seemed like a great deal on the surface. That is until you found out you now had to pay $25.00 bucks a month for 12 months and were trapped into that deal.

So, you’re most likely asking “what does this have to do with blogging?”…

Well, today I stumbled upon Blog Themes Club which is a website that provides unique and premium Wordpress themes and templates for your blog. Currently, they have a variety of themes available and by becoming a member you’re welcome to use any and all, at any moment you want.

Many of the “premium” Wordpress (and Blogger for that matter) theme websites offer templates and themes for a single download fee. Once you buy the theme or templates, it is yours forever…but it’s usually pretty expensive and we all know how easy we get tired of looking at the same theme over and over.

This format, in which you become a “subscriber” to their service is the first I’ve seen and it is pretty interesting. I personally get extremely tired of my themes and templates quickly, so the ability to switch over to another premium Wordpress theme is a great feature. They do also offer the ability to purchase a theme like many other competing websites, rather than become a “subscriber”.

What are your thoughts on this system? Would you be willing to pay a monthly fee and gain access to their premium templates? Or would you rather pay a one time fee for a single template and “own” it?

To visit Blog Themes Club click the link below:

Resource: Blog Themes Club