As of the time of writing, this blog uses the default Jekyll theme, the minima theme. I remain amazed at how easy it is to get a blog up and running with Jekyll and hosting it for free on Github Pages. That said, the default minima theme isn’t great. I know I can do better.

Jekyll Theme Resources

You can find an updated list in the Jekyll Docs

Hopes for a Theme

  1. Looks good at baseline
  2. Media responsive. It should look good on various devices and screen sizes.
  3. Blog and photo focused
  4. Allows me to modify things like fonts and colors without too much trouble
  5. Allows me to add Google Analytics without too much trouble.

Should I Pay for a Theme?

Not yet but hopefully soon.

I like the idea of buying a theme for a number of reasons. I like the idea of rewarding someone for his or her efforts. Also, if you get what you pay for I might get a better looking theme with better features. There also may be branding advantages to using a theme that fewer people use because of the payment hurdle.

All that said, I’m reluctant to pay for something that I may not use on a long-term basis. If I continue to get value from this blog – and anyone else gets value from it – then I’ll invest more in it. I like to prove the concept on the cheap. I’ll invest once something has traction and staying power.

Update – Found a Theme

Ok. So I landed on the Start Bootstrap’s Clean Blog theme. It looks like it will serve my purposes well. There’s still some setting up to do following the instructions at the Clean Blog GitHub Page but spoons gone, brain fried.

Update – Returned to Minima

I’m not so excited about spending time customizing the styling and just want to record some thoughts and what I’m up to. So I’m back to minima which I think will serve me well at least for now.