August 30, 201114 yr Hi all. I have been learning and making websites for a while now, getting good at html/css graphics etc, I have noticed that some web designers use modifed word press themes that you can buy, add a logo and maby change a few aspects of the site and are finished. Is this a hard thing to do? ive never used word press and do not know how hard it can be. Or should I stick to hand coding websites and building everything myself? cheers
August 30, 201114 yr Hi all. I have been learning and making websites for a while now, getting good at html/css graphics etc, I have noticed that some web designers use modifed word press themes that you can buy, add a logo and maby change a few aspects of the site and are finished. Is this a hard thing to do? ive never used word press and do not know how hard it can be. Or should I stick to hand coding websites and building everything myself? cheers Hi Natty , I use wordpress however I'm not one for modifying existing templates. I find it much easier to create a design with wordpress's capabilities in mind and then create the templates from scratch. You have already said that you are getting on well with html and css and I think that wordpress development might be a good next step for you. More inline with your question on wordpress, themes / templates many will have added settings where you just upload new logos etc. Sometimes it's a case of replacing an image file or changing a background with css . All stuff that you should be able to do. Let us know how you get on with your wordpress projects in the future. Luke
August 30, 201114 yr You could 'just learn Wordpress' but it depends what sort of service you are offering. If you call yourself a bespoke web designer then buying skins in and slightly modifying them is unethical and lazy. However if you clearly state that's what you are doing then i can't see a problem with doing so.
August 30, 201114 yr WordPress is built using .php so a good understanding of that language is needed in order to create a decent looking theme/website. Sure, you can simply purchase a pre-designed template and edit it slightly but wouldn't that make you a 'Theme Editor', rather than a 'Web Designer'? Most of the designers here create WP templates from scratch, using either a naked WordPress theme or literally hand coding the way you would normally do so for a static website, then merging it with specific WP elements. Don't get me wrong, WP is bloody great (even if I fight with it on a regular basis!) but to use it to create fully functionable websites you need a knowledge level greater than just CSS/HTML.
August 30, 201114 yr Author I think I would like to learn php so I can use wordpress to it's full potential and could do anything a client could poss need. However I'm sure most clients would be non the wiser if you were to use a template and call yourself a web designer!
August 30, 201114 yr I think I would like to learn php so I can use wordpress to it's full potential and could do anything a client could poss need. However I'm sure most clients would be non the wiser if you were to use a template and call yourself a web designer! As Mike said, it is very unethical and lazy. A web designer should be able to 'design' his/her own layouts. I for one would be extremely annoyed if I came across the same template being used on another persons website that I had paid a designer for. Most clients expect their websites to be unique and not the same as somebody elses.
August 30, 201114 yr I think I would like to learn php so I can use wordpress to it's full potential and could do anything a client could poss need. However I'm sure most clients would be non the wiser if you were to use a template and call yourself a web designer! So your aim in business would be to rip people off? If you are taking pre-existing themes and altering them slightly then two groups of people need to know that is what you're doing... 1) The client 2) The original theme developer If you were to do this then you must state clearly that this is what you are doing and charge accordingly (i.e. not much!).
August 30, 201114 yr So your aim in business would be to rip people off? If you are taking pre-existing themes and altering them slightly then two groups of people need to know that is what you're doing... 1) The client 2) The original theme developer If you were to do this then you must state clearly that this is what you are doing and charge accordingly (i.e. not much!). This is what bugs me about these CMS systems (not just WP). By altering a few images and rehashing some text it seems anybody can call themselves a web designer.
August 30, 201114 yr Author No I do not want to rip any one off, I'm just learning how everything works and wanted to know if this is how people operate. Not a very satisfying way to work either, using themes!
August 30, 201114 yr No I do not want to rip any one off, I'm just learning how everything works and wanted to know if this is how people operate. Not a very satisfying way to work either, using themes! There are people out there who do this, however they can't charge much and they eventually get found out and their business name is then ruined. Better off sticking to bespoke sites or building custom WP themes for your clients. If a client comes to you with a ridiculous small budget and you're feeling generous, then offer to install Wordpress and a theme for them as a trade off.
August 30, 201114 yr Would HTML, CSS and php be enough to use wordpress design from scratch? To be honest, when i first started making themes for Wordpress, i didn't have a clue what PHP was doing what. I just learnt what Wordpress functions do what.
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