This website, Don’t Stop Living, and my other blogs have been through many changes down the years. This is the fourth different host, third different platform and probably the 8th or 9th different theme I have tried down the years. I am still not 100% happy with the way this blog looks and so I keep experimenting. Here are some of the previous carnations of Don’t Stop Living…the good, the bad and the novice.
Don’t Stop Living homepage, 2016
Don’t Stop Living homepage, 2017
Don’t Stop Living homepage, 2013
Original Don’t Stop Living plan, 2012
Don’t Stop Living homepage, 2011
Don’t Stop Living homepage, 2014
How to find a theme to use
Finding a theme can be hard, and usually the best ones you find are not the free ones, but you will need to pay for them and in some cases, personalise them. Options includes the themes on wordpress, shopify, HTML5 and woocommerce. Thinking outside the box can introduce you to a whole new world of themes and I stumbled upon Themeplanet.com – this turned out to be a bit of a find!
ThemePlanet
The themes in the WordPress section for example are split nicely into easy to find categories such as: blog and magazine, corporate, creative, eCommerce, education, food and restaurant, real estate, retail, sport and entertainment, technology, wedding and an “other” category. As a travel blogger, my niche would fit into a few of these, so the business you have or the site you want to start doesn’t even have to strictly fit into one of these. However, it is a great place to get your bearings and get a feel for what type of theme and design your page should have. For example, a hotel could try the food and restaurant category, yet would also find good fits in the real estate (for 4star hotels plus, retail, creative and even other. The first advice I have on it is to browse around, spend a good while on just looking and browsing without intent to actually buy.
Once you put the theme onto your site, it is a good idea to get feedback immediately from your peers – friends, family and potential followers or website visitors. You can do this just to gauge the response and ensure that the proper launch of the site goes well and that the look of the site – design, theme, ease of navigation goes well. Plus, after the theme has been implemented onto your site, it is not permanent either. See how it goes, you can change the theme at any time, and many website owners don’t realise this.
Using WordPress themes and templates
WordPress is probably the most common platform that blog and site owners know about and most head for this option first. WordPress themes are easy to use, install and they always have a large range to choose from. While this is the common option and is a good place to find the perfect theme, you might be missing the idea of checking out Shopify, HTML5 and Woocommerce.
WordPress Themes
Using Shopify themes and templates
Shopify might be new to some users and they have some totally awesome, sleek themes worth looking at and downloading. One of the brands available on Theme Planet is HulkThemes. I like the way Hulk Themes have special downloadable themes named after cities, such as the Istanbul, the Luxembourg and the Manhattan (for New York). These state of the art designs could be the ticket you are looking for to help push your brand into the mainstream. Having a good website is not just something you should aim for, it is vital and pivotal in this digital age in order to promote your company. Social media plays a big part too, but nobody wants to click on a boring looking website. The Shopify option gives you a good choice of styles and colours.
Shopify themes
Using HTML5 themes and templates
Despite the fact that I am a veteran blogger for 13 years, I am not really tech savvy. For this reason, HTML and anything associated with it kind of scared me at the start. But the more I searched for HTML5 themes, the more I felt that these are great to ensure your website helps to streamline your high level business, with immaculate effect. I particularly like the Osaas – Saas, WebApp, Software HTML Template. It would be perfect for an online worker, a digital nomad and a young professional working for themselves and just breaking into the industry. I could imagine a lot of location independent people getting one of these themes to get their business kick started from a beach side Wi-Fi base somewhere far away…
HTML5 Themes – good for digital nomads
Working online in Negombo, Sri Lanka
Using Woocommerce themes and templates
I was very impressed by the style and design of the Woocommerce templates. Have a look at some of these creative, swanky and unique design. These could be the eyecatcher for your very own website. I found a cool sports theme option here – perfect for a football site. There are also modern fashion options such as a lingeries style theme.
Woocommerce Themes
Woocommerce Themes
Whatever choice you make the most important thing is that your website is good enough to enhance your business and help it grow into something bigger and better. Good luck!