Written by Michel Fortin
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Clean Copy Free WordPress Theme

Clean Copy free WordPress themeLately, a lot of people have asked me where they can get a blog theme like mine, or where did I get mine made. (In fact, it’s practically a daily occurrence.)

Unfortunately, I designed this theme myself — using Kubrick’s base theme, I created the graphic header using Adobe PhotoShop, and tweaked the stylesheet file for the fonts and colors to match it.

Then, a couple of weeks ago, my friend Armand Morin, for whom I wrote the copy for the Big Seminar, suggested sponsoring a free WordPress Theme.

So I decided to hire Cory Miller, a talented theme designer whom I highly recommend, to design a similar-looking theme. And, he did it. Introducing…

Clean Copy WordPress Theme

Clean Copy is a simple, two-column, crisp, blue and white theme designed for blog content with the professional in mind, and the sharp simplicity based on Michel Fortin’s Copywriting Tips blog.

If you want to see it in the WordPress Theme Gallery, click here.

Here’s a screenshot of the theme:

Clean Copy WordPress Theme from Michel Fortin

Key features of this theme:

  • Two column theme, left sidebar;
  • Medium blue and white colors;
  • Five randomized header graphics;
  • WordPress 2.x Widget ready;
  • Crisp layout with good white space.

You can download it here. Or you can view a demo.

If you know a bit about graphic design, changing the header graphic to something more custom is easy as 1-2-3. You just design it (860 x 200 pixels) and replace it with the ones in the theme’s image folder.

This is also the theme’s support-related post. Please report all theme-related problems, bugs, or issues here or by submitting a support ticket.

Update! I’ve just released a right-sidebar and dual-sidebar versions of this theme. Click here to view or download.

Last 5 Posts by Michel Fortin

About the Author

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker, and consultant. Visit his blog and signup free to get tested conversion strategies and response-boosting tips by email, along with blog updates, news, and more! Go now to http://www.michelfortin.com. While you're at it, follow him on Twitter.

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Category: Launches / Resources
Tags: Blog, blue, Copywriting, cory miller, crisp, demo, design, download, free, Marketing, Michel Fortin, professional, theme, white, white space, widget, wordpress
This post was written on Wednesday, April 11th, 2007. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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  • Nice going Michel! I'm sure this will be a big hit! I for one love your blog's design and this looks brilliant. Keep it up! :D
  • I also like the look of your blog. Did you customize the look of your blog for fun or was there a reason behind it?
    Kelly Robbins
  • Thanks Michel,

    I am going to get it installed on a number of my wordpress blogs ASAP

    Gavin Allinson
    www.outsourcesuccess.com
  • Beautiful Michel!

    Thanks for sharing... now I can legally rip you off. :)
  • I love this theme! Thanks Michel!

    I'm building a few Wordpress blogs at the moment so this is a nice addition.

    Fabian
    http://www.MurderYourJob.com
  • Ann
    Thanks a million. Why the switch from right navigation (good) to left navigation? I will attempt to adjust.

    I wish the Clean Copy template had a right sidebar. You were the one who pointed out that having a right sidebar allows the blogmaster to put high value content in the HOT zone for eye scanning. Ever since you pointed that out, I've been consciously choosing and building more right navigation blogs and sites.
  • You certainly can. You simply change it in the CSS file, where the sidebar float right rather than left. But, to be candid, I'm planning on release variants of this theme as time goes on, including right, double, and no sidebars.
  • The blog looks great, Michel!

    It is neat looking and has a lot of white space which makes it inviting.

    Great job.

    Regards,
    Siriol Jameson
  • Nice theme michael! I love the simplicity of the design. And oh! that's a great header! ;-)
  • Very nice template. Have installed it but the headers don't change randomly.
    And it looks like there is no randomizer function (
    #header {
    background: #2397E9 url(images/header.jpg) top center no-repeat;
    padding: 25px 35px 75px 35px;
    text-align: left;
    })

    Any ideas?
  • Peter
    Please stop using that ugly WP 0.1 legacy : the big empty space next to each picture embedded in a post.
    If you were to find this in a newspaper or magazine, you'd consider it a severe lay-out error.
    The CSS float and clear properties have been around for a while now and are easily incorporated in any theme's stylesheet.
  • @Thomas:

    I'll look into it with the designer, Cory. For now, you can choose any of those headers or replace it with one of your own.
  • @Peter:

    You're absolutely right, Peter. In fact, I talked about this in my blog post on using the align properties in the default CSS file:

    http://www.michelfortin.com/maximize-exposure-w...
  • Hi MIchel, nice work. I'm adapting it at DistantTarget.com.

