What Was Your First WordPress Theme?

By JP Habaradas on March 22, 2009 @jaypee

Do you still remember the first WordPress theme you used on your blog? I do.

I switched from Blogger to WordPress in the early part of 2003 and the first WordPress theme I used on my blog was not the default theme but a theme called “Falling Dreams” by Razvan Teodorescu. If you’ve visited my blog before or were already using WordPress back then, you should be familiar with this theme. Razvan still uses the theme on his own blog as you can see from the screenshot below.

In those days, WordPress users didn’t have much choices like we do today. There were no sites that offered premium WordPress themes or designed custom WordPress themes, only free themes that were created by other skilled WordPress users who generously shared it to the rest of the community.

Back then, WordPress themes were pretty simple and didn’t have much features to it. There were no available widgets for WordPress yet and there were few available plugins. Falling Dreams was one of the best looking WordPress themes available at that time and its narrow layout made it unique from other WordPress themes. The thing I liked most about Falling Dreams was its color scheme and the custom background image. Aside from that, it also had custom icons/graphics, CSS link hover styles and rotating header images which at that time were very cool features for a WordPress theme.

I don’t remember the next WordPress theme I used but I do remember that I used Falling Dreams for quite a long time on my blog. That time, I was still on a free web hosting account and didn’t have my own domain name yet. Looking back, I can’t help but feel grateful for what I have now and realize how much my blog has grown and evolved. Same goes for WordPress. The community has grown so big and the amount of resources available to its users is so vast and diverse.

How about you guys? Do you still remember the first WordPress theme you used on your blog? It would be nice if you can share it with us.

Owner and editor of JaypeeOnline. Self-proclaimed geek. New media writer and consultant. WordPress advocate. Loves blogging, gadgets, video games and sports. You can follow him on Google+, Facebook or Twitter.

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34 Comments

jack

June 13, 2009 at 11:19 PM

hi, what theme are you using for this blog right now. thanks

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JP Habaradas

June 13, 2009 at 11:20 PM

@jack – I’m using the Fresh News theme from WooThemes.

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JP Habaradas

April 10, 2009 at 1:45 AM

@Ed – Thanks for sharing! You’ve done a great job customizing the Mimbo theme. Its good that you were able to get your own self-hosted WordPress blog early. All the best! :)

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Ed Zafra

April 10, 2009 at 1:41 AM

I’m an 89-day old blogger at WordPress. I started at WP’s free-hosted site using Andreas04. About 20 days later, we moved my weblog to our self-hosted site as a sub-domain of an old URL of ours. I am now using the free Mimbo theme.

Ed Zafras last blog post..‘Fallout 3â€² Is Video Game of the Year

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JP Habaradas

April 1, 2009 at 11:40 AM

@sayed – Hi! Thanks for sharing your WordCamp Egypt 2009 talk slideshow. Its very interesting and very informative especially for those who are planning on creating their very own WordPress theme. Btw, is that the first WordCamp held in Egypt?

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sayed fat7y

April 1, 2009 at 11:38 AM

there http://www.speedev.net/sayed/m.....9-session/

sayed fat7ys last blog post..My WordCamp Egypt 2009 Session

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sayed fat7y

April 1, 2009 at 11:35 AM

wow! nice topic :)
i had a session about your first wordpress theme in wordcamp Egypt 2009

waiting for your opinion :)

sayed fat7ys last blog post..My WordCamp Egypt 2009 Session

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JP Habaradas

March 31, 2009 at 7:40 AM

@Raju – Oh okay, so you’re quite new to WordPress. I think most of us started out with Blogger, WordPress.com or with free hosting. I used free hosting for about 2 years before I was able to afford my own web hosting account. :)

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Raju

March 31, 2009 at 7:39 AM

I switched to WordPress sometime in mid of 2008 (was using a free host). That was when I was using dilectio!

