A few weeks ago, I switched to WordPress because I thought it would be easier to work with than blogger. It has been more difficult than I anticipated.

The problem is my (lack of) design abilities. I have a limited knowledge of html and css but haven’t got a clue about php, which is what WordPress uses (along with css). In blogger, while I was hosting my blog on their site, I had a range of design options within their dashbord that gave me a decent level of control. That vanished when I moved my blog to self hosing. Now I have a interface that resembles what I remember from blogger, only instead of leaping into an inspired new design, I’m staring blankly at my monitor, wondering what on earth I’m supposed to do with it all.

For the long term, this will be better because it will force me to expand my web skills, but it’s a bit frustrating trying to figure out what’s going on with various web articles, many of which appear to refer to previous versions of WordPress and really don’t help at all. I’m going to buy a book because I tend to have better luck learning web skills that way.
Right now I’m leaning towards a book called WordPress Theme Design. It’s got four stars on amazon, but only 11 reviews. WordPress for Dummies, WordPress Complete and the WordPress Quickstart guide all have more reviews. The negative reviews for the Theme Design book are much more generous than those for the other books however, and all the reviews suggest that WordPress Theme Design will be more design oriented, focusing more on areas that concern me.

If there’s anyone out there I’d love to hear any suggestions you might have on suggested reading. I think I need all the help I can get.