Yes, there is yet another redesign at JustinTadlock.com. I wanted something a little Christmasy though, so this is my attempt at a Christmas-based theme.

I’ve never been good at Christmas themes at all, but I figured I’d give it one more shot. My Santa in the header image could probably use a little more touching up, but I’m tired of messing with it.

I put this together in less than half an hour (minus the header image) because I just modified a preexisting theme.

Maybe when the new year rolls around, I’ll have enough time to do a true redesign of the site.

Get the theme my design is based on

This is actually a slight modification to my latest theme at Theme Hybrid, Leviathan.

It is another GPL-licensed theme that you can download for free. It is also a child theme of my Hybrid theme framework, which is probably the most feature-rich WordPress theme you can find.

It’s definitely worth a look if you’re looking for a new theme that can be both professional and personal.

In my last post, I announced the release of my Hybrid theme framework, which is a damn sweet WordPress theme. I figured it was time to give it a live test run here on my own personal blog.

Plus, I was really tired of my last design. I simply needed a change.

This is more of a pit stop for my site though. This isn’t the final design, but it’s nice to look at something a little different for a change.

I also stole the header design idea from Cozmoslabs.

Why change if this isn’t the final design?

Other than needing change, I wanted to take advantage of some of the SEO benefits that weren’t included in my last design. Hybrid takes care of this need.

This theme makes things so much easier to use. I’ve always used custom fields to input things into the post, but the extra Hybrid meta box on the Write Post screen makes things much quicker.

I also wanted to see how quickly I could put together a child theme and write some custom functions for it. I think I finished in just under five hours. Granted, a much more complex design would take much longer. This let me see what types of things needed changing within the Hybrid theme itself.

This is the first time I’ve used widgets on my site. Widgets aren’t my thing because I like to have a lot more control, so I’ll be writing a custom function to handle a more dynamic sidebar. Or, maybe writing some custom widgets.

You definitely need to be using Hybrid

This blog is in no way representative of what you can actually do with the theme as this is just a personal blog.

So, hop on over to Theme Hybrid and grab the Hybrid theme to try it out for yourself.

I’ve been hard at work these past couple of weeks putting together several new WordPress goodies for everyone. I’m pretty excited about some of the results I’m getting with the work I’ve been doing. Here are some things to look forward to this month:

• Unveiling of a new super image script.
• Structure theme update.
• Options theme update.
• Random quotes plugin.
• Project M.

New image script

I wanted to write about this first because it ties into both of my theme updates.

Traditionally, magazine- or CMS-type blog designs require you to enter image URLs through custom fields. Many users find this difficult or time consuming (I don’t personally think it’s too time consuming, but I’ve probably used custom fields a few thousand times for this).

With this new script, you’ll never have to use custom fields for your thumbnails, feature images, and so on. However, it’s fully compatible with the custom field keys you define.

With one line of code in your theme template files, you’ll have this power at your disposal.

Basically, the code checks to see if you have any custom fields with images defined. If not, it pulls the first image from any images attached to the post. There’ll be more about this in the days to come.

I’ll probably write a full post on this sometime soon and offer it for download. Options and Structure theme users will have this packaged in with their theme.

Structure theme update

It’s long overdue, but I’m finally updating this thing. This is still my most popular theme, and quite a few users have been looking forward to an update. So, I’ll have the update ready within the next couple of days. Here’s what you can look forward to:

• Some Options theme “options” and widgets ported over.
• Rethinking of the way we use widgets in WordPress themes.
• Optimized code.
• Plays nicer with other plugins.
• Use of the new image script mentioned earlier in this post.
• Gravatar-ready.
• Fully WordPress 2.5 compatible.
• Print stylesheet.

Structure is still my favorite theme because it was the first time I felt I had created a masterpiece with theme development. I’ve put a lot of love and care into this update.

