New themes are ready!

Only took me 8 months to reach this goal… I hope having 5 total themes available will make up for that.

To pick a new theme, choose one from the list in the sidebar. Once you pick a theme, it’ll be set as your default, so you won’t need to pick it again each time you visit the site. (Cookies must be allowed for this to work correctly. Not sure what a cookie is? You’re probably okay then)

The biggest challenge of these themes was making them “compatible” with each other. Part of that challenge was getting them set up so I wouldn’t have to change at minimum 5 different files when I updated something simple, like the “Now Playing” section of the sidebar. The other part of the challenge was making sure that all my other pages, such as my Bio, Archives, etc., also used, and looked okay, in the theme that was chosen. Thankfully, Wordpress is very easy to work with in this regard. There are several plugins that did part of the work, and it was fairly simply for me to program the rest.

Each theme has it’s own pros and cons. Some won’t even work in Internet Explorer (*cough* switch to Firefox *cough*). Others are barebones, while some are probably a little overboard. You’ll just have to test drive each and decide which one suits you and your needs best.

I’ve briefly outlined each below.

• GreenTrack
  This was the “old” theme that I’ll still keep around
  Best for: all browsers; broadband
• Obsidian
  Nice and colorful theme with full sidebar.
  Best for: Firefox; broadband
• Kubrick
  Basic theme, minimal sidebar but has more color and “character” than Zen Minimalist.
  Best for: IE, Firefox; dialup and better
• Rin
  Nice and colorful.
  Best for: Firefox; broadband
• Zen Minimalist
  Just as the name implies, this is a very minimal theme; no sidebar.
  Best for:IE; dialup and better

(Haven’t had a chance to test the themes on old Netscape or IE yet)

In about a week, I’ll be posting a poll asking which one is your favorite. Feel free to leave comments in the meantime. I welcome your feedback and suggestions, but keep in mind that I’m not completely done with the work, yet. There are still some “interior” pages that need to be converted and I’m still making some tweaks here and there. I know many of you will want the popup comments on the other themes as well. That’s on the to-do list.

I do want to point out a new feature on some of the sidebars. It’s an audio player, allowing you to listen to music from the site. The main reason that I added this was so I could share music with my visitors. I love music and want to share those awesome songs and new artists with the world. Now I have the chance to do that quickly and easily. Currently, ten of my all-time favorite songs are loaded in the player.

Another reminder that these new designs weren’t originally developed by me, though I have modified them (some extensively) to suit my tastes. Credit is given to the author on each theme.

I’m pretty sure I know which one most of you will like.

I decided not to release the fifth new theme just yet. I might get that done within the week. We’ll see.

Special thanks to Jeff over at Chicken Scratch for the snazzy looking banner that you’ll see on some of the themes. Thanks, Jeff!
Enjoy!