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Horrible WordPress Themes

  1. rohanquinby
    Member

    Well, WordPress.com, you are forcing me to move.

    All I want is a simple, simple theme to help showcase my photography. A theme with galleries. With no ridiculous typography. A theme that stays in the background. That I could be proud to showcase my work on.

    A theme that is less about what they used to call "blogging" in the late 90s - early 2000s and more about giving people a simple web presence.

    But over and over again, WP comes up with busy, cluttered themes that date quickly and overwhelm content. From the addition of the silly dash in the Blogum theme, to the horrendously busy design of what is allegedly called "The Minimalist", I cannot say there is a single theme on WordPress that I like.

    What's worse, WP scarcely manages to give you the tools to customize so that you can find something you like.

    Goodbye, WordPress. Hope to see you in the future. But I don't know if you'll make it.

    The blog I need help with is rohanquinby.wordpress.com.

  2. ourwweviews
    Member

    Well you should research the website that is best for you before you make a decision. Nobody forced you to use wordpress.

  3. timethief
    Member

    @rohanquinby
    Good bye and best wishes for happy blogging wherever that may be.

  4. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    So, you want a simple theme theme that will showcase your photography? Have you seen http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/photography/ http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/nishita/ or http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/duotone/ ?

  5. rohanquinby
    Member

    @macmanx: thanks for the suggestions!

    I realize that my opening salvo may have offended some, but you need to know that it was and is coming from some intense frustration. Again I maintain that WP.com offers themes that are far too foreground for most artists who wish to showcase content.

    I think that If I am going to pay for a premium site I may as well start from the ground up, with my own domain and full control, rather than struggle with the "Photography" theme offered by WP.

    Nishita is for me, very, very, busy. I think there are at least four or five different colours going on, in addition to a bewildering number of lines.

    No offense to anyone, but Duotone has to be one of the most distracting and clumsy-looking themes ever devised for art / photography. I am particularly repelled by the idea of a theme that changes colours based upon the photographs.

  6. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    If you want a theme like Duotone that doesn't change colors to match the photos, try http://theme.wordpress.com/themes/monotone/

  7. rohanquinby
    Member

    I don't really want to argue about the drawbacks of various themes, so much as to point out that WP.com's themes are too busy and cluttered to be of use to artists who need a platform that emphasizes content.

    That being said: Monotone has ridiculous design. Thin lines crash into thick lines for no reason. Posts change in size depending on the size of the image??? I won't host my work on something like that.

    Take a look at what they are offering at 4ormat; look how simple their designs are; see how little you have to pay for a simple, ad-free space that pays attention to the needs of visual artists. Even domain mapping is horrendously cheap. I have been with WP for a while, and I didn't want to leave, but your themes are too foreground!

  8. panaghiotisadam
    Member

    @macmanx: Both Duotone and Monotone change colors. The difference between the two is that in Duotone you can set a fixed color for the outer bg and you can add widgets.

  9. macmanx
    Happiness Engineer

    Yes, I was referring to the background color change in Duotone vs. the solid background in Monotone.

    Also, Monotone does support widgets.

  10. panaghiotisadam
    Member

    a) No, you suggested Monotone as a theme "that doesn't change colors to match the photos" - after rohanquinby complained about that feature in Duotone.
    (But it doesn't matter, as rohanquinby will apparently complain about anything and everything.)

    b) Widgets in Monotone? That's news - thanks!

  11. michiecat
    Staff

    Howdy, @rohanquinby,

    I'm sorry to hear of your frustration. I wanted to point out that we have two minimalist premium themes in particular that were designed specifically for showcasing artwork and photography: Anthem and React. Have you taken a look at those themes?

    Also, if you're interested in working with CSS, you can simplify any of our themes with CSS (available through the Custom Design upgrade). For example, you can hide extra design elements or reduce the widths of borders.

    Another option is the blank Sandbox theme. It's an empty canvas, free of any design elements. You can customize the entire design using CSS.

    I wish you the best of luck with which ever direction you decide to take with your site.

  12. goodjohnjr
    Member

    Hello RohanQuinby, I think that it would be a great idea if you made a list of everything that you are looking for in a WordPress.com theme, and maybe the WordPress Team and/or someone out there could make your dream theme come true. :)

    I currently like the Twenty Eleven theme, but I wish that it had a bit more options/things that you could customize/ more flexibility/et cetera; I guess that I should make a list of changes for the Twenty Eleven theme that I would like to see. ;)

    Any, if you make that list and share it, I imagine that someone out there will be able to help you; good luck. :)

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