April 3, 2011 By Julie
WordPress and Blogger both have advantages and disadvantages. I could argue both, but that’s not what this post is about. The fact is that many people find Blogger to be a more user-friendly platform but find WordPress less limiting than Blogger. The compromise? A WordPress theme that has been modified to Blogger. There are a number of these themes hanging around Google, but I am about to introduce you to one of my favorites which is called the Revolution Lifestyle template. An example of this template can be found here: http://revolutionlifestyletemplate.blogspot.com/ The blog template is free but is rather basic. This premium template can be downloaded from magznetwork.com for $25 and allows for unlimited use. Beyond the striking organization of this template, the following options are available for use in this template: a smooth slider for featured content, video, automated lists of specified labels, drop down menu, favicon, an optional 3 column footer and more.
The CSS is rather intimidating upon first glance; however, the Magazine Network does a nice job of explaining everything and offers a screenshot of the dashboard with labels corresponding to the CSS, making customization pretty simple. Speaking of customization, there are two options when downloading the premium template: images mode and colors mode. I have used both and even with a background in CSS and HTML found colors mode infinitely more user friendly and easier to customize.
Who would benefit from this template? Blogger users who are nervous about using WordPress, bloggers who have a lot that they want organized (review and giveaway bloggers, for example), bloggers who use tons of labels that they want more organized, bloggers who want seamless features like a featured content slider, and/or bloggers who want a streamlined look.
Do not be fooled. While this template is streamlined, I have seen (and created) some pretty neat designs with this template.
One should be warned that this template is not without flaws. Many of the tutorials, which you obtain access to upon purchasing the premium template, have the statement: “Save and see if it works for you”. I have to say, though, that I have never encountered a problem. I haven’t found their forum to be particularly helpful either.
Don’t let any of that hold you back, though. The template really is a great compromise if you’re a Blogger user or designer looking for a professional, streamlined, and organized template!