No further progress in actually building out my new WordPress blog. First I was stuck trying to pick a web host and that's really not settled yet but, for now I'm on Dreamhost. But now I have 2 new key questions: (1) What wp theme shall I use as the foundation of my blog? and (2) Shall I use Google Apps with email for my email hosting piece? [Links: Part 1 and Part 2]
I want to focus for a minute on themes. The main point is that choosing a theme isn't just about looks, it is also about what programmatic extras are built into the theme. What can the theme handle?
This means choosing a theme is almost like choosing a software product. You need to know who is behind the theme. What can it do and not do? Where is the author taking that theme in the future?
One of my associates, an independent photographer, is thinking of doing a WordPress blog for his business web presence. He learned about a WordPress theme called K2 which is a whole sub-program that runs underneath WordPress. It has jazzy extras and supports some cool AJAX behaviors.
Keep in mind that a theme can wind up not being compatible with the next WordPress update. In fact, that's almost a given if it has lots of programmatic functionality. That means your theme-maker better be into this for the long-term. What if the theme has bugs on its own the the theme-maker has other commitments and can't keep the bugs in check?
Also, what if the theme is abandoned? And then WP gets updated and the theme doesn't work well or doesn't work anymore? All I'm saying is that this now means that I'm going to be doing some more research before I decide on a theme.
Call me a worry-wart, but as a long-time software developer myself, I think about this stuff. [Next installment: Part 4]