Recently I decided to bite the bullet and try to implement what I have learnt over the last few years and incorporate them into a new theme for my WordPress blog.  So off I went to start creating nasarik.com version three.  I have improved as a designer and a developer over the last few years so this was a perfect opportunity to see how I would approach this version compared to when I first began creating websites.

The new site’s template is based on the excellent Starkers theme produced by Elliot Jay Stocks while using the latest release of WordPress3; this has given me more control in the placement and layout of my content with the improved functionality that WordPress offers, and combined with my own increased knowledge of the WordPress loop all this helped along by the clear guides given in Starkers.  All these elements have meant that this particular magazine style has been easier than ever before to create and that is credit to both of the technologies used in creating version three.

Even though I have launched this version now, there are still a number of changes and additions needed so keep visiting for the updates as they happen.

I would just like to say that personally I feel this version of nasarik.com is a leap forward in both design and development for myself. However this is just my humble opinion, so if you feel there are some improvements I can make, suggestions you have or you just simply don’t like my site then feel free to contact me – I won’t get it right unless I get feedback, so don’t worry about offending me, it is all part of the learning process.

This is abit of a quick post but without knowing this I wouldn’t have been able to create my first WordPress site so successfully.  If you have never used WordPress before and you are fairly new to CSS then creating a site by this method can be difficult, hopefully this post will help.

Setting up you first WordPress site can an interesting and challenging experience, however, it may not be as difficult as you first might think.  Here are my tips to creating your first successful WordPress site.

Setup your site locally first

My advice to anyone new to wordpress would be to setup your site on your own PC and then transfer it to a web server once you are happy with it. Wamp server gives you the ability to setup a virtual web server with full database access and PHP admin support on your own  machine making the development easy and best of all free.

Install WordPress and start your theme

Once your local server is ready install the latest version of WordPress to the server (Full installation instructions are available from wordpress.org site), the default theme is fairly boring so you can either download a pre-designed theme or create your own, I would recommend the later with clean semantic themes available from Elliot Jay Stocks with Starkers and Sandox created by Scott Allan Wallick and Andy Skelton which give you an excellent blank canvas to create your own theme from.

Once your site is ready upload it to the web

When you are ready to upload your site to an online space I would recommend the excellent post from webdesignerwall.com on  Exporting and Importing WordPress, this should be all you need to get your site live.

Without Sandox I wouldn’t have been able to create this site, I hope some of these links will help you in your journey to create your first WordPress site