Blogging: Artisteer Can Make You a Theme Designer
Ever look through a ton of blog themes and think that none of them really suit your vision?
I know I have.
I find themes I like, but they have a left-hand sidebar, or the colors aren’t right or for whatever other reason, I just can’t hang with it.
In steps Artisteer from http://artisteer.com, which allows you to create your own WordPress, Drupal, or Joomla theme in a matter of minutes.
The way Artisteer works is very simple. The software will suggest elements for you, or you can choose your color template, the way the header is shaped and colored, whether or not to use photographs, and all of the other stuff that you want your blog to do. The combinations are myriad.
I’ve used Artisteer to create a few themes for my free website EasyBlogTricks.com where I give people the technical aspects of blogging in video. I show folks how to install a WordPress blog from scratch, how to use plugins, how to upgrade, and so on. I need to go back in and upadate for WordPress 2.7, but the operations are fundamentally the same in most instances. Still, I wanted to give members a bit more, and so, I’ve been having fun creating themes with Artisteer.
Brian Terry, of BigSellingWebsiteDesign.com who’s an incredible graphics designer without Artisteer, even gave the software the thumbs up. I can only imagine the very cool stuff he’s doing with it. (And if you’re not subscribed to his blog, you should be.) But the point is, you don’t have to be a graphics designer to make Artisteer work for you in some very professional ways.
I’m in the process of downloading version 2.0.2.150 right now, which is still in beta, but the awesome thing about buying the software is that you get free upgrades for a full year. I bought it a few months ago, so I’m good to go. Wish Camtasia worked that way.
Anyway, you can get a trial version that will allow you to play with the software, but not download the pages for your new theme, unless you cough up the dough. The Home edition is only $49.95, but the pro version comes with a lot more and you can use it commercially for only $129.95. If you buy blog themes, it’s totally worth the price.
Here’s the thing: You really don’t want your blog to look like everyone else’s, do you? Artisteer gives you a very cool way to have a totally unique theme, and you can create one any time you wish. It’s worth a try.
