Now, at this point you have created your website and you are probably overwhelmed with all of the options available for a site theme. Or, you might fall into the other category of not being overwhelmed but underwhelmed and you are looking for a theme that would set your site apart from the herd of other sites and blogs.

Themeforest is the site that I used to find the theme of my site. It is a theme and template marketplace from Envato Market and it has a great selection of images, themes, and project files that will amp up your site. All themes and templates could be used for HTML, WordPress, Joomla, Magento, PSD, email and more. Envato also provides plugins through its CodeCanyon site. Sellers who sell through Envato can keep between 62.5%-87.5% of their sale.

The particular theme that I used from Themeforest is Amory. It offers 12 versions of the theme and 2 of those versions hosts WooComerce integration. Amory is great for fashion and beauty sites with its white spaces and wide view slider that highlights your most new or important content. Photographers and magazines can also look no further with the magazine version and the photography version.

The only thing that I will recommend when looking for a theme and you are a beginner is to make sure that your theme comes with support. It is really helpful for beginners to have a place to ask questions in the event that you need help with setup of your theme. Also, read all comments and reviews on your theme before purchase of the theme. One element that people seemed to have trouble with in the Amory theme is the slider but with the support provided I was able to easily setup my slider.

Here are a few options where you can find fabulous themes for free or a cheap price:

WordPress is not just a great as a content management system but is also has many options for free and premium themes.

 

MOJO Themes is a great place to buy and sell themes and templates for Word Press, Shopify, Magento, OpenCart, PrestaShop, PSD, email and more. All the templates also come with free support and upgrades which is great for a beginner blogger.

Creative Market is a nice marketplace to check out and purchase templates from independent creatives. It has 7,000 shops with 200,000 products obtainable for purchase. Themes are available for Drupal, Joomla, Ghost, Magento, Open Cart, HTML, Tumblr, and WordPress. Also, if you are a seller there is plenty of support to track statistics, keep up with customers, and manage support. Plus, there is the bonus of keeping 70% of profit!

Fantero is your go to spot for purchasing visual content. It has a wide variety of unique items that include web templates, flash files, video files, and 3D models. Fantero also has templates for WordPress, Joomla, Magento, OpenCart, osCommerce, HTML and many more. Fantero also gives a great deal with the possibility f receiving 50-75 percent off on each sale.

 

ThemeSnap is another source for theme and Templates. The themes and Tempates can be used for WordPress, Joomla, PSD, and HTML. Sellers have the ability to set their price, personalize discounts., and can receive 55%-75% of their sale.

Templatic is a marketplace that has themes for the main content managing systems. It also has a great variety of ecommerce themes for platforms like OpenCart and PrestaShop. Sellers can keep 50%-90% on each sale.

WP Eden is a marketplace that hosts a variety of products that include themes, plugins, and even tutorials. WP Eden is a great resource for tips and tutorials with its support section. There is a membership fee of $55 for full exclusive access to themes, plugins and support.

TemplateMonster is your one-stop-shop for website templates. It offers themes for Magnento, Drupal, WordPress, Prestashop, Joomla, WooCommerce, and more.

WooComerce is the popular plugin extension to open up a shop with WordPress.

 

Curl Fest, which was held on July 15th in Prospect Park, was the epitome of black excellence and black beauty. As soon as I entered Prospect Park there was an instant feeling of home with all the beauty represented. Black women and men of all shapes and sizes made sure that their outfits were right and their curls were primped and shining to perfection.

All around and encompassing the festival were hair exhibits from all of your favorite brands which included Shea moisture, Iman Cosmetics, Tropic Isle Living, Crème of Naure, Mielle Organics, ORS Olive Oil, Phyto Specific, Clairol, Alikay Naturals, Jamaican Black Castor Oil, DeNatural, Palmers, Curls and much more.

Along with exhibits, there were great food trucks with an array of options that included delicacies from Jamaica, Nigeria, and Mexico. In the center of Curl Fest there were dance-offs and the DJ pumped music for the crown. It was an all out celebration of life, beauty, and art.

The celebration definitely encompassed and even surpassed the mission of the curly girl collective, which is to create innovative experiences that harness the energy of the natural hair movement. The inspirational bosses that inspired the Curly Girl Collective movement include media maven Charisse who is the External Relations Specialist, Melody who is the design guru and Creative Director, Tracy who is the Marketing Consultant, Simone who is the Service Systems Analyst and Gia who is the Creative Marketer. It only took an idea and the collaboration of women putting their skill sets together and uplifting each other to create a movement.

What change can you inspire in the world by just embracing your passion and using your skills? What will be your impact and your movement? I think that more women should work with each other and uplift each other and this can only inspire more magic in the world. Collectively, the end product is apparent and we see the vision of this movement. However, what kind of trials are you willing to persevere through to make your own movement?

Websites are a great place to start in building your brand and showcasing your work. It can also be a great way to expand your social media presence, build credibility in your field, and it can be a source of secondary income. Branding is very important and can set the stage for how people view you moving forward in the digital space. However, another interesting facet of branding is that you may set out to build your brand from the top down but most people are looking at you from the bottom up. This means that you will probably set out to create your logo and signature look and come into your site with how you want to be seen and represented but your brand is only established on how people perceive these elements and you in the digital space.

Finalizing a site name is essential to proceeding with the purchase of a domain. Taking the step to make your website a .com builds credibility and makes your site look more professional and official. Make sure that you are satisfied with your site name choice and that it is open before you purchase your domain name. It is also possible to buy your domain name in the same place that you plan to host your site.

The domain that I use is Bluehost and it is a great way to take a step forward and invest in your future. Bluehost offers a great deal where you receive a free domain and pay a low monthly hosting fee of $3.95 a month. Although this is a great deal that I highly recommend you can also purchase your domain with another company and host on Bluehost.

Here are a few steps to set up Bluehost and utilize WordPress as your blogging platform:

1. Navigate to Bluehost https://www.bluehost.com/ and click “get started now” button.
2. Think of the name you want for your site and insert it into the box under “new domain” and click next.
3. Enter all your account information
4. Select package and cheapest rat by paying up front with a money-back guarantee

Set Up WordPress As Your Blogging Platform

1. Log into Bluehost account
2. Select hosting tab and then the cpanel tab
3. Select the dropdown menu and click your new domain name
4. Fill out form and create secure password

CONCLUSION

Comment down below if you have any tip suggestions or questions!