Avoid DIY Theme Design Mistakes – Chat with Michelle Phillips

Themes are created a certain way for reasons that go way beyond pretty.

Discover what you need to know for customizing your own theme to avoid issues with speed, Google Core Web Vitals and User Experience, SEO, mobile responsiveness, and so much more.

We’ll show real-world examples of the most common mistakes, and what to do instead.

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Video Replay

Resources from Michelle

Why You Should Hire a Web Design Pro

Getting Started with Astra (Roadmap)

Astra Training Videos

Astra Articles

Take it From a Pro

Professional designer, Michelle Phillips of Codefetti will join us for a live chat on the most common theme design no-nos she sees DIY site owners make.

They put in 80 hours of sweat equity only to have to hire a pro anyway to finish the job.

And too many times they have done things with such poor design practices that it’s cheaper for the pro to start from scratch rather than trying to fix all of those mistakes.

The other big issue is convincing the client why a certain styling element can’t be used. That’s especially tough if the site owner is particularly enchanted with that element.

The whole job ends up being more costly and stressful for everyone compared to having just hired a pro in the first place.

Get Educated and Do Your Own

Gutenberg Phase 2 will be complete soon.

Gutenberg is going beyond being just a page editor to becoming a full blown theme builder.

That means more site owners are going to want to DIY the look of their site.

That also means more site owners are going to:

• wreck their Google Core Web Vitals scores
• blow their User Experience
• harm their SEO
• make their sites perform funky on different mobile device screen sizes
• slow down their page load time

All of this can be avoided by following a few basic design best practices.

See Examples of Real Mistakes

Michelle will show real-world examples of the types of mistakes DIY theme designers make.

And, she’ll tell you exactly how to avoid them and what to do instead.

She’ll cover:

• why choosing a simple base theme is best
• what causes visual overload in colors and layout
• how to stop misusing fonts
• things that slow down your page load
• ADA compliance
• Mobile compliance
• And more

What Theme Framework is Best?

We’ll also chat about how theme frameworks are pivoting to get ready for Gutenberg Phase 2.

You’ll discover which ones:

• have the best code
• are fastest
• are easiest to customize

Hire a Pro at the Start or End?

Every day there are multiple posts on Upwork by folks looking for help to finish their theme design.

They’ve already spent weeks on the steep learning curve presented by most theme builders, and they still can’t make it look like they want it to.

Is that really the best use of your time?

And, most new DIY site owners are shocked at how much there is to know and learn about the process and they get caught off guard with unexpected expenses and time delays.

Michelle will cover points to consider before you start your design process.

These will better prepare you to enter the design process and to decide if you want to go the route of DIY at the beginning or hire a pro right from the start.

She will also talk about how to get started before you even choose a theme base in ways that will clarify your design before you invest hours in learning how to lay it out that way.

About Michelle Phillips

Michelle Phillips is the owner of Codefetti, an agency that offers customized WordPress website design and support.

She is a creative techie and problem-solver who loves to work alongside small business owners to help them achieve their website goals.