Customizing a website theme is an effective way to make a site look unique while improving usability. I used the Astra theme in WordPress which has several widgets like the five below:
- Search: Adds a search bar so visitors can quickly find specific content, save time, and improve navigation.
- Archives: Displays a list of post archives, helping visitors explore older content.
- Recent Posts: Shows the latest posts to encourage further reading.
- Categories: Lists post categories for easy browsing by topic and improving content organization.
- Custom HTML: Allows insertion of custom code offering flexibility for unique site elements.
I implemented the Search and Archives widgets. I chose Search because mixed poker content covers many variants and poker players often hunt for precise game rules or strategies. I chose Archives to highlight older but still valuable posts in an organized manner.
Scheduling design changes instead of rolling them out on the fly can provide the following benefits:
- Better User Experience: Planning allows testing and smoother rollout, minimizing disruption or confusing changes for regular visitors.
- Improved performance: A scheduled change can be timed around low-traffic periods to avoid peak-hour slowdowns during implementation.