    I've added a few things to the CSS to deal with a few annoying IE issues:

    I've added "display:inline" to the CSS for the floated "Content" and "Sidebar" to prevent old IE's from doubling the margin, which pushes the content column down. I've also added the Box Model Hack on those element's widths for the same old IE's. Sometimes IE will add unecessary width to italics, so a "overflow-x:hidden" added to the blockquote attributes deals with that.
  • @Bill:

    Great points! Could you post the code? You can use the code tags if possible. I'd love to use it, too... or I can simple copy from your stylesheet...
  • No problem.

    This is the code for the Box Model Hack:

    #content {
    background: #ffffff;
    margin-top: 20px;
    margin-bottom: 20px;
    margin-left: 0px;
    margin-right: 20px;
    float: right;
    position:relative;
    display: inline;
    padding: 0px 25px 15px 0px;
    width: 525px;
    voice-family: ""}"";
    voice-family:inherit;
    width: 500px;
    }

    #sidebar {
    color: #000000;
    float: left;
    position:relative;
    display:inline;
    margin: 20px 20px 20px 20px;
    padding: 20px 30px 20px 30px;
    text-align: left;
    border: 1px solid #cccccc;
    width: 262px;
    voice-family: ""}"";
    voice-family:inherit;
    width:200px;
    }
    explanation He suggests a different, arguably more efficient, version, of the hack than I've used, but it works the same way.

    You can see the "display:inline" in there, too.

    Here's what my "blockquote" looks like:


    blockquote{
    margin: 0px 0px 0px 25px;
    padding: 0px 25px 0px 10px;
    font-style: italic;
    color: #666666;
    border-left: 1px solid #cccccc;
    overflow-x:hidden;
    }


    I can't tell the difference, but you never know.
  • Hmm..looks like the top of that middle paragraph was chopped off. It's a link to an explanation of the Box Model Hack and why it's needed: Roger Johansson on the Box Model
  • Oh, I forgot:

    You can get the "Content" div to appear first in the generated HTML by doing this edit on the templates:

    Move these lines:


    <!--include sidebar-->


    from the top of each file to the bottom, immediately before the code that includes the footer. Like so:

    <!--include sidebar-->
    <!--include footer-->


    Moving the sidebar to the right should still be a matter of adjusting the float attributes and tweaking the margins.
  • Rats. Sorry about that. I wrapped the lines in code tags and they still disappeared.

    Anyway, there's only one line beneath the "include sidebar" lines, and that's the line that needs to be moved.
  • @Billg:

    They show up for me. I'm using both FF 2.02 and IE 7.
  • Odd. I'm on a Mac with Safari and FF 2.0.0.3 and they're gone.
  • Regarding the new theme - why would you make the sidebar on the left when for SEO reasons you suggested 3 reasons to place the sidebar on the right!

    http://www.michelfortin.com/maximize-exposure-w...

    And very clearly that is what you are doing here. Presumably users can modify the theme to do that but not all of them will.
  • @Jason:

    As I said in my earlier comments, I plan on releasing variants. This is to test the waters, to see how much interest there is. And apparently, there is. So keep an eye out for the next theme...

    For now, and nevertheless, I paid Cory, the designer, to create this theme quickly and he can certainly be commissioned to make any changes, if urgent.
  • Thanks for that clarification. BTW that related post on SEO was brilliant and very useful. :)
  • I have note been able to get it to work. Keep having problems - http://69.5.66.166/

    It just doesn't want to post in the write place.

    If anyone knows where I can get a good WP theme with all the necessary plugins I would be greatly appreciative.
  • @Justin:

    The theme seems to work fine. If you're having problems, please be specific. "Doesn't want to post in the right place" isn't specific enough.
  • Hi Michel

    My apologies. It appears that with IE6 when I write a post it is not appearing on the page until below the search section of the left nav.

    It looks like the left column and right column are not dynamically sizing which is causing the post to appear below the left nav.

    I have left a ticket with your helpdesk so I apologise for commenting in the wrong area.

