My second installment of ugly WordPress themes.
I scour the internet for these so you don’t have to ;-) Actually and unfortunately, I really don’t have to search very hard for them. But hey, I save the links and take screenshots and give them to you in a nice tidy package. That counts for something, right?
Best Magazine – I’ll have to disagree with the title of this theme. It isn’t SO bad but the black and yellow rollovers just destroy this theme for me.
Quoting – I like the concept but the text is unreadable and I am not fond of brown that is the same color as baby poo. (I’m looking at you Zune).
WordPress Theme Well, beyond having an original title I just don’t get this theme. It isn’t exactly ugly but I don’t know what they are going for here – travel, postage, corn oil?
Blue Christmas – I have nothing against decorating for the holidays but this is too much. The dark blue background, snowmen, candy cane icons and the snow. You can’t tell from the screenshot but this theme also uses the falling snow plugin/javascript. Classy.
WP-Christmas – I guess I’ve been collecting some of these links since the holidays. I’m not sure how orange is a christmas-y color and that Santa is way too creepy.
The Blogasaurus – This theme says it features vibrant colors. I would have to agree with that statement.
The Cloud – I don’t know … the blues just really bother me. I might just thing the colors are ugly rather than the actual theme.
Exchange District – Wow! This is *really* red. It’s listed under Real Estate themes – I guess it would work if you’re selling to vampires or citizens from the village of the dammed.
photo credit: spierzchala
That’s unfair, Kim. You’re not reviewing the themes but how they look at default. Any theme can be tinkered with, as you know.
That brown can easily become white, for instance.
Ari Herzog´s last blog post – Is Direct Marketing a Dying Breed?
Hi Ari – I am definitely judging a book by it’s cover in this instance. I have not installed or tested the functionality of any of them.
The second one is gross :) A couple of others are not really ugly though they are cluttered or use full page background images.
Why don’t you post more beautiful themes :P I am still in search, thanks for the arthemia recommendation. Right now, I am also taking a look at the new wpthemedesigner themes.
Ajith Edassery´s last blog post – Blog Scraping – How to deal with it?
Hi Ajith – I don’t encounter as many beautiful ones. I do have you in the back of my mind but have not come across ones that meet your criteria.
Lovely!
Dave´s last blog post – Thesis revisited
Thanks!
Well, I think you’re entitled to call out how lame and ugly these themes are. Especially Zune poo and Blogosaurus. Those are my two faves. :-)
I do think you did yourself a disservice by having the ugly dog as your picture. The ugly themes can only look better by comparison.
Hi Jim – Zune poo – LOL I had to refrain myself from sending you that dog picture yesterday.
Well the first one, with a little CSS magic, as you said, the green and black thingies can go and it can become a pretty nice theme. As for the others i have a pretty bad taste generally so i can’t comment :P
stratosg´s last blog post – The big one: TweetScribe.me
Hi Stratos – I don’t think you have bad taste – you picked a wonderful theme for your site.
Are most people going to edit the CSS or know how?
You are right about that one. I guess the designer had to make it a bit nicer. Even i find it too “loud” :)
stratosg´s last blog post – Interview with Tracy O’Connor
HA, not only was this awesome, but I got to see the dog again. My morning’s off to a pretty rad start. Thanks.
Writer Dad´s last blog post – The Collective Inkwell Interview: Brian Anderson of Dog Eat Doug
Hi – Maybe we can make tomorrow 3 in a row – 3rd time’s a charm ;-)
WP-Christmas and The Cloud are clearly Artisteer themes.
I think that as that tool becomes more popular we are going to see a flood of amazingly ugly themes.
It used to take skill to design and code even the ugliest theme. Now with Artisteer, any idiot can churn them out by the dozens.
I am surprised we are not seeing themes that look like Elvis painted on black velvet or knitted toilet paper holders.
Actually, Artisteer themes are so ugly that I think they should be in a category by themselves. It’s not fair to include them with the other ugly themes.
Margaret Flanigan´s last blog post – Why didn’t I approve your comment?
Hi Margaret – Thanks for visiting and commenting :-)
How do you know? Have you worked with Artisteer? I only came across it recently and was annoyed that it made theme development seem as simple as clicking some buttons. I didn’t try it.
I think I might like the velvet Elvis theme ;-)
Wow, the The Blogasaurus is very, um, UNIQUE.
:-)
Vered – MomGrind´s last blog post – Bloggers Who Quit
Hi Vered – It know I’m getting old but it hurts my eyes.
I think the “The Blogasaurus” and “The Best Magazine” ,are really ugly, rest of them ok, The last one – ” Exchange District ” is actually quite nice, I believe not all the people may think of vampire when they see it. I think as someone said above you can focus more one beautiful things.on
Exchange is probably personal – I just don’t like the color red.
You know, I knew they’d be ugly and I guess you’d have a picture of that dang dog in the post somewhere, yet I clicked over anyway.
I don’t get that about myself.
The Original “Gross Lady”´s last blog post – A couple of announcements and requests
Hi Tracy – Yeah – whatever you do, don’t look behind you ;-)
This post was really funny and why did that dog look familiar?
Hi Manshu – He might be a famous for being so ugly. I sent a link to the photo through twitter too.
That’s not the kind of famous anyone should be :)
Manshu´s last blog post – Stress Test Results
I kind of like Exchange District, but I know that will get old real fast. I’m not crazy about the others, especially anything holiday themed
Hi Carla – I can’t imagine changing my theme just for a holiday.
Some are really bad while some are pretty decent and may do well with some changes
Madhur Kapoor´s last blog post – Check Website for Broken Links with Xenu’s Link Sleuth
Hi Madhur – Changes could help some of them but I’m looking at them as is ;-)
Dammit, now I’ll have to stop working on blogosaurus. :) But in all seriousness, that photo of the dog scares me.
~ Kristi
Kikolani´s last blog post – Fetching Friday – Resources Mashup, #FollowFriday, Thesis, and Star Trek
Hi Kristi – The dog is scary – I also feel really sorry for him.
I would love to see blogosaurus on your site ;-)
Hey, my dog looks like that and he is crushed now. I told him not to talk it personal, it’s just Kim doing her blogging duty.
:)
Jannie Funster´s last blog post – The CDs Have Landed!
Hi Jannie – Sorry about your ugly dog ;-)
The Christmas one is the worst. It does not really has a Christmas feel. As for the last one A pagan site will fit in :P
Kurt Avish´s last blog post – Twitter Chips – About Tweets and Tweeple
Hi Kurt – I hadn’t thought about a pagan site … and you’re right – that theme doesn’t make me think of Christmas at all.
Love the ugly dog pic! :)
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Hi Colleen – I’m starting to feel bad for that dog …
That third one makes it impossible to concentrate on the actual content. So much going on all over the page :)
Gennaro´s last blog post – Pushkar Ghats Through The Lens
Hi Gennaro – I really don’t know what they are going with on that one. There’s nothing really wrong with the various pieces but it doesn’t work well as a whole.
I’m so relieved that the new theme I chose for SciScoop Science didn’t make it on to your list. It’s not perfect but a great modernisation of the previous version…
Hi David – That’s not ugly :-) I had to do a little investigation to locate the actual theme though …
I modified it of course, with my own graphics, and I figure that seeing as I got it with my hosting package, there’s no reason they should get free advertising ;-) Unless they make me an offer, of course.