Rajus last blog post..Ultimate Resources for April Fools Day Pranks

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JP Habaradas

March 28, 2009 at 9:00 PM

@jeremae – Great job customizing your blog theme and layout. :)

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jeremae

March 28, 2009 at 8:56 PM

my blog is new.. within one month, i used two themes..
my first one was designed by Scribblescratch..
and my current one was designed by chiq montes..
i just edited it with the images from scribblescratch..

jeremaes last blog post..Big East: Villanova vs. Pittsburgh

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JP Habaradas

March 27, 2009 at 10:15 PM

@trench – Oh I see. I remember when I first visited your blog, it was sporting a modified version of K2 and made me change my blog theme and try out K2. :D

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trench

March 27, 2009 at 10:12 PM

my blog came up around 2004. I used a highly modified version of the Kubrick theme. The original one of course. I also tinkered alot with K2

trenchs last blog post..Resident Evil 5 (PS3, Xbox360)

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JP Habaradas

March 24, 2009 at 9:50 PM

@jhay – Nice, you also remember your first WP theme. I do remember that Orange sky theme. I checked out her blog and yeah, she still does use the theme. Is it an updated version of Orange Sky? Coz I don’t think the old version would be able to support WP 2.7. If not, maybe she or someone modified it for her.

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jhay

March 24, 2009 at 9:49 PM

My first theme was Orange Sky by detlog.org, thanks to this theme, I learned the basics of WP theme codes, PHP, basically how to tweak a theme.

What’s amazing is after all these years, Ellen Tordesillas still uses the same theme.

jhays last blog post..Globe doubles Internet Bandwidth – Have connections improved?

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JP Habaradas

March 23, 2009 at 9:00 AM

@jan – Haha..that was a good one. Anyways, there’s nothing wrong with daydreaming. Oh wait, you’re not daydreaming but hallucinating and those two are different. LOL

Don’ worry my friend, you’ll have a self-hosted WordPress blog soon. ;)

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JP Habaradas

March 23, 2009 at 5:55 AM

@Raju – When did you start using WordPress? Yes, Dilectio is a very popular WP theme especially since it was released by Smashing Magazine. Firebug is a nice theme too, I wish I was able to do a review of it earlier. Yes, Fresh News. I fell in love with this theme, the moment I first laid my eyes on it. Hehe :D

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Raju

March 23, 2009 at 5:51 AM

When I started out, I was using a beautiful theme called DILECTIO but then realized its way too common, then i moved to FIREBUG, which was dark and sexy theme. Finally I moved to Fresh News (same as yours!)

Rajus last blog post..Download Windows 7 Transformation Pack for Windows Vista

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JP Habaradas

March 23, 2009 at 5:50 AM

@Jam – Hehe..I noticed that most of us here love changing themes every so often. Are those themes you made yourself of you customized free WordPress themes and made it your own?

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Jam

March 23, 2009 at 5:45 AM

When I started my first blog, I kept on changing the layout week, so I am not kinda sure which theme was the first I used. But I think it was a Grunge kind of theme. Then I used my customized themes.

Jams last blog post..How to Download Mp3s from Imeem, Last FM, Myspace Music and Pandora for FREE?

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jan

March 23, 2009 at 8:55 AM

Oh, my first WP theme was something called Woo. Then I shifted to Thesis. Now, I’m looking out for a new one – something that will not cramp my style. Any suggestion?

LOL. I need to get some sleep. I’m hallucinating already. :)

jans last blog post..Why Shacking Up with Twitter Injects Life to Your Blog

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JP Habaradas

March 23, 2009 at 3:25 AM

@Ade – I like changing themes too but at the start I stuck with the Falling Dreams theme coz back then, there weren’t much to choose from unlike now. I won’t be surprised if it was Kubrick. :D

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JP Habaradas

March 23, 2009 at 3:20 AM

@jong – I’ve also used the Kubrick and the K2 on my blog before. I think they’re one of the most popular WP themes ever. If you get the screenshot of your previous theme, do share it with us. :)

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Ade

March 23, 2009 at 3:23 AM

I changed themes way too much back in 2006, and I can’t even remember. I guess it’s an edited Kubrick. Can’t be too sure, though.