Options theme update

I’m always working on this theme, almost every day. I’ve been listening to users and seeing how they use the theme. Here’s a list of some new features of the update:

• Theme template files look like “normal” WordPress themes, so you’ll be able to easily edit them.
• Inclusion of the new image script mentioned earlier in this post, which will make uploading images so much sweeter.
• Works a lot nicer with plugins, especially those using JavaScript.
• Using the new WordPress gallery feature, I’ve implemented a Flickr RSS plugin-like stream of your latest gallery post.
• Category cloud (like the tag cloud).
• Author cloud.
• New sidebar tabs options.
• New options for the Recent widget.
• Print stylesheet.
• And more…

You won’t be disappointed with this upate (for WP 2.5+ users). At last count, I’ve cut out approximately 332 lines of code and 24 useless functions, making the theme faster and and easier to use.

Random quotes plugin

I’ve had about 90% of this plugin finished for weeks now. I just haven’t gotten around to completing it because of all the other work I’ve been doing.

It’ll come with some really nice options, such as the ability to customize how each quote is output and show quotes from different categories/topics.

If you feel like contributing quotes, I’ll be happy to add them and add a link back to you as a contributor. Right now, I have 6 categories of quotes, which are literature, film, individual, art, life, and friendship.

If you really want to help out with this, you can send over a text file with the quotes ready for the plugin by wrapping them in this code:

$quotes[] = array("This is a quote.","Author Name");
$quotes[] = array("This is a quote.","Author Name");
$quotes[] = array("This is a quote.","Author Name");

Or, you can just send me any quotes you’d like to see added.

Project M

Some of you may recall in both a January and December post I mentioned Project M.

Originally, the M stood for March. Well, I didn’t quite get around to that. Since it’s still May and there are no other months that begin with M left this year, I’ll have to unveil Project M this month.

Without giving away too many details, here are some things involved with this project.

• More free WordPress themes.

Okay, that’s only one thing, but it sounds good, right?

Basically, it will be my step into monetizing WordPress while giving users the same things I’ve always given with full support.

Don’t ask me how I’ll monetize this thing. However, feel free to make guesses and discuss in the comments. I’ll unveil this project as soon as I finish the aforementioned projects.

That’s a lot of stuff

Yes, I’ve been quite busy, which is why you haven’t seen a lot of new WordPress themes lately. They’ll be coming very soon.

Feel free to comment on any of the projects and share your ideas.

There are also idea threads running in the forums for the Options theme and Structure theme. So, if you have ideas, now’s the time to let me know.

It took me a few days and several complete redos of the entire design, but I think I’m finally content with this new theme. I call it Retro-fitted because the colors are a kind of throwback to some past that I certainly didn’t live in.

Giving credit where credit is due

My original design for this was largely based off WordPress with its new design and the Movable Type Blog (Yes, I realize we’re at constant war with the other blogging system). I got my blue colors from the Movable type design and the reddish color from the WordPress design.

I had originally planned to go very open with the theme because I’m a big fan of Theme Shaper’s current theme. I like Ian’s my-design-won’t-get-in-your-way layout. I ultimately decided against the open layout and enclosed the content area. However, I still kept the front page’s fairly big post title font size, which puts a lot more focus on content.

Last — not anywhere near least — Smashing Magazine. Their recent article on the celebration of vintage and retro design made me completely rethink what I wanted to do with the theme. And to think I almost missed this article because I was working on the redesign. Luckily, I took a break and read through some posts from my feed reader and happened to catch the article.

More thoughts about the design

Gravatars
I don’t know how I ever lived without them. After a day or so of using them, then looking at my own blog, I just didn’t want to comment. It wasn’t any fun.

Author highlighting
You’ll also notice that I’ve added author highlighting to the comment section, so you’ll always be able to pick out my comments quickly because they’ll look a little different.

Sidebar
I’m not sure whether I’m happy with the sidebar just yet. I could probably work on it a few more days and get something more suitable. But, I might work on it a few more days and get nowhere.

Internet Explorer still sucks
Especially IE6. Really, the only problem I had with IE6 was PNG transparency issues. If only everybody would get off that browser, I wouldn’t have to support it with my designs.

Let me know what you think

Do you like it? Hate it?

