WordPress Theme: Upstart Blogger July07

I had several requests to release the previous Upstart Blogger design as a WordPress theme. The design was never intended to be released publicly because there’s too much hard code in the theme files. Personally, it’s not one of my favorite designs so I’m not interested in investing the time necessary to clean up the code. Even if you’re not interested in using it, though, it might be worth taking a look to see how I’ve done some things (included MooTools, for example). I’m going to make the theme available for download, BUT…

Warning: This theme is NOT for beginners or the faint of heart. I am not supporting this theme. You should have a basic understanding of WordPress and CSS, and shouldn’t expect any help from me if you run into problems (you can feel free to post questions to the Forums, though). This theme will never be updated. This theme is, frankly, a mess. You’ll get to see just how much of a slob I am under the hood. I’m making it available as is (I’ve removed my stats code from the footer and that’s about it). There’s no README file. In short, you’re on your own.

There’s no demo, but here’s a preview (click to enlarge):

This theme is called Upstart Blogger July07. Catchy, huh?

Important! Read This First!

Installation
To install, download and unzip the Upstart Blogger July07 theme and open the folder.

1. Upload the ub_july07 folder to your WordPress themes folder.
2. Open the wp-content folder and upload the plugins folder to your WordPress wp-content folder, then login to your WP Admin and activate them. (Warning: the theme doesn’t include conditional tags for the plugs, so if they aren’t installed and activated, the theme will break. If you don’t want to use them, you’ll need to delete them from the theme files).
3. You’ll also need to edit witty.txt in any text editor and upload it to your WordPress wp-content folder.

Witty Text
The theme uses the Witty plugin to randomly display text as part of the header. I have it configured to link to different categories. You’ll need to edit the witty.txt file or your visitors will become very confused when they click on UBSMART and are redirected to Upstart Blogger.

MooTools
The sidebar uses MooTools, specifically, the Fx.Slide effect. I’m not doing anything fancy here. You’ll see that I’ve just copied and pasted the demo code, but you’ll need to edit it for your use. You’ll find a helpful tutorial at A Mootools Tutorial :: The “Mootorial”.

Editing
You will need to go through each of the theme files and edit them. There is hard code in several of the files which you will need to delete or edit, including the header (unless you want your subscribers subscribing to Upstart Blogger). You’ll probably want to edit them anyway, but be extra careful: there may be links or hidden code that you’ll need to change. For example, there are lots of ad links in the files. I’m not trying to be deceptive in leaving them in, I’m just lazy. You’ve been warned.

Download

To discourage rubberneckers from downloading this train wreck casually and becoming frustrated when they don’t understand what’s going on, only to clog my inbox with pleas for help that will go unanswered, I’m asking you to subscribe to Upstart Blogger. You’ll see a special link at the bottom of each post that will take you to a top secret page where you can download the theme (hint: the link reads, Subscribers Only Downloads. But it will be worth it. If you use the theme and do something interesting with it, I might give you $6.95, just for the hell of it. No kidding. In fact, at the very least, I’m going to give $6.95 to the first person who is using it on their blog. Just post a comment to let me know where to have a look.

License

This WordPress theme is released under the Creative Commons Attribution v3.0, meaning you can do pretty much whatever you want with it, but you should (please) keep the link back to Upstart Blogger, either in the sidebar or the footer, so that it appears on every page of your site. You’re not going to remove the WordPress link are you?

RobertRobert Ellis was the founder of Upstart Blogger. He now blogs (and continues to design themes) at Futurosity.