Ades last blog post..Facebook’s New Layout: The 5 Stages of Bitching

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jong

March 23, 2009 at 3:15 AM

Aside from the default theme, I tweak a theme based from kubrick. i entitled it Still waiting for some reasons :D. anyhow, If id get the chance, i’ll get a screenshot of my past wordpress theme :D

jongs last blog post..Cagayan De Oro Here I come

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JP Habaradas

March 22, 2009 at 10:45 PM

@joie – Hehe you actually liked the default WP theme? So you don’t remember the first theme you used other than the default theme?

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JP Habaradas

March 22, 2009 at 10:40 PM

@K – aren’t you glad you switched to a self-hosted WordPress blog? :D

Yeah, I remember visiting your blog when it was still on WordPress.com and remember seeing a different theme each time I was there. Hehe I also know that you like minimalistic themes especially those with white backgrounds. ;)

Derek’s themes are some of the best WP themes available to WP users probably coz some of those themes were created for use on his own blog then later on made available to the public.

I just checked your blog and I already see an ad near the header section. Do you still need help with it? If you do, let me know and I’ll see what I can do.

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K

March 22, 2009 at 10:39 PM

Oh yeah, I remember that Falling Dreams (I used it on my old domain which I closed down for good) and that was also the time/theme where you first visited my blog. I think.

Justin Tadlock has a few nice templates but a bit complicated to customize. I would say, not for beginners.

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K

March 22, 2009 at 10:31 PM

When I first blog at blogspot, nadah for the template, but when I moved to the free WordPress, I can’t remember how many I tried.

I am a fan of simple white background themes. Given that free WP.com templates are very limited for tweaking (only header image), the one I really really like was from Elifoner’s 2813, just plain text 3 columns. I don’t know if they upgraded it, looks nice. Then I had Journalist for a few months by Lucian E. Marin, 2 col, simple sidebars, I like how meta-tags, dates are divided at the bottom of each entry. The theme that lasted about a year or so was from Ben Gray’s Unsleepable. I love the simple header and the color contrast between the black and pinkish link. The 2 cols sidebar is clean enough but it has 3 col at bottom bars where everytime I see a template with that design, Ben Gray’s first come to mind.

Shall I go on? Derek Punzalan’s Grid Focus is one of the coolest template available for free. I’m still keeping it in case I get tired of my current.

If I visit to a blog, I want it to look like a blog with realy writer and commenters not a perfect-looking website full of links of big names on a sidebar.

Oh can you teach me how to put ads inline with my header? Thanks JP.

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JP Habaradas

March 22, 2009 at 8:25 PM

@sylv3rblade – Oh yeah, I remember seeing you using that theme on your blog. I also used that theme for JaypeeOnline way way back. Hehe :D

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JP Habaradas

March 22, 2009 at 7:40 PM

@deuts – You’re fortunate to have had a domain with your first WordPress install. I had mine like 2 years after I’ve started using WordPress. :D

Wow, you kept a documentation of all your themes and layouts. Cool! I wish I was able to do the same thing for JaypeeOnline.

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deuts

March 22, 2009 at 7:38 PM

Back in 2006, I had my domain name and my very first install of WordPress.

My very first theme then was a dead simple two column plain white background theme. I couldn’t remember already the name. But it lasted for I think 1 week only. But the first theme that received customizations only was the Sky3c theme that looked like this:

Deuts.NET through the years was documented in here.

deutss last blog post..DSLR Cameras: What’s the Take?

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joie

March 22, 2009 at 10:41 PM

The first theme that I used was the default of wordpress theme. I like it tho until I started to browse free wordpress theme and from then on I’ve used a lot of themes, deleted my blog twice and many sleepness nights of trying to understand the PHP codes of the themes.

joies last blog post..Decorated with Snow

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sylv3rblade

March 22, 2009 at 8:21 PM

If I remember correctly, it was the notsofreshe theme (same as GM Tristan before he got a revamp). I changed it after winning a theme from Blogging Mix XD

sylv3rblades last blog post..Battle.NET relaunches with StarCraft II Beta Opt-In

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