Choosing tBlog Templates: The Grades
Beginning the tBlog template investigation, New Stone Soup decided to take a quick look at the different template options and give each of them two separate grades: one for flexibility and one for ease of use.
1. Default tBlog Template:
** Flexibility: B+
** Ease of Use: A
New Stone Soup is a big fan of the Default for several reasons. First, unlike most of the other tBlog templates, Default uses a table-based layout rather than a styles-box layout. For the average blogger, a table-based layout is easier to maintain and harder to break. With a customizable header and three flexible columns, anyone can turn the Default template into a homey, personal blog without the risk of disaster. In addition, advanced tBloggers can use the three customizable HTML blocks (the first is the entire right-hand sidebar, the second is the bottom of the left-hand sidebar, and the third is a fully customizable header, banner section) to pull some tricky stunts.
2. Almovara Template:
** Flexibility: A
** Ease of Use: C+
The Almovara template is hands-down the most flexible and customizable of all the tBlog templates; however, the customization process is not easy. At heart, Almovara is a single-column, style-box layout. Without pulling a couple fast ones, tBloggers are stuck with a single column. Even your archives and personal links go directly into two drop-list forms at the upper-left corner of your blog. For the average tBlogger with a taste for something a little fancier, one straight-laced column might not seem that exciting.
With all that in the open, we should say that Almovara is the template of choice for New Stone Soup. You may have already noticed that we are using Almovara now. Even though this template only offers one customizable HTML block (the header, banner section just below the archive and link lists, and above the post content), the block is more flexible than silly puddy. Yes, this HTML section is designed to help you set up your own banner or header. In addition to adding our own banner, we've also used this HTML block to insert two additional sidebar columns to the right of our post section. And we're mighty proud of ourselves, too.
3. Sports Template:
** Flexibility: B-
** Ease of Use: B-
In many ways, the Sports template offers you a neat, simple, two column layout. If you're not interested in tweaking your blog, Sports provides you a clean but different look. Without adding any HTML code, you can still kill the windsurfer banner and replace him with your own mess. If you're in the mood to play around a bit, Sports gives you three customizable HTML blocks: the top sidebar block (below the "About Me" header), the second sidebar block (below the top sidebar block), and a footer block that runs the entire bottom length of your blog. Performing the silliest, most pathetic investigation, New Stone Soup could not find any tBlogger who uses both the Sports template and makes use of the footer--but there are many possibilities for a footer-motivated, creative Sports tBlog individual.
Two important Sports template words of caution. First: though the layout looks nice and clean, a brave young tBlogger deciding to add some content to the sidebar needs to step carefully. The Sports template does not use a table-based layout. It uses what might be called a double-div style layout. In human-speak, this means BE CAREFUL. Without any effort at all, you can screw up the appearance of your blog without ever knowing it. Readers who arrive at your blog using Internet Explorer may see a simple two column blog; readers who use Firefox to browse your blog may see one column at the top, and a big goofy vat of goo at the bottom. We highly recommend you pick up a free copy of Firefox to ensure you know what you're doing (we have a Free Firefox link made just for you on the far right sidebar).
4. Square Yellow Template:
** Flexibility: C
** Ease of Use: B
For discussion of the Square Yellow tBlog template, see Color template discussion below.
5. Blue Template:
** Flexibility: C-
** Ease of Use: B
For discussion of the Blue tBlog template, please see the Color template discussion below.
6. Pink Template:
** Flexibility: D+
** Ease of Use: B+
All three of the tBlog Color templates--Yellow, Blue and Pink--use a style-based layout, rather than a table layout. Also, all three determine your blog's right margin using a negative measurement (check out your "Edit Colors" page to see the sad truth for yourself). In short, this means that nearly everyone on the planet will browse your blog differently. In the cases of these Color templates, this may not be a huge problem. Some of your readers may see a large, empty, scrollable space on the right-hand side. Some of your readers may lose a couple of words that should be neatly tucked away in your sidebar. The less you change your sidebar, and the less content you add to your sidebar, the less variability your readers will find. Once again, we recommend you get yourself a nice, juicy, free copy of Firefox if you do not already have it (and, once again, we have a Free Firefox link made just for you on the far right sidebar).
Still, the Color templates are fairly easy to use, if you don't have any grand plans for customizing your blog. Each of them has its own peculiarities. Yellow allows you to mess with a somewhat flexible section around your banner space (and, if you are clever, to some of the sidebar section). Blue lets you into the space below your post content. Pink gives you access to your own thoughts and that's about it. What could be easier?
7. Retro Black Template:
** Flexibility: C-
** Ease of Use: B+
There's nothing wrong with the appearance of the Retro Black tBlog template. First of all, it's black. Second of all, it's got a smooth, simple look. And third, well, it's black. You can't make too many changes to Retro Black, but you can use the "Edit Colors" page to change the banner (which you could not when Retro Black was first available); and you can also add your own HTML content to the block of space at the bottom of your sidebar.
We recommend, if you decide to use Retro Black, that you switch out the banner immediately. You'll note the four gray boxes that, in a different dimension of reality, could contain a nifty link each. However, in the dimension of reality that we call planet Earth, you're stuck with the tBlog default link. Unless you change the banner. So do it before you confuse your readers. Also, we'd like to note that Retro Black is harder to muck up than the Color templates. And that's all we have to say about that.
8. C3r0fire Template:
** Flexibility: F-
** Ease of Use: Whatever
Welcome to C3r0fire, home of the least customizable block of blog you'll find anywhere on the World Wide Web. It doesn't look all that bad, which is terrific because you're not changing a darned-tootin' thing. No, you can't change the "burning bus" banner. No, you can't add anything except links to the sidebar. And that about sums it up for good old C3r0fire. Except for just one thing:
We managed to make the bus go away! Of course, we couldn't replace it with anything, like a normal picture, for example. We just made the bus go away. Baby steps. If you want to see, for some reason, knock yourself out .