Part of the reason that Wordpres is such a popular blogging platform is that it is extremely easy to customize.Part of the reason that Wordpres is such a popular blogging platform is that it is extremely easy to customize. From changing certain CSS styles to adding a custom header image and even completely redesigning the theme, WordPress offers a range of options that allow you to create a truly unique website. Some themes will be very complicated and visually intensive while others will be simple. A minimal WordPress theme can be the perfect option for simple blogs or websites that want to showcase written material. While a minimal theme may seem simple, there are a few things to consider when creating one.
Header
A header can grow to be relatively complex in other themes but we want to keep things simple in a minimal theme. Some minimal themes won’t even have a header image and will just use the blog title and description for a header. While this works for some websites, adding a simple header image can be a good way to add a touch of design to an otherwise minimal theme. You should decide on the height and width of the image and whether or not you want to display text over the image. It can also be a good idea to make the header image a link back to the home page as well.
Navigation
There are a lot of ways that people have tackled the problem of navigation but we want something simple for our minimal theme. There are, generally, three different areas to place the navigation on a theme like this. You can place it over the header, under the header or in a side bar. These locations are best because they make it easy for a visitor to find the links they need without searching through the entire site. The banner image can sometimes determine whether the navigation should go above or beneath the header but beneath the header is fairly common.
Widgets
The widget areas are the next thing you should consider. Most WordPress sites will need a few widgets to be effective. Some of these will be the Latest Posts, Popular Topics, Tags and other content related navigation menus. There are also some other widgets that can be useful for a minimal theme such as a search bar or contact form. The important thing to remember is to design them in a minimal manner and find a nicely organized method of displaying them.
Content
The content is the most important aspect of any minimal WordPress theme. While the content will generally be written material it can also encompass things like videos or podcasts. The content should be displayed in a simple way that keeps all of the posts organized and easy to find. Adding a page break to articles and using thumbnail sized images can help keep the landing page organized. Once the article has been expanded the images can be larger and you can use some interesting text formatting as well.
There are an endless variety of different WordPress themes. Some will be visually impressive and quite complex while others will be simple and minimalist. Minimal WordPress themes are perfect for certain websites such as a writer’s blog or a corporate information site. Keeping the overall design simple, finding a well organized method of navigation and placing the widgets in an area that doesn’t distract from the content will help you design a great minimal theme. The content, being the main focus of the site, is where you can add pictures and text formatting. Designing a minimal WordPress theme may seem straight forward but it can sometimes be deceptively hard, following these tips should help you create a popular and very stylish WordPress theme.