This website is run with WordPress, which is a free program. The design is based on Branford Magazine, which is called a magazine-style or newsletter-style theme. Branford Magazine appears largely based on Mimbo, another magazine-style theme.  (Both themes — Branford Magazine and Mimbo — are linked at the bottom of this page.)

Using this as a content management system (aka CMS) makes it possible for me to update my sites in about 1/3 the time that it used to take me.

However, if you’re still learning HTML, I can’t recommend trying to learn the PHP and CSS code necessary to tweak one of these themes.

That said, WordPress is pretty easy, so you could pay someone else to set up the theme, and–with that installed–you can manage the site through WordPress.  (I’ve also written a book to show you how to do this, step by step.  It’s called Sites that Soar!)

As I write this (early March 2008), I’m still tweaking the design and some of the code, so it works for my writing style. But, I think you can see why I’m so enthusiastic about this system for managing websites: it’s easy and largely automated.

Here are the links, if you’re comfortable with code or have a webmaster who can handle this for you:

WordPress: http://wordpress.org/

Branford Magazine

Demo:
http://www.wp-themes.der-prinz.com/magazine/

Download page:
http://www.der-prinz.com/2008/01/20/download-branfordmagazine/

Installation and configuration info (scroll down to it):
http://www.der-prinz.com/2008/01/20/wordpress-magazine-style-theme-branfordmagazine/

Mimbo

Demo & download & some installation info:
http://www.darrenhoyt.com/2007/08/05/wordpress-magazine-theme-released/

Tweaking the template (most of this works for Branford Magazine as well):
http://www.darrenhoyt.com/2007/07/24/in-praise-of-wordpress-template-tags-part-ii-the-magazine-layout/

My own tips (speaking as someone who knows zero PHP and only a little CSS):

1. Use the Mimbo sidebar.php rather than the Branford Magazine one. For some reason, the Mimbo version is more idiot-proof if–like me–you want to modify it.

2. Remember to change the /wp-content/ folder CHMOD to 0777 so that you can import and upload images in your “write post”panel. (The images are uploaded in the “Upload” section.)

CHMOD is usually set via FTP. In FireFTP (a free Firefox utility), I right-click on the folder and select “Properties” to change the CHMOD.

Some people feel that there can be security issues with CHMOD 0777. Many people change back to 0755 after importing the images they’ll need. But, others aren’t concerned about selected use of 0777.

3. In Branford Magazine, here’s the “cheat sheet” to remember which images (and image sizes) go where.

In the Custom Fields section…

leadimage is the large-ish picture in the main story near the top of the page. It can be any size that looks good to you. The demo site shows an image that’s 300 wide x 200 high.

featuredarticleimage is the field for the horizontal images associated with the article excerpts in the left column of the homepage. Each image should be 255 x 88.
rightcolimage is the field for the icon-type images in the right column. Each image should be 75 x 75.

To understand the radio buttons in the Custom Fields section, visit http://codex.wordpress.org/Using_Image_and_File_Attachments and scroll down to “Inserting Images.”

Note: In my WordPress panel, the value for the image is everything after the uploads/ section of the image URL. So, for the icon-style image of a desktop, my value is “2008/03/desk75.jpg” (Your values may be different, but this is worth trying if you’re having problems.)

4. The files you’ll probably tweak: The index.php has the info for the left column and right column. The sidebar, at the far right side of the page, is in sidebar.php.

The tabs below the navigation bar are in ui.tabs (The navigation bar is a list of Pages, which you create in “Write Page” in WordPress.)

—

Those are my best tips, and I hope that they save you some time.

However–and this is important–I can’t answer questions about PHP, CSS, HTML, WordPress, or using templates.

For almost any question that you have, you can find answers online if you search on the most likely words. Each of the templates have their own FAQ-type pages and forums, and the WordPress site has massive documentation and forums.

Or, you could spend $12 for my book, Sites that Soar!, and save yourself a lot of time and headaches.  I mean, you can figure all of this out yourself, especially if you’re accustomed to WordPress and know enough PHP to get by.  But… why would you, when my book shows you the steps that I took to create this site?

(Okay, there is the $12 price, but I wish I’d had this book when I was setting up this site.  It took me more than 40 hours — a full week — to sort everything out.  Now, I can set up a site in a little over an hour.)