Art of Blog http://www.artofblog.com everything you need to know about running a successful Wordpress blog Thu, 01 May 2008 21:56:27 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en Free 2 Column Wordpress Theme - A Dream to Host http://www.artofblog.com/33-a-dream-to-host/ http://www.artofblog.com/33-a-dream-to-host/#comments Thu, 15 Nov 2007 00:10:03 +0000 Sun Tzu http://www.artofblog.com/33-a-dream-to-host/ Today we’re launching our very first Wordpress theme called “A Dream to Host”. It’s inspired by Dreamhost’s 10 year anniversary (Dreamhost is where we host many of our sites, including this one).

A Dream to Host

Live Demo | Download Theme

I spent a while coding and testing this theme to make sure it’s everything you might want. I have worked with a lot of themes in the past and have modified many to our own needs. I’ve come across a lot of themes that were a pain to work with or modify. Others did not have clean or SEO-friendly code. So I coded this one from scratch to be the kind of theme I would like to work with and that would also be a good all-around theme out of the box.

Here are some features of this theme:

  • Extremely Fast loading: A site running this theme loads in less than 1 second in our test. CSS is only 4Kb. The entire page with background images is only about 10Kb.
  • Widget aware: Comes with the ability to add and customize widgets.
  • Easy to read: The design uses easy to read font sizes for your visitors, while maintaining a professional look.
  • CSS/XHTML valid: The pages validate CSS / XHTML 1.0 Transitional
  • Clean Code: Page code is clean - no CSS hacks are used, classes are easy to understand
  • Easy to modify: Built with simplicity and customization in mind.
  • SEO Optimized: The theme comes with optimal page title tags and content presentation that’s search engine friendly.
  • Built for Wordpress 2.3+: You can be sure it will run under Wordpress versions 2.3 and up.

Download it, feel free to use it any way you see fit. If you like it, we always appreciate links.

We tested the theme in Firefox 2, Internet Explorer 6 & 7, Opera 8, and Safari so it should work well across all the modern browsers. If you find any bugs, let us know. Enjoy!

Download Theme

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/33-a-dream-to-host/feed/ Art of Blog http://www.artofblog.com/28-art-of-blog/ http://www.artofblog.com/28-art-of-blog/#comments Sun, 15 Apr 2007 05:27:37 +0000 Sun Tzu http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/15/art-of-blog/ A wise general knows when to advance and when to retire. If a victory is long in coming, weapons are blunted and morale depressed. Resources of time and effort should not be depleted in one battle at the expense of another.

This is the last quote for the Art of Blog. The experiment was fun and I want to thank everyone who participated, however, the time and resources spent in maintaining it is better spent on other projects. The response was generally positive, however I’ve decided to pursue projects that have more potential. This project was good, but not extraordinary.

Don’t waste your time on things that are good or mediocre. Gauge interest. Stay in tune with your audience. Don’t be just another player in a saturated market. If you’re not extraordinary, change course - and repeat until you hit that nerve - until you create something that really stands out.

Why are you still reading this? Go!

And be extraordinary…

- Art of Blog

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/28-art-of-blog/feed/ Xion Ong http://www.artofblog.com/17-xion-ong/ http://www.artofblog.com/17-xion-ong/#comments Sat, 14 Apr 2007 05:27:32 +0000 guest http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/14/xion-ong/ Persistence is the key to success in blogging.

You should not give up easily if you want to be successful in blogging.

- Xion Ong

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/17-xion-ong/feed/ Mitchell Harper http://www.artofblog.com/19-mitchell-harper/ http://www.artofblog.com/19-mitchell-harper/#comments Fri, 13 Apr 2007 05:27:17 +0000 guest http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/13/mitchell-harper/ The harder you work the luckier you get, but I can never seem to be bothered to do any work so I don’t seem to get lucky. Go figure.

- Mitchell Harper

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/19-mitchell-harper/feed/ Chris Garrett http://www.artofblog.com/27-chris-garrett/ http://www.artofblog.com/27-chris-garrett/#comments Thu, 12 Apr 2007 05:27:00 +0000 Sun Tzu http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/12/chris-garrett/ Have a point.

- Chris Garrett

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/27-chris-garrett/feed/ Eli http://www.artofblog.com/14-eli/ http://www.artofblog.com/14-eli/#comments Wed, 11 Apr 2007 05:27:14 +0000 guest http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/11/eli/ That’s why they call it a learning curve. You don’t learn about the mountain until you reach the top of the curve.

- Eli

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/14-eli/feed/ Nick Reese http://www.artofblog.com/26-nick-reese/ http://www.artofblog.com/26-nick-reese/#comments Tue, 10 Apr 2007 05:27:42 +0000 guest http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/10/nick-reese/ A true blogger, is not afraid to express new and controversial opinions, as merely echoing other’s ideas does nothing to set you apart from the crowd.

- Nick Reese

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/26-nick-reese/feed/ Jane Copland http://www.artofblog.com/25-jane-copland/ http://www.artofblog.com/25-jane-copland/#comments Mon, 09 Apr 2007 05:27:36 +0000 Sun Tzu http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/09/jane-copland/ Develop a thick skin.

If you’re honest with yourself and your readers, you should take negative comments as a compliment. All the smartest, most influential and passionate people have an army of nay-sayers trotting around after them. And besides, the one thing worse than people talking about you is people not talking about you, right?

- Jane Copland

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/25-jane-copland/feed/ Ben Anon http://www.artofblog.com/21-ben-anon/ http://www.artofblog.com/21-ben-anon/#comments Sun, 08 Apr 2007 05:27:47 +0000 guest http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/08/ben-anon/ A-listers aren’t born; they’re forged in the monitor’s soft glow – listening, commenting, questioning, searching, and finally, writing.

- Ben Anon

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/21-ben-anon/feed/ Joseph Ferrara http://www.artofblog.com/24-joseph-ferrara/ http://www.artofblog.com/24-joseph-ferrara/#comments Sat, 07 Apr 2007 05:27:20 +0000 Sun Tzu http://www.artofblog.com/2007/04/07/joseph-ferrara/ Write not for others, as there are too many. Write for yourself, as there is only one.

It is much easier to write on a topic you are passionate about than write what you think others would like to read. Find your voice and shout it from the roof tops. Your readers will come. You can’t fake your own voice.

- Joseph Ferrara

]]> http://www.artofblog.com/24-joseph-ferrara/feed/