1. CHOOSE A SIMPLE THEME: I experimented with 7 different themes for my blog and messed it up quite a few times in the process. I ended up with this plain super simple template and then just played with the font. I recommend you start by thinking what you want and then spend sometime looking around. The more complex the template the harder it is to customize. Also, be SURE that your template has been tested for the WP version you installed. Paid vs free? I’ve done both and the big advantage is the paid templates have lots more options and more support, however if you really don’t need that many pages you can pretty much get the same functions by just adding plugins and customizing your css template.
2. CUSTOMIZE: the secret weapon here is Firebug, a nifty little Firefox add-on that helps you find where the is the hidden code you want to change. A lot of wordpress themes come with many CSS style sheets and many PHP pages and they don’t all show up in the Theme editor… so finding that line of code is not always os easy, but Firebug does the trick! Click on Inspect and then hover over the are you want to modify and it will tell you the file and line
3. KEEP YOUR PLUGINS CLEAN: oh there are soooooo many out there, so many cool functions! But instead of spending loads of times playing and searching, start by defininf the functions that you need on your site and then go look for them. Try to find plugins that have good documentaitona dn have been tested for IE and the wordpress version you have. Many plugins don’t work properly or enter in conflict with the ones you already have. Also, remember to deactivate the ones you are not using and it will keep your site running smoothly.
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