The Best Ideas for a New WordPress Default Theme

The contest is over and done! Here’s how the winners were selected: I went through everyone’s ideas and selected the seven best. These seven ideas were forwarded off to Cory Miller of iThemes for ranking. My opinion was asked. An order was set. Three people won some iThemes themes.

The Winners

Andrew of Fun with WordPress

Andrew published a really comprehensive write-up detailing his ideas on a new default theme over on his blog Fun with WordPress. Here’s his idea broken down into a bulleted list:

• A set number of simple pre-defined layouts using accepted CSS techniques
• Speed as a priority with a minimal amount of functions in the theme
• Simple HTML with as little PHP as possible
• No changes necessary that cannot be accomplished through the admin panel
• A theme that follows best practices and can serve as a teaching tool and doesn’t aim to be the theme to end all themes

There’s more of course so make sure you check out the whole thing: Where next for the default theme?

Jeffro of Jeffro2pt0

Jeffro did a great job of quickly summing up his idea. Here’s the gist in a list:

• 110% of inline documentation, even in the stylesheet
• an example of how design, semantics, and web standards can work in unity with WordPress

Jeffro isn’t a theme developer but he knows how one thinks. Check out, in full, Jeffro’s Default Theme idea.

That Girl Again of WordPress™ Wank

That Girl is never short for a good idea. Not surprisingly, her idea for a new default theme does not include a BBH.

• Turn everything into a widget, so you can construct the layout of your page using drag-and-drop.
• Replace Classic with Sandbox and make it the fallback for themes lacking all possible templates
• Leave Kubrick as the default, it makes it easier to hunt out sploggers

You can check out That Girl’s entry in the comments section.

More Ideas for a New WordPress Default Theme

There were even more good ideas entered. João Nunes wanted to see theme choice become part of the install process, Futurosity wanted to see a series of Sandbox Stylesheets become the new default, Jeff wanted the default theme to be a mini-database of WordPress how-tos (very cool), and Jonathan thought the default theme should look good as a blog and a CMS theme.

Theme designers do you need some inspiration? Re-read that last paragraph.

The reward for funniest entry (to me, anyway) goes to Jim of Blogging Startup for suggesting my theme, Essay, as the new default theme (here). Jim, I don’t know if you were being honest, sly, or clever but you were hilarious nonetheless. Thanks for that, Jim!

What do I think? I thought I would have a clear answer after the contest was over but frankly, I’m feeling conflicted after hearing so many great answers. Ask me three themes from now and I’ll give you a better answer. I still think there’s room and time though, to come up with creative and unusual blog themes that show off what WordPress can do. I’m going to keep plugging away at it. And the default theme—the Holy Grail of WordPress design?—will be in my thoughts.

A Reward for Entering

As a reward for taking the time to enter the contest, everyone that entered is eligible to receive a promo code for a 1 year membership in the not-at-all-defunct WPDesigner Theme Club. Yes, it still exists. And yes, I have promo codes—and now so do you. If you want the promo code send me an email and I’ll send it off to you.

A New Contest

I’m going to be taking a break from some of the more cloud-high-level ideas around WordPress themes (well, maybe) and getting back to some real work, pushing out my next theme/s and inventing some more useful/strange ideas for them. But I don’t want this idea to end here! So I’m proposing a new contest. One that I won’t be holding.

Last year, I had a lot of fun participating in the Sandbox Designs Competition. I connected with a lot of really great people and learned a lot about CSS and WordPress themes. I think we should do something like this again. So here’s my idea. In my little fantasy world of WordPress happenings and goings on I dream of a competition to develop the next WordPress default theme. Since it’s such a big deal, the next default theme and all, I imagine a contest with several stages and open judging. And while the real prize in this fantasy is bragging rights, wouldn’t it be really cool if there was a significant monetary prize involved?

Wouldn’t it?

OK. It probably won’t happen but can we continue this conversation about another default theme? As WordPress users? As theme developers? I think it’s something good to keep in the back of our mind. If we never develop another default theme thinking about it can help us make better non-default ones.

And Finally, Thank You

Thank you to everyone who entered, everyone who linked back here and helped promote this thing and a boldface thank you to Cory Miller of iThemes for turning a simple post into a contest that got the WordPress community thinking.

Thanks for reading!

Update: That Girl Again has decided to give up her prize to someone who can get more use out of it. Jeff, your very cool idea of the default theme storing a mini-database of how- tos just won you an iThemes theme!