How do you choose the right WordPress blog design when there are so many to choose from? Well, there's no accounting for taste, but we can look at little problems that add up to a big message: stay away from this free WordPress theme!

1. Doesn't Work in Internet Explorer 6

Web and blog designers everywhere hate Internet Explorer 6 with a passion that borders on insanity. How do I know? I'm one of them. But the fact is that a significant number of people still use it. And that means your WordPress theme had better look good in IE6. If it doesn't, LOSE IT. Your visitors will not think you're too cutting-edge for them or that you have high standards. They will think you're lazy and don't care about them.

2. No Visible Subscribe Links

Where's the orange RSS icon? Where's the subscribe by email link? You either want to grow your readership by growing subscribers... or you don't. You'll hurt your chances by choosing a blog design that doesn't make it obvious how to subscribe. It's not worth it.

3. Font is Too Tiny

Have you ever felt so angry that you had to contact a blogger to complain that the font was... too BIG?

I didn't think so. But if your font is too tiny, you WILL get complaints. You know what else you will get? Readers not subscribing to your blog.

When it comes to fonts, bigger is better.

4. No Room to Breathe

WordPress blog designs need some "whitespace" around the content elements of the page. You don't want to see text jammed into the side or smashed into a corner. You don't want to read single-spaced text on a line that's too wide (why do you think newspapers have traditionally been done in thin columns?). Don't get an overcrowded blog design, get a WordPress theme that has some room to breathe.

5. Incomplete WordPress Template Files

WordPress themes are a collection of PHP files. When you land on a blog's home page, the index.php template is used for that page. When you look at an individual post and comments, the single.php and comments.php files are used.

But:

• If you do a search and the page looks crooked and busted
• If you visit an archive page and the layout looks sloppy
• If you get a 404 File Not Found error with nothing on it
• If the stuff in the footer at the bottom looks misaligned
• If the comments look like no thought was put into their spacing and flow down the page

...then you probably have a blog design which the designer didn't pay close attention to detail on the little things.

Don't Pick a Loser

The only way to know if a WordPress blog design is a good one is to take it for a thorough test drive. You can't make any assumptions or forget to check out the little details of a WordPress theme. Click every link. Test in every browser. Resize the window to the extremes. Check out negative comments on the theme designer's blog and see how the situation was handled.

There are too many free WordPress themes out there that are quality, but you have to take the time to really notice it and undertand what it is you should look for...

...and what to avoid! :)

For more WordPress and blog design goodness, check out Remarkablogger.