Characteristics Of A Blog Theme
If you want to analyze your theme you can use the Internet Explorer Development Toolbar or FireBug if you use Firefox, or you can use any tool that can analyze CSS HTML and JavaScript. Your blog theme uses the sum of all the parts to create an impact. When you analyze themes you can begin to see patterns and realize what is more effective and what is not.
Key Factors of a Theme
Columns
Two column versus three column templates. Most readers find two column themes to be easier to read. The reading area is cleaner and it is easier to focus, scroll and see when your posts are on the left and navigation and articles are on the right. Three column themes readers prefer for the posts to be in the middle with columns to the right and left of the post column.
Color Patterns
You can create a big impact with colors and color combinations. Color can be introducd in the banner, background, links and text areas. Get input from readers on how they feel about the colors you are using.
Font Combinations
Font can be varied in the body, titles and sidebars of your site. You can change the font type, size and color. Fonts should be readable and can create an impact. Listen to your own reaction to how your site looks in regard to the fonts you use and get input from your readers.
Post Readability
In post readability width is a big factor. Both when columns are too wide or narrow users find it difficult to read. In general the post column should be about two-thirds of the templates width.
Sidebar Design
The best items to place in your sidebar include: RSS Subscription, tags, recent posts, search, categories and recent comments. Placing search and RSS subscription at the top is optimal.
Ability to Search and Browse for Posts
If you have a lot of posts it is important for users to be able to find what they are looking for. You should test your site to see how easy it is to search and browse through posts. One good option is to show a few sentences of the post with a “read more” or “continued” link is a good option. You can display more posts on an index page for readers to browse through.
Effective Images and Banner Designs
The effective use of pictures for your posts and banners has a big impact in the response your page receives. As far as the initial impact of your theme the banner has the largest influence.
Comment Support
Different themes handle comments better than others. Find a live site that has lots of comments helps you to understand how it scales while remaining readable.
Whitespace
Whitespace are areas on your site that does not contain anything. Your site is cleaner when you have a balanced amount of whitespace. Think about how the elements on your page are spaced.
Links
Provide links that are easy to see. Sometimes they get hidden in the text. When you have links in text always underline it.
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Twitter
I only like white colored themes ….. themes with dark colored background looks very crowdy and only works well with designer blogs … What do you say ?