The month of August came out with a lot of note worthy hits. One project that I could not put on this playlist but deserves several listens and contemplation is definitely Jay Z’s 4:44. 4:44 is the album that every man should add to his collection because it gives a model of how to delve into your past, to better yourself as a man and to mentally prepare yourself for your present day. It also shows that it is okay for a man to be vulnerable, find spaces to reconcile his feelings, and that there is power in bettering yourself for the generations that come after you and supporting your fellow black businesses. This recap is just a tidbit of insight that can be gained from this project and the carefully curated footnotes featuring known artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Meek Mill, Chris Rock, Chris Paul, Will Smith, Michael B. Jordan, Mahershala Ali, and so much more! Catch this project on Tidal and on Apple Music.

Other noteworthy artists this month that I’ve had on repeat include Kelela with LMK, Tiffany Gouche´ with Dive and Jazmine Sullivan featuring Bryson Tiller with Insecure.

Summmer sun, fire, heat, passion, crescendo up, high pitch, rise up, light up, spread out, simmer down, suffocate, burn out.

Comment down below your favorite songs from this playlist!

Step 1: Got to Themeforest and create an account by navigating to “Create An Envato Account”. Follow the simple steps on the page to create your account. Upon completion, login into your account and hover over your username and “make a deposit”

Step 2:

I used WordPress as my content managing system so I will disclose how to search Themeforest for WordPress themes. As depicted in the screenshot below, it is easy to search WordPress themes by category. However, feel free to find a theme outside of your category that could also work well for your site.

Step 3:

Themeforest makes it easy to search for themes utilizing unique keywords and use a filter to ensure that you are only searching for WordPress themes.

Step 4:

Upon selecting a theme, you can add it to your favorites and review the themes that you like through the live demos. Read all the reviews and make sure that your theme comes with support.

Step 5:

When you preview a theme, make sure that you click around and go through the majority of the site pages to ensure that you are getting you vision. It is also important to make sure that you have a responsive theme that is compatible with not just desktop but tablet and mobile. Once you purchase the theme, it will come with instructions for installation and support.

CONCLUSION

If you enjoy this series leave a comment below with what else you would like tips on!

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.

 

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!