Everything on the screen in design mode is drag and drop.  Resizing, adding features, functions and more.  I so wish my Lotus Domino based blog had this function as well.  If you have not seen Headway theme and run WordPress, take a look and let me know if you have questions.  It is much like Squarespace for those running their own WordPress.  Global changes and more are a click away.  The whole thing can be done behind the scenes before launching so no one sees the changes until you are ready in their safe mode.  Amazing stuff.

So stage #1 included the following and how:

• Highlight the screencasts.  I simply added a HTML leaf and embedded the code.  I drug the edge for sizing and saved.  Done.
• Show the featured posts prominently.  I added a featured posts leaf and set the number to rotate through.  Set to fluid height and to use the excerpt. Done.
• Change the sidebar.  Partially done.  I am playing with the order and will move the Archive links to the Archive page shortly.

Stage 2 will redo the banner and small advertisements I run to support the site.  It will also finish the social integration points.  I kept the coloring easy and simple in stage 1.  Separated the sections better and hopefully made getting to content faster.

Look for a change to the SpikedStudio page as well very shortly as the new SpikedStudio channel has launched on YouTube to bring all the content into one place and another presence.  TheSocialNetworker and IdoNotes is there.  NotesIn9 makes it’s appearance soon too.

Head First WordPress starts the reader with a basic understanding of the platform, quick install, dashboard and a quick walk through making your first posting.  While I run many blogs (including this one) on WordPress, I appreciated the way anyone could have read this first chapter and felt comfortable in posting via WordPress.

Chapter 2 moves into simple and advanced design changes with a ground floor introduction to the anatomy of WordPress, PHP usage, templates, themes, stylesheets, widgets and more.  With these 40 pages you should be able to make simple changes, add widgets, change a few PHP files and create a custom homepage.

Chapters 3 and 4 work together in organization and showing how WordPress can be a content management system using categories and the strength of using tags in conjunction.  Simplifying navigation and changing colors is a focus in the CSS section.  Roles of users and commenting ability rounds out the 70+ pages in these two chapters.

Podcasting and video embedding are a major focus in social media right now and Chapter 5 covers all aspects.  Even a sample breakdown of xml usage and possible plug-ins are listed so anyone could begin sharing media quickly.  I appreciated how they showed numerous examples of hosting your own, embedding and pulling content from remote sites in Chapter 5.  They carried this into Chapter 6 with the explanation of RSS and how this shares your content further than anyone just reading your blog on the web.

Now even I learned some tricks in Chapter 7 for locking down your WordPress servers.  From security in accounts, directory  security, backups and the power of plug-ins was covered in a middle level with plenty of diagrams, pictures and step-by-step tutorials.

Chapter 8 dove into external versus self hosting, WordPress speed improvements, tracking (such as Google Analytics) and caching of your files.  I knew of some of the plug-ins they explained and suggested, but the breakdown of how they functioned was incredibly helpful.

Just when you felt they were done they toss another 10 pages of 10 tips that didn’t quite fit anywhere else in the book.  The book is based on recent WordPress versions as they used the beta of 3.0 for examples and screenshots making it a must have for anyone upgrading and new to WordPress.

This will make it into TheSocialNetworker book selections in the Amazon Store you can find linked above or right here.  I place the top technical books I have reviewed in the store for you to easily find and purchase. (yes they are referral links to Amazon).

This book definitely took my thoughts on WordPress theme design to new levels while simplifying the entire process.  The book is made to teach you how to design, build and sell your own themes.  But, it is just as informative for someone wanting to extend themes into your own creations for your WordPress blog.

A brief few pages are placed at the beginning to introduce WordPress and what a theme means inside the system.  Chapter 2 starts the process of planning your theme and stresses the importance research of existing themes before building your site.  Wireframe design is explained for the entire site and page layouts.

Theme design in Chapter 3 gives great example screenshots and explanations of color selection.  The remainder of the chapter is a core port of the book breaking down each individual component of a WordPress theme.  I learned incredible amounts in these 30 pages of content.

Theme frameworks are an excellent starting point where you use existing themes and build child themes that refer to them.  Chapter 4 gives examples to investigate and start the child theme build.  Once we entered Chapter 5 for advanced theme construction I took away a lot of tips as someone that runs multiple WordPress sites, but is not a developer.  The simple way they show code usage, inserts and placement made it easy to understand.  The authors then start bringing your child theme and customizations together.

Later chapters get into WordPress widget placement, design and even building your own.  They close the building process in Chapter 7 with theme options.  This runs through creating extra options and controls panels, variants in color and more for someone interested in selling their new creation.  it streamlines how a buyer would use and implement your new theme.

The last portion in Chapter 8 surprised me it was in the book as I would not have thought of including it, but it was definitely needed.  Chapter 8 covers the licensing, GPL, around your theme and what it means.  The authors make you think about support, proper documentation and even tutorials.  Some tips at the end help you sell the theme by including options and where to best list it to be sold.

Overall, I am very impressed.  Look for a bunch of changes coming to my WordPress based sites very soon.  With this book and some basic WordPress knowledge, you can easily create or customize any WordPress theme you can get your hands on.

Disclosure: The above is an affiliate link, feel free to use it

I gave thought to this for some time before just swapping out years of content and starting from scratch, but I hit some walls with integration and ease of change from an administrators point of view.  Yes, many of the awesome Lotus developers can make sweeping changes, even bringing WordPress templates into the Domino blog database, but you are left with a shell from that point on.

I also decided on the Headway theme.  Full drag and drop placement, draggable resizing and incredible theme control.  If you decide to grab it, tell them I sent you for sure.

Look for a bunch of posts queued up on the recent Social Media Business Forum as well as some other topics on my mind.  Also, do not forget this is the beginning of a monthly newsletter (visit the homepage to sign up) with more in depth commentary and some surprises along the way.