Overall, I’m happy with it because I needed something fresh. Blogging can sometimes get boring, so we need to spruce up our sites once in a while. I wanted to go with something lighter and a bit more fun. I think I at least accomplished that.

I haven’t ported the theme over to the forums yet. Look for that in the next few days. Once that’s done, you all can look for some more of your regularly scheduled WordPress stuff.

I’m still not sure what I think about it or how comfortable I am with it. Change is hard sometimes. I’ve struggled with what elements I wanted to include for hours tonight, trying to get something to work right, hoping for that feeling I get when everything is right with the world and the design gods are smiling down on me.

Well, I didn’t quite get that feeling I was hoping for, but I decided to throw the new theme up anyway. Maybe my readers can help me put the finishing touches on this thing.

One of my goals with this theme was to bring some of my work with WordPress to the forefront. There wasn’t enough attention given to my themes before, so I put together something extra at the bottom of the home page. I also wanted to shine a little light on my new feature: my custom design service.

I orginally had only one post excerpt on the home page but felt like it took away from the blog part of the site. Now, I have three post excerpts on the front page, but it pushes the emphasis on the WordPress themes and custom design service below the fold.

Things I like about the theme

• Less clutter.
• The design feels more open.
• Emphasis on content.
• Smaller sidebar.
• Fresh design.

Things I don’t like about the new theme

• Main content area may be too big for readability.
• Not sure if I’m satisfied with the colors, especially the background.
• Not particularly ecstatic about the sidebar links.
• Not sure if I like only having excerpts on the home page.
• Doesn’t feel complete.

A work in progress

Since I don’t feel the design is complete, I’ll have to mark this as a work in progress. I’m sure I’ll update little bits here and there throughout the week. I’d rather go ahead and put it up even though it’s not finished, so I can get a feel for how it works with my blog.

Feel free to give me your input. Do you like the new theme? Hate it? What do you think would make it better?

I won’t go into too many details about how sick I was, except for I slept well over 20 hours this past Saturday and Sunday.

This post is about change though. A new direction.

When I say “new,” I don’t mean a complete 180 or anything near that, but I will implement a few changes around here. I mentioned some of these changes in my last post, but didn’t go into much detail. Plus, those of you that got caught up in reading all those links to old posts (because I know you read all of them) might not have made it to the section at the end where I wrote about my plans for 2008.

Project M

For those of you that did notice the quick mention of Project M, I’m sure you’re wondering what it’s all about. Well, I can’t tell you. I just want to reiterate that I have a new project I’m working on for WordPress. I’m excited about its potential and what it could do for the WordPress community.

Project Amy

Even though she doesn’t know it yet, my sister and I are going to work on a Web project together. Her current blog, Amy N. Russell, which is momumentously underposted, is something that I badly need to update the design on. However, we’ll take this new project beyond a simple blog.

I’ve long thought that Amy has a lot of potential with her music, but she doesn’t do enough about it. So, I want to set up a site where she can showcase her talent. Much of what I’ve learned about embedding videos in my last two themes will come in handy there.

I’m at a point now where I enough online contacts and Net knowledge that I can help her at least get a small audience, which is much more than I could do a year ago. I won’t start this project for some time, and it will take a long time to put together because we’re half a world apart. I have a lot of great ideas I want to implement.

Amy, if you’re reading this, surprise! You might have to be a star whether you want to be or not. I guess I’m not giving you much choice.

WordPress Themes

I’ve got three WordPress themes nearly ready to go. You’ll get to see the first within the next week.

One of the themes is a custom theme for a client that has backed out of his deal. I’m sure I might rant a little about this in a later post. Since I shouldn’t waste all that hard work, I figured I’d give it back to the WordPress community for free.

I wanted to wait for the release of WordPress 2.4 for another theme that’s near completion, but the date on that seems to have been pushed back. I can’t wait until March to get rid of this theme, so I’ll release it sometime soon.

The last of themes is just a reworking of my current theme on this blog. Yes, I’m redesigning this blog, which means some of you will get some of the more advanced functionality included in my magazine-type themes in a regular blog theme.

I also have an idea for my next magazine or news theme. It’s still in the early concept stages, but I hope it will become as big as the previous themes have.

