It’s ALL About The Content!
Talk to any blogger worth their RSS feed and you will hear about how it’s the content we put in our blogs that matters most, not the theme that frames it. You will hear about how it’s not the look of your blog that gets you on the front page of Digg, but the words, images and videos that plaster your pages that make or break the success of your blogging endeavors. You will hear that ‘It’s ALL about the content!’
I believe this wholeheartedly as I’ve experienced this truth first hand. Since I first began to blog I have gone through many phases of focus. There have been times when I would spend day on end, pining over the perfect look for my blog theme, neglecting the quality of the content I shared. Then there have been other times when I did nothing more than ensure the best writing and the highest quality voice I could possibly muster. Which of these instances do you believe brought the most traffic, subscribers, links and buzz about my blog? Need I answer this question…?
As I’ve grown as a blogger I spend more time focusing on words and less on widgets and plugins. Yet I’ve lost no bit of passion for design and code. If anything, I’ve become even more enthusiastic about web design and more specifically, WordPress theme design. But my passion lies not in flash and flair, but in simplicity, flexibility, efficiency and the value of JUST ENOUGH. My goals have changed from putting the focus on the theme, to using the theme to properly present the content it bares. Just like the wrong picture frame can dilute the power of a portrait, so too can a poorly, over done Wordpess theme, take away from the message of any blog author.
The sense of invisibility.
The perfect WordPress theme for any blogger is going to seem invisible when you are reading the pages of the blog. This requires a specific balance that comes from a super clean look as well as JUST ENOUGH flair to enhance the visuals. Just like grandmas perfect pasta recipe, too much or too little of any ingredient will render a less than desirable end result. It’s ALL about the content, but only when properly framed by the perfect package or simplicity and just the right amount of salt.
Just like no two bloggers have the same voice…
…so should no two themes look EXACTLY the same. The frugal WordPress theme address this fact in two ways.
- Being the perfect picture frame. In its stock form, the frugal theme is perfectly subtle and therefore allows the content that YOU put in its boundaries to become the main focus. By adding your own unique images and words and whatever represents the message you intent to voice, you will quickly turn the frugal theme into the look, feel and function of YOUR desired blog.
- Flexibility is its forte. By building the frugal theme with simplicity in mind, you will find that customization is about as simple as it gets. Not flashy backend features, but the most basic code that allows for even the non coder to adjust their theme until it perfectly fits their blogging needs. By including a free guide book, I make customizing your frugal theme as easy as paint by numbers.
So is it REALLY ALL about the content?
The answer is still an absolute YES, but as you can see, the theme DOES matter. There are way too many themes out there (both free and premium) that don’t even come close to incorporating this perfect blend of design characteristics to properly frame your precious content. You want your focus to be on your voice, but for this to effectively occur, you need to be sure that your blog design is not doing anything to dilute or distract from it. My voice is my passion and blogging is my medium. With the frugal WordPress theme I have created what I believe to be just the right mix of ingredients to effectively echo our words.
Eric
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Hi Eric, I would def have to agree with you on the subject of ” Content ” vs. ” Design ” . Albeit , I am a ‘ Design Geek ‘ and heavily addicted to design:D , I was in fact having this conversation just the other day w/ a fellow blogger who was in the process of revamping their blog-site’s design. Now, the truth is : I am a newbie blogger & still learning the ropes, however : what I have been noticing amongst the multitude of ” Beautifully Designed ” blogs & sites which I visit is basically that they all seem to share 1 common denominator : ( aside from their imaginative designs ) they all seem to host the exact same content :WP Themes, Icons, & open source scripts basically ( as I am certain you know of them as well ) . They may give their content a different title , however : it is always the same : ” A rose by any other name ” [ if you will ].
This makes me wonder : what will the longevity of such blogs be ? and what happens when one runs out of such content- because lets face it : how long can one continue to post articles identical to the next guy ? I know I certainly cant & refuse to . Since I put up my blog , ( which was very recently ) ; I have been trying to find my ‘ niche ‘ as they say . I have been doing some deep soul searching and I will say at this point , I have finally arrived at a conclusion between the 2 dilemma’s I had been battling with. Design vs, Content.
Eric, I do believe and have concluded that one can truly integrate both ( if done correctly ) Great content can certainly be incorporated along w/ great Design I believe as long as one knows certain things about structure and the element of good design . The thing is : I love ART ( within all of its forms )- however, my life’s direction shifted me unto other areas of study and thus , the dream of becoming a Graphic Designer was not realized .I love my art though – and I admire Graphic Designers, Developers & Programmers . I also believe that we are ‘ Visual Creatures ‘ , and although ‘ Words ‘ ( content ) are a pivotal aspect and pertinent to any blog – ‘ design ‘ : ‘ Framing ‘ ones content is an important aspect of any good blog if done tastefully and the Design does not ‘ drown out the content’ itself . I believe that the greater majority of people surfing the Net for content , are to a greater degree stimulated by Graphic [Visual ] Content rather than ‘ quality written content ‘ itself . Sad? yes …however, this is prevalent or else , we would not have such an explosion of Graphic generated site/blogs popping up all over the net ( which in essence all seem to mimic one another as far as their content goes ).
My niche has always been ‘ writing ‘ – I cant even feature a post about an MP3 player without doing a full scale article about it . Therefore , whether I am doing an article about font face or icons
, I feel compelled to write a thesis on the matter . Will people who land on my blog bother reading my content ? hmmm….well, those who are interested will , and will probably continue returning , if ” Content ” is what they are truly seeking . Those who dont , will venture onto something more ‘ visually captivating ‘ I assume . What I do know however is that ‘Content ‘ ( my content , my ‘ voice ‘ ) is what I do want people to hear; design continually changes and what may be considered a ‘ great design ‘ today will be replaced by something else next month – but Content …that is irreplaceable. Of course Great Design ( basically Art ) continues to live on throughout the centuries – but , the ‘ Spoken / Written Word ‘ lives on and resonates through eternity .
I would like to share with you an interview given by Matt Mullenweg speaking about the differences between WP.org & WP.com , but overall his message is also about the importance of “Content”. He also seems to share your viewpoint ( as I do also, however : you cant hold it against a girl for being addicted to Design
)
Wishing you much continued future success within your life & career endeavors Eric. Catch you within the vestiges of cyberspace & thank you for posting such a great article for discussion , now I will go check out your Theme design
Best regards :
Mia