We recently had a design overhaul for Study Driving, formerly a personal site of mine, which Splashpress Media acquired. As with a host of other blogs in the network, Study Driving was redesigned by my fellow contributor here, Ia Lucero.

When we were conceptualizing the design, I was initially thinking of something with lots of red, to symbolize that speed look (usually attributed to driving). But I let Ia have a free hand at what she would do with the site.

And so the result: something bold, but in a subdued kind of way. Presenting the new Study Driving:

It’s bold because of the use of the stylized automobile on the header. And the use of the checkered pattern reminds one of either a checkered flag or carbon fibre–of course, both associated with motorsports.

The site is subdued, meanwhile, because of the heavy use of monochrome–black, white and grey all over. There are several colored items, but the majority of the site is in shades of grey.

I know the trend these days is for big, bold typefaces in bright colors over a white (or very light) backdrop. But it seems that dark background sites are having a comeback.

David Peralty has just posted about the recently-released Cutline version 1.3.

Remember that Archive link in the header of every installation? I have since removed it, making sure to use WordPress’ built-in page listing code, so top level pages will be displayed automatically rather than having to edit the theme.

I have also taken some advice given freely to me by Gabriel Radic on his Timbru blog, so if you like the changes, please thank him.

There are no more italics in the blockquotes, I have added some text to the 404 page, so that non-web savvy users understand where they are, and I have removed the comments link from the index page meta-data line. I have also changed the meta-data line to use a san-serif font to be easier to read.

I have also checked the theme for WordPress 2.5 compatibility and haven’t been able to replicate any issues that others have mentioned.

Even with Cutline 2.xx, I think the first version is still as popular as ever. If you’re not familiar with Cutline, then better check it out. It’s what we consider a platform rather than simply a WordPress theme.

We’ve been receiving complaints of login problems lately, so we did a few fixes here and there, and the problem is fixed. Thing is, FreeWordPressThemes is a growing site, with a growing user base and community. So sometimes we fail to notice we’re already nearing our hosting account’s storage quota, and that usually brings up various problems, particularly in uploading new themes and sometimes even logging in.

Is it time to move up in terms of hosting? Perhaps not yet. And I don’t think a theme site would need such an upgrade. Unless we get to be very very big, that is. In that case, it’s a problem we’d be glad to have around.

So if you have other concerns, or you notice other strange things happening on the site, please feel free to drop us a line.

This month’s free WordPress theme from Performancing is One in a Million, designed by Thord Daniel Hedengren.

One in a Million is a three-column theme for WordPress featuring a fixed-width layout with a center-positioned main content column. The theme is easy on the eyes, using subdued hues and clean typefaces. The header and footer have an old world, homey feel to them, using a wallpaper-like pattern as background image.

This theme makes an impact without the need for striking colors. If you’re looking for an elegant theme, One in a Million might be for you.

You can preview and download the theme at Performancing.

ThemeShaper has launched a different kind of theme contest: The Next WordPress Default Theme. In this contest, participants are to submit ideas (instead of full-fledged themes) for what should be the next default WP theme.

It’s easy to win. Just let the community know what you think the next WordPress default theme should be like. All you have to do is leave a comment here with your great idea or ideas. Any idea is fine. You don’t need to be a theme developer, all you need is an opinion. Not enough room? Write a post on your own blog outlining your ideas (and to make sure I find it, leave a comment here with a link to your post). The three best ideas/proposals, as judged by iThemes and ThemeShaper, will be awarded the prizes. If we think they’re good ideas, you win! Simple.

The contest prizes are as follows:

Grand Prize: Your choice of 4 single-use license iThemes themes.

First Runner-up: Your choice of 2 single-use license iThemes themes.

Second Runner-up: Your choice of 1 single-use license iThemes theme.

Please note: Revolution will not be included in this offer.

The contest ends on March 24 at 10:00 PM central time. The winners will be announced on March 26.

Update (March 25, 2008): WPDesigner.com has a new owner.

WPDesigner.com, one of the most prominent sources of quality WordPress themes by Tung Do (Small Potato aka SP), is now being but up for sale. WPDesigner is such a young site (it started in 2006), with such a young designer (he’s 21 years old) to boot.