One other thing I’ve started doing is translating the Structure theme into other languages. Currently, there’s a German version, but there are plans for quite a few other translations soon. At the moment, it’s entirely experimental, but future theme releases may be translated too.

Redesign

The current theme was basically a Christmas theme for my blog and something fresh, different from my previous look. My new theme will center on the changes around the site.

The most important new idea is my “custom design service.” I’ve already been working on several paid jobs, but this is something I want to pursue more seriously this year. The blog will be geared a little more toward making money, but not so much that it will take away from the usual free content I offer.

The new design will put more emphasis on WordPress also. I don’t feel I’m pointing enough new readers to the tutorials I’ve started and other themes. I want to center the design a little more on that.

“The ABCs of Writing” and upcoming e-book

Some of you have been following my writing tutorial series, and I hope you keep reading it. This series will continue in the next few months, and I want to only keep making it more helpful and entertaining.

After I finish writing this series, I will release a polished version with lots of extras. The finished version will be in an e-book format. I’ve always wanted to write a book, and this will give me something to start from, a way to see how the process works.

What to expect in the next week

I’ve already started drawing out a road map for the next year with details for the coming months and weeks. Here are a few of the things you can expect within the next seven days:

• Site redesign
  As I mentioned earlier, I will completely redesign this site. I’m looking forward to moving through this year’s journey with a fresh look.
• New WordPress theme
  I haven’t decided which of the themes I will release, but look for this early next week.
• Part D in the ABCs for Writing series
  This article is long overdue, and I’m ready to release the next article in the most enjoyable series I’ve done.

Now that I’ve set a course and made my plans publicly known, I must work as hard as I can to achieve these goals. I’ve said enough about what I’m going to do in these last two posts. Now, it’s time to start doing.

I spent several hours on the Web cam with my family while they opened presents on Christmas. It was a neat experience seeing most of them for the first time in over four months all together. It kind of makes me wish I was home for a week or so.

This doesn’t mean I’m not enjoying the holidays here in Korea though. I received two boxes of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese in a game of Dirty Santa (White Elephant, whatever you call it). So, it’s been a good Christmas. My parents did send over a package with lots of goodies too.

The family-like atmosphere with the foreign teachers at my school has made being away from home at Christmas an enjoyable experience. Now, I’m looking forward to New Year’s Eve in Seoul.

Look for plenty of updates and more free content in 2008. I have several projects up my sleeve. Until then, enjoy the holidays.

Don’t let the title fool you. I have a few specific things in mind that I want to accomplish with this blog. I have, however, been constantly asking myself this question lately.

I want to do something new with this site. It’s felt a little stale to me for some time now, and I’ve been thinking about what direction I want to take with it. I still want it to be my personal blog, a place where I can unleash on the world once in a while or rant or ponder over random musings, but I want to have a more defined direction for the blog overall.

Some things I want to do:

• Offer more WordPress themes.
• Offer more WordPress plugins.
• Write more WordPress and web design tutorials.
• Catch up on my book reviews.
• Offer monthly and/or weekly breakdowns of what I’ve blogged about and some things that I’ve found interesting online.
• Narrow down my topics (categories) a little more, which would help with putting this site in a more specific direction.
• Use tags to create a better taxonomy system in which users can find related articles. This would help users better find things they are looking for if the topics are too broad.
• Piece together a design that fits with this site, that I like, and offers content to users in a more useful way and stick with it for a while.

Goals:

• Get more subscribers to my feed.
• Blog daily, or at least write a few quality articles each week.
• Double my daily unique visitor and returning visitor counts.
• Generate more discussion of my posts. What’s a blog without a few comments once in a while.
• Make a few more dollars.

Mostly, I want to focus on getting better content out into the web by offering users, as well as the occasional family member that drops in, something of substance. I want to focus more on the things I love, namely web design and programming.

Now, that I have a few goals written down, I’ll have to follow through with them, won’t I? If you have any suggestions or want to tell me what you do or don’t like about JustinTadlock.com, feel free to do so.