KICKERfilm.com » Themes

Another New Theme

Rhys — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:51:08 +0000

Well I am someone who is always open to change. Nothing is more easy to change than a website, whether it’s a new feature or just a complete redesign. I tend to just start over (not really, but I heavily modify my old theme) which is why I have made a new theme. I thought my previous theme, Blank, was the minimal as it gets however this new theme is just so basic and simple, something I like yet so easy to look at if that makes sense.

I don’t know if I am gonna make it a free download anytime soon but I am gonna create a portfolio page, showcasing my themes and sites I have developed over the last 2 years. Why the sudden change from a video oriented site to a portfolio you might ask? Well I want to become a freelance web designer on the holidays to make some fast cash which will hopefully ease my study load during Uni and I think a site like what I am thinking will seal the deal when it comes to getting some clients.

So perhaps in a few months I’ll release all my themes for download. Stay tuned!

P.S. The new theme is called Turbo which, by the way, means ‘fast’ in latin.

Blank

Rhys — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:58:13 +0000

The basic goal of the theme was to make it a light coloured, shades of grey type theme with a minimalistic touch.

Some cool features are as follows:

Toggle the side bar; For those smaller browsers
About Section; Located in the footer. Can include a personal photo if you wish with acompanying text
Separated Trackbacks and Comments
Stylized Comment sections; Speech bubble type style
Customizable Banner; Defaults to Text of Blog Heading
Built in Widgets; Latest Posts, Archives and Categories. Can be turned off too
Custom Title input; Change the thing at the top of the browser
Valid (x)html (Strict) and Valid CSS 2.1/3 (More towards CSS3 though)
And last but not least, a fluid layout.

To do list:

Comment Pagination
Dropdown Menus for top Navigation
Threaded Comments
Equal-Heights-Thingy for the footer

Most of those things however, aren’t too important anyway. But I’ll try and knock them off slowly. If you think I should do something more, then suggest it but keep in mind this is a lighweight, basic theme.

It will be released very soon. I just have to test out some stuff and clean up the CSS.

Why WordPress "hacks" are better than plugins

Rhys — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 10:29:16 +0000

I read a few days ago that someone has been using the plugin called “Easy Adsenser” and apparently 1 in 20 ads shown are the developers (to gain revenue). The plugin basically places ads in sidebar(s) via widgets and throughout posts. The problem I saw was he doesn’t explicitly tell people. Making money via Adsense is no easy task (unless you’re a Youtube partner, then it is incredibly easy). Earning $3 per day is good, even making money is a good result. So this user was quite annoyed when he saw his ads weren’t shown (even though you can change it). I personally never click ads simply because none ever appeal to me. I don’t use Ad Blocking scripts either since I don’t find them annoying or even notice them.

If this user had actually gone to the (little) trouble of making a few modifications to their theme they could have setup an awesome new feature. It’s not terribly hard either. Also plugins are good at slowing down WordPress. For example, this plugin called Wordtube loads it’s javascript on every page via the header. Many other plugins do the same sine the developer has no idea where the user will put stuff. With a hack you can only add the javascript on pages you know you will place it on (no one puts a contact form on the home page, do they?).

Theme Finally Approved!

Rhys — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:03:05 +0000

Well the day as finally come, my WordPress theme was approved. It feels good since I basically tought myself everything and to know it made it into the Themes Directory is awesome even though it was fourth time lucky! If you want to download it click here! Head to the themes page if you want to see a little more about it or just browse my site for the complete tour.

There were only really two problems, them thinking this wasn’t my personal site and not having theme options however I overcame those issues eventually. Thanks again if you download it and make sure you return, I am always updating the theme to make it better for you!

Update!

Rhys — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 12:58:17 +0000

Well I haven’t been editing many videos lately but what I have been doing is making this theme called RubiX (I say Rubi -X, you can call it whatever you want!). Hopefully soon you’ll be able to download it (for free) just as soon as WordPress approves it to enter their themes directory. It’s better to have it there so it gets more exposure and is kept up to the standards. Check out the themes page is the next week if you’re interested.

Haven’t been making many video lately for one main reason. YouTube is getting the squeeze on copyrighted content and doing the good ol’ “only allowed in these countries” act. Sadly my viewership as dropped by half from this. Meaning a) I’m not going up the rankings anymore (more like going down) and b) Half my audience is gone. When I get some more time/motivation I’ll get back into it

That’s about it for now, I’m gonna be posting more stuff in my blog now as well, stay tuned!