Digest
It’s been quite a while since I’ve posted here at NathanRice.net, so I just wanted to give a quick digest of the things that have been going on around the net and here at home.
- Small Potato is selling WPDesigner.com. SP is probably one of the most respected names in the WordPress theme game, and it will be sad to see him go.
- NathanRice.net is getting a makeover! Although it is still in development, the new look is coming along nicely. A new logo will top off the design when we finally launch.
- And with the new design will come a flood of new content. I’ve been bookmarking and brainstorming tons of ideas for tips and tutorials for you WordPress eggheads looking to learn more about how to make WordPress do whatever you want.
- Cory Miller asked me to do some work for him over at iThemes.com recently, and it’s been a blast cranking out some of the most beautiful themes I’ve ever seen. If you haven’t already, go check out the themes at iThemes.com (I recommend Deep Order and Biz Card).
- Ian Stewart asked me to contribute to his post “The Future of WordPress Themes” recently. I’m lucky to be in such good company, but I honestly feel like my assessment of the future is the most accurate. Several of the WordPress guru’s included in that post have written and told me that they believe I was spot on.
- Speaking of WordPress themes, I’ve been letting an idea stew for a while, and it’s about time to get started on it. I didn’t include this particular business model for Ian to include in his post, but I believe it has the potential to shake up the Premium market like never before. I just hope someone else doesn’t think of it and pull it off first. Seriously, it’s going to rock!
- I’ll be attending WordCamp Dallas this year. If you’re going to be there, and want to meet up and chat, give me a hollar and we’ll see what we can do.
- I’m getting married in June :-)
That’s about it for now. Stay tuned to the blog for more updates as things draw near. The future is VERY bright!
Stripped Theme Released
Stripped is finally here!!! After weeks of on and off development, it’s finally time to release the latest theme in my free WordPress theme gallery.
Stripped is … well … stripped! Stripped of the graphical fluff, stripped of traditional sidebars, stripped of header images, and what’s left is an elegant skeleton that screams “minimalism”! If you’ve been looking for a good minimalist theme with a unique layout, look no further!
This theme is completely free, however if you would like a color other that the basic black, I have developed a few add-on colors that can be downloaded for a small fee (see the below sections for details). UPDATE: I’ve decided to include the alternate color schemes with the default download of Stripped at no cost!
Preview
Google PageRank Updated
It does indeed seem like Google has updated PageRank once again, and considering this blog’s meager 2 free WordPress themes, I’m happy with our growth from 2 to 5. Not bad for a blog less than 6 months old, if I do say so myself.
I’m sure it doesn’t hurt to have links from the likes of Small Potato, Brian Gardner, Cory Miller, Blog Herald, and of course my friend Lorelle (who happens to be one of the nicest people in the whole wide world!).
Times are good, and they keep getting better … can’t wait for what’s next!
Comment Link in single.php
Ever noticed that the comments_popup_link function doesn’t actually output anything when viewing a single post?
I have … and until recently, I ended up just not including a link to the “comments” of a post when viewing a single post, and just hoping that either 1) no one noticed, or 2) no one would care, assuming they would just scroll down to the bottom of the post to see the number of comments.
But, I don’t like to assume. I like to think of the user as a person … a person that has normal expectations when using a theme.
Therefore, I decided to figure out a way (I’m sure I’m not the only one) to keep that darn link working … even when viewing a single post.
“Stripped” Homepage Preview
Hey guys and gals, I’ve been working pretty hard lately to make sure the bills are paid, but during some downtime, I finished up the homepage for my newest free theme release, Stripped (click the link for a demo image).
I really love the “barely there” minimalistic look of this theme, and I really can’t wait to release it! It still has some work to be done on the inner pages, but it’s 90% complete, and just needs a few finishing touches.
However, I am still debating in my mind how to go about releasing “color packages” or other options as a way to compensate the time it took to develop this theme. That part of the process will probably be the most time consuming (developing the color packages, and figuring out how to release them).
It’s an experiment, that’s for sure. If you have any ideas or feedback for this project, I’d love to hear them in the comments below!
Free Installation for NewsPixel — This Week Only!
I just wanted to let my readers know that for the remaining days in 2007, if your purchase my Premium WordPress theme, NewsPixel, you will get FREE INSTALLATION!!!
All you have to do is email me through my contact form letting me know that you purchased the theme before midnight, December 31st 2007 and you will receive free installation by yours truly. All I need from you is the ability to access your server.
So, head over to the purchase page and get your copy of NewsPixel, and we’ll remove any beginner’s barriers. If you’d like more details on the installation service, I’d be happy to answer any questions via email.
Get your copy today!!!
Respect Requires Altruism
I’ve been noticing a trend as of late with some of my fellow WordPress developers. Many of them have all but abandoned the idea of releasing free WordPress themes to the community.
As I mentioned a few weeks ago, sometimes money can make you forget about innovation. I think it also makes you forget that WordPress is, at its core, a community program … driven by the community … supported by the community … and sustained by the community.
So how is it that we sometimes forget to give back to the community?
WordPress Theme Viewer — Still Crippled
It’s been 5 months since WordPress decided to close access to theme designers uploading and updating their themes on the official WordPress Theme Viewer, and the longer it stays closed, the worse the entire situation gets for WordPress Theme users and designers.
Every once in a while, I check out the sites that use my themes, both the ones I’ve released here, and the ones I did at RockinThemes.com.
I recently updated one of my most popular themes, RockinBizRed and I released it here at NathanRice.net. I then updated all the links at RockinThemes to reflect this new version.
However, to this day, I continue to see new incoming links from the older version, the buggy version, from RockinBizRed on the WordPress Theme Viewer, the official site for WordPress Themes, a site which continues to be closed to WordPress Theme authors and designers for updating their designs.
Talking WordPress: Not Bad At All!
As I’ve expressed before, I’m disappointed with the quantity of good podcasts out there that talk about WordPress. Obviously, with only one podcast out there, it’s hard to get good quality content in podcast format on the topic of WordPress.
But I recently discovered a podcast that looks like it has some serious potential to be a hit.
TalkingWordPress.com is host to a great little podcast! I listened to all 3 episodes so far in a single sitting, and I REALLY liked what I heard.
Do You Value a Good Designer?
A few weeks ago, I was fortunate enough to participate in a group chat with Darren Rowse of Problogger.net. I got to watch as bloggers from all over the place asked him questions about blogging and making money online with their blogs.
Although I asked him a few questions, I asked him a question that particularly interested me … did he think it was worth it to pay for his recent redesign???
His answer really made me happy … not just because I’m a WordPress designer, but because I have seen way too many people devalue the work people like me actually do. He raved on Ben, and made it clear that he did not overpay for his design, but he didn’t get a steal either. But overwhelmingly, his redesign was worth the money.
But this is not the case with a small percentage of the potential clients who contact me.