He writes that he’s come to this decision for several reasons: “I’ll be traveling abroad for the rest of this year”, “I’m at a crossroad in life”, and “I don’t like giving theme support”. The last one is a notable revelation, especially with the onset of premium paid themes that often imply support for its customers. I wonder how many theme designers are as enthusiastic about helping others, whether the theme in question is free or paid.

The release of WordPress 2.5 has been delayed by a week. Expect it to be out by March 17, 2008.

Aspiring WordPress theme designers should take a look at this Developer Toolkit by iThemes. It’s not so much a downloadble kit as it is a tutorial page containing links to helpful tools in creating a WordPress theme. But there are some tools and tips that were overlooked:

Firebug for Firefox

Although mentioned in one of the links, I find Firebug more convenient than the Web Developer Toolbar. It’s a Firefox add-on, but a Lite version can be used for other browsers.

Aardvark for Firefox

Another Firefox extension, Aardvark lets you inspect elements simply by hovering over them.

Developer Toolbar for Internet Explorer

It’s easier to debug in Internet Explorer with its own IE Developer Toolbar. It’s only compatible with IE7, but it’s better than nothing.

IE8?

Should we start testing themes in Internet Explorer 8? The first beta has been released, and it’s shipping in standards-compliant mode by default. More importantly, it automatically comes with a Developer Tools feature that looks a lot like Firebug, which makes debugging your themes easier.

Other Browsers

Don’t forget other browsers! Test your theme in Safari, Opera (Web Developer Toolbar available), and other browsers.

Admin Theme Preview for WordPress

Ordinary theme switchers let other people see the changes you’ve made to your website when you’re testing out a new theme. But Admin Theme Preview is a plugin that only lets admin users see those changes. See also: Preview Theme and Theme Test Drive.

Submit Your Theme!

Let other people know about the theme you’ve created by submitted to WP theme websites like Free WordPress Themes.

It’s amazing how many designers out there still don’t follow the best practices when creating WordPress themes. When ordinary bloggers download your theme and encounter horrific error messages, what are the chances that they’ll figure out how to fix it?

The most common culprit is required plugins. Do not assume that everybody uses the same plugins you do. Do not assume they will immediately read your README upon download, and follow your instructions. It is your responsibility as a theme designer to anticipate this behavior and make the adjustments in case the person using your theme chooses not to use the plugins you require.

Take for example the Smart Green theme. If you’ll click on View Demo, you’ll find an error message on the right sidebar, and the rest of the page stops loading because of it. Here’s the error message:

Fatal error: Call to undefined function akpc_most_popular() in /home/freeword/public_html/wordpress/wp-content/themes/greentheme/index.php on line 7

The undefined function is found in the Popularity Contest plugin, and the theme calls it this way:

<?php akpc_most_popular($limit = 3); ?>

The error could have easily been avoided using the following code (emphasis given to the inserted code):

<?php
if (function_exists(’akpc_most_popular’)) {
akpc_most_popular($limit = 3);
}
?>

What this does is ask WordPress if the Popularity Contest plugin exists or is activated first. If the plugin is there, it goes on to display the most popular posts; if it isn’t, then the code is skipped and the rest of the theme loads. You can apply this to any other plugin you want to use in your theme. You just have to supply the name of the function your using instead.

Very easy, very simple. What’s stopping you from foolproofing your WordPress theme?

While most theme authors would release their creations for free, there are also WordPress themes that are considered premium. It’s something that’s not exactly custom-made for a design client, but something with added value that authors think would be worth paying for.

Here on Free WordPress Themes, we’ve received a few requests for removal of posted themes, which were in fact premium themes that were bought (or perhaps downloaded elsewhere) and then reposted as a free download. Of course, it’s obvious that the theme author is being deprived of prospective income here, since his work is basically being pirated.

So there’s a difference from authors who report their free themes being uploaded with improper citation. In the case of premium themes, there is actual loss of revenue.

Problem with themes is that once someone purchases a copy or a license, he/she actually gets hold of your source code. So it’s not very easy to secure a theme. You’re at the mercy of the people who buy and download your designs. Sometimes there are resourceful people who can copy themes by directly downloading the .CSS file, images, and then reconstituting the structure from the source of a sample page.

There are ways to minimize this, of course, or to at least detect illegal uploading of your theme, and some suggestions from our end would include encrypting your theme files or even being selective with whom you sell your themes to. Any ideas?