I’ve just released version 2.0 of the free PressPlay theme for WordPress. It’s a massive revamp that gives the theme an updated design, theme options, and custom page templates while staying translation-ready and cross-browser compatible. Download it at the WordPress Free Theme Directory, or check out a demo and a complete list of features.
PressPlay recently hit 5,000 downloads at WordPress’s free theme directory, something I honestly never expected when I first submitted it at the end of June. This is my first theme, and now that I know a bit more about what I’m getting into, I’m even more excited about designing another one. Thanks to everyone who’s downloaded it!
To coincide with the 5,000th download, I updated the theme to version 1.3. This one fixes a major oversight in 1.2 that resulted in post information not appearing on single post pages. It also makes PressPlay now completely translation-ready (thanks to Georg for a ton of work on that) and features a new date graphic. So go on, download PressPlay 1.3.
Now that I know PressPlay is a pretty stable theme — barring any bugs in 1.3 — I’m thinking ahead to version 2.0, and in particular, an optional magazine-style homepage and a bunch of theme options. That won’t be for at least a couple of months though — I already have a second theme I’m working on before I get to that — so in the meantime, here’s to the next 5,000.
PressPlay version 1.2 just went live on WordPress’s theme directory. It improves on the earlier version with over a dozen tweaks and bug fixes. I’ve included a readme with a changelog in this version, so feel free to skim it over.
The two most noticeable changes: dates now appear on the homepage (and all archive pages), and the default font for posts is now Tahoma. I decided it contrasted with the Georgia headings better. If you hate change and want to keep the font the way it was before, just go into style.css, and on line #24 change the font family to “Georgia”.
I’ve also moved all the comments over to the main PressPlay page, so post any questions there. Enjoy!
PressPlay, the original theme that we use here at Press Playing, just got accepted into the WordPress Free Themes Directory on WordPress.org. Sweet!
For a brief rundown of how awesome it is, check out the PressPlay Theme Page right here on this site. PressPlay’s my first theme, which is why I’m so excited, but I hope to find the time to make plenty more soon.
Thanks as always to WordPress.
The problem with web programming and web designing is that they’re two things that go hand in hand but probably shouldn’t. A lot of designers don’t care about code, and a lot of coders don’t have a clue how to design.
I’m more of the second camp: whenever I try to design a page, I have no unified color scheme, I try giving all my borders a “dashed” style (“just to see how it will look”) and don’t give a second thought to text styles beyond assigning a font. Not a font stack; just one font.
On the second go-round, the changes come and things are gradually smoothed out. But the fact is, basic text is often the last thing new designers think about because they’re too worried about image galleries, tabbed widgets, shadows, and rounded corners. None of the other stuff matters if people don’t want to read what’s on your site. So here, compiled from experience, are eight basic tips on designing text that feels good.
Continue reading 8 Tips for Designing Text that’s Pleasant to Read →