| There are a number of things to consider when selecting a theme: Obviously, consider the overall look. Does it fit well with your subject matter? Does it convey the impression that you want people to have of your site? A corporate site is often best with bold colors and a white background; computer gaming sites favor darker backgrounds and intricate graphics. Is the theme a one- or two-column theme? Some themes provide only a left or right column of blocks; that's fine if you design your site for that. But if you have a lot of blocks, two columns of themone left, one rightwill make each page more compact and usable. Does the theme use Flash? Some themes incorporate Macromedia Flash animations. While these can look cool, they do require users to have the Flash player installed. Many do, but some don't; consider your audience before selecting a theme that incorporates Flash. How easily can the theme be customized? Commercial themes (ones you pay for) should come with source graphics, often in Photoshop format, so that you can make any changes you like. Is the theme exclusive? Exclusive themesones sold only to youare more expensive, but nobody else will have a site like yours. If you don't pick an exclusive theme, at least try to pick one that doesn't look like every other site on the Web; your site should have its own look and identity. How wide is the theme? Most users today have at least 800x600 resolution, although 1,024x768 is increasingly common. IT professionals and computer hobbyists may have a significantly higher resolution. A theme designed for 800 pixels wide will look tiny on a 1,280x1,024 monitor; on the other hand, design your site for 1,200x800, and users stuck at 800x600 will be scrolling up, down, left, and right to see everything. Know your audience and, when in doubt, aim for the lowest common denominator. Check out every aspect of your site in a theme. Remember that some pagesnotably, the Reviews moduleuse odd color combinations that may be unreadable. At least be willing to tweak the theme, if necessary, to overcome any color problems.
 | Sidebar . FAQAre there any themes designed for the visually impaired? I've not personally seen any, but some may exist. You need to carefully define what visually impaired means. For example, someone with difficulty making out small images or text may prefer to use a magnification utility like the one included in newer versions of Microsoft Windows; someone with difficulty distinguishing among colors may not need a special theme at all if you can pick a theme that avoids their problem colors. Other accessibility concerns include theme size. For example, a user who has trouble manipulating a mouse may find it especially difficult to scroll horizontally a great deal, meaning you'll want to design your site to avoid horizontal scrolling. As always, knowing your audience and accepting feedback from your users is important. One site that sells commercial themes is www.templatemonster.com. They have an entire section of PHP-Nuke themes, ranging from a few free ones to ones costing $100 or more. While they might not be your choice for buying a theme, they do offer enough variety that you can start to form some opinions about what you like and don't like about themes, allowing you to make a better final choice for your site. Why not use one of PHP-Nuke's dozen or so built-in themes? Only because your site will look pretty generic. Most new PHP-Nuke sites use one of the default themes, so they're widely recognized by Web users. |
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