Whether you’re a creating a new web video comedy series or filming a series of panel discussions at a professional conference, you’ll want to display your handiwork on your own site and not rely on clunky and barely customizable account pages from services like YouTube or even ReadyMadeWeb’s beloved Blip.TV. Thankfully some brilliantly talented designers have made a plethora WordPress themes that will have you running your own spectacular-looking video site in no time.
Press75
Jason Schuller’s Press75 makes some of the most polished video themes out there, and that’s why they’re first on our list of video theme designers. Press75’s Video Elements, Video Flick, On Demand, and TV Elements themes are easily customizable and would make a great showcase for any set of videos.
All of these themes require you to be running WordPress 2.8 or above and require that your server be running a minimum of MySQL 5 and PHP 5 with GD Support enabled. If you don’t know what that means, don’t worry, Press75 provides a free server requirements plugin to check if your setup is ready for one of these gorgeous designs.
As a frequent use of Press75 themes, I’ve gone through a lot of Schuller’s code and I’ve been impressed by the meticulously crafted themes he’s put together. From their simplified installation to the rock-solid coding, you can’t go wrong with Press75.
Woo Themes
As their names suggest, Object, Groovy Video, and WooTube are video themes that aren’t vying for the same market as their gun-metal gray competition. These video themes are light, creative, and still get the job done when it comes to functionality.
Over the years I’ve built a lot of WordPress sites using themes from the good folks at Woo Themes and I’ve been especially impressed by their level of support and the very active community of users who have filled their support forums with answers to nearly every customization question you could imagine. That sort of thriving community is a big reason to go with Woo.
Quommunication
It’s probably safe to say that most WordPress sites are used for talking about the news or displaying video, right? Well, those are the two concentrations of Quommunication, which produces exactly two themes, one for news and one for video. Their video theme, aptly titled “Video,” is a very simple wrapper from your embeddable videos.
For those of you producing videos in dozens of categories, this theme probably won’t get the job done. But, if you’re a film student or film professional looking to build a portfolio site, this theme is a real winner because of its simplicity. Users won’t be confused about which video is next in a series or how to switch to another series thanks to the straight-forward nature of the sign.
StudioPress
If you can get beyond the logo of StudioPress’s Tubular theme—it looks like the font used in the credit sequences of Star Trek: The Next Generation, but more, well…tubular—you’ll see that the rest of the theme is quite attractive and functional. This theme looks like the black brushed-metal of a high-end home theater component and would be a great frame for music videos or short films.
StudioPress also produces about a dozen other non-video themes that are worth checking out if you’re also building a traditional blog or a more image-centered magazine-style site.
Cord is the director of new media at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He has been a web developer for over a decade, working with non-profits to rein in their web development costs and grow their online audiences through simple best practices.
