I Am Happy With The One I’m Using Now

Missed a couple of assignment days in the Blogging 101 course I’m enrolled in. Life happens. Priorities change. People adapt, or at least I try to. The assignment for today …

Today’s assignment: try out at least three other themes — even if you’re happy with the one you first chose. Try one you’re drawn to, and one you would never use.

I am happy with the one I’m using now, else I wouldn’t be using it, right? For you techie types out there, I’m using the free Illustratr theme offered by wordpress.com. I was drawn to it initially after seeing a blog post about it a few months back. It is minimal, focuses on what I have to say, doesn’t distract me with sidebars and widgets and social media links and about pages and contact us and, well, you get the point. It is designed to show off a portfolio. I don’t have a portfolio, but it felt right.

That being said, I am in this course to help me expand my perspective and learn new things as a blogger. Learning new things as a blogger is helping me to learn new things as a blog designer and web site developer, so it appears that it all feeds back upon itself. My whole premise is to “explore new opportunities” as they present themselves to me. I need to shake up my status quo since it really isn’t doing it for me in the recent past. Okay, so let’s look at the other options that are out there, ones that I may have considered, and ones that I would just pass over as not even the remotest of possibilities.

I first looked at the Eighties theme, well, just because that was a very formative decade for me, having just graduated college, starting working full time, getting out on my own, royally screwing up a couple of relationships, meeting my forever partner. But that felt so out of touch right now. Cross that one of the list. Sketch is a newcomer with possibilities, but not quite the look I wanted. I realize that the preview for it is a little cutesy, but some of the sites I’ve seen using it have done good things.  Then I came across Writr. It felt right. It is minimalist and responsive, but with more options for a little flair and individuality. Taking this course, I’ve looked at so many blogs in this past week I know that I’ve run across someone that is using it. Not trying to copy that person, but something made the images and the layout stick in my mind.

So there you have it. I settled on the Writr theme, a free theme developed by Automattic. It uses some of the colors I like and I might as well give the old avatar on the screen a try for a while. Business entrepreneurs need to push the branding all the time. I try to use the same avatar / profile pic on most of my social media accounts. This theme even asks me about my social accounts and auto connects them for me. Another plus.

A new opportunity, and it’s only 10:00 am here on the east coast of the US. I still have the entire day ahead of me to see what comes my way. Met with a new business client prospect yesterday. Submitted a proposal. Maybe, just maybe … well, one day at a time.

Thanks for hanging in there today with me. Enjoy the weekend.