    Thanks
    Justin
  • @Justin:

    No problem, Justin! Your comment was perfectly acceptable here... I just wanted to be clear on what the problem was. (And thank you so much for your feedback.)

    Cory, the designer, knows about your situation. He might provide some insight.
  • @All:

    To make the header graphic randomize, you need the randomize plugin:

    http://andersdrengen.dk/projects/randomize/
  • Joanna Katzen
    Haven't read all the comments yet, but if you're still going to release variants, how about a landing page? I'm not a code maven and would so love to have a landing page that includes info about the site, maybe linked teasers for the three most recent posts and, of course the left sidebar which I LOVE!!! There are so many good templates with the right sidebar, but this is the best one I've seen yet with the longed-for left sidebar.

    It would also be really great to have a template that sets itself up to have the actual blog appear at a different URL (i.e., landing page at www.urhere and blog at www.urhere/blog).

    Looking forward,

    Joanna
  • Hi Michel,

    I am a newbie in wordpress and i would like to consult you. Here are my questions:

    1. I got your theme. I changed the sidebar to float right instead of left (original from Cory Miller). But then the alignment gone. Can u guide me there. Check it at http://www.nicholasyeap.com

    2. I am looking to edit the about me page (Sidebar - where i can put my pic) but i just could not find the right place to do my editing. Pls help.

    3. How do i put in the Name & Email Column (at right sidebar)so that i can build a simple list from there? I notice that it is easy to do it with blogger but not wordpress.

    Been frustrated with the above few questions. I understand that my questions are too simple for you. Just hope you will still willing to help me.Appreciated it alot.

    Sincerely,
    Nicholas
  • 1. We are going to be releasing a right-sidebar theme soon. For now, look at how some people have done it:

    http://www.terrydean.org/

    (Check out his css file.)

    2. I don't know what you mean. Do you mean editing pictures?

    3. I think you mean an email list. You can get one with FeedBlitz.com and place the form in your sidebar.
  • Very professional looking template. I can't believe that an hour ago my blog looked so plain ;)

    I"m having a problem with one line of code

    ">/images/rss.png" alt="Feed" border="0" />

    My tidy validator says something I don't fully understand (I can hand code though and fix any problems with it

    It says escaping malformed URI referance

    and then

    escaping malformed URI referance

    Can you LMK if what it says matters?
  • make that reference ;)

    the line of code didn't take right on the blog. I'll add some dots to it so your web master can see it.

    ">/images/rss.png" alt="Feed" border="0" />
  • Everyone,

    Just to let you know I've released a right-sidebar and dual-sidebar (three-column) versions of this theme.

    http://www.michelfortin.com/clean-copy-right-an...
  • This is the most professional, cleanest and nicest looking blog template I've ever seen (and am using). My designer will create a new photo for mine, based on my logo, etc., but other than that, it's been great.

    I am wondering one thing though. You see how your comment area opens a box for us to use? How'd you do that? Mine has always made folks click on a comments link that opens a box.

    Again, thanks so much for the template.
  • Hi Michael

    Cool. Thanks for the templates.

    Warm regards
    Tiat
    P.S: What is Abundance Law? http://www.AbundanceLaw.com
  • Crystal
    Great theme! I'm the widget-ready version with right and left sidebars. It was working perfectly for me until I downloaded the Amazon.com marketplace widget. Then the section with all my posts, yes, the middle section, disappeared, leaving me with a big blank space. Any suggestions for me? I tried reinstalling the theme with no luck. Thanks.
  • I've been searching for a theme that met the needs for my next website! This is perfect! Thank you so much :)
  • Thanks for the template michael. I found it interesting that your opt in is not using a gift formula like most other marketers. I guess you're getting a good email sign up ratio?
  • Brazilman, of course I do. It's unannounced (on this blog). I used to mention it in the past, but I prefer to remain disarming and to the point.

    But to give you an idea, it's the same as here:

    http://www.successdoctor.com/free/
  • The demo seems not integrated the theme. Anyway, thanks!
  • Great job Michel.
    Just trying to implement this theme for my site but all the pages created are displaying "Page cannot be displayed" error.

    Please I need someone to advice me on what I am doing wrong.

    the site is http://adewalebolaji.com
  • Michel,

    Is there any way to change the spacing after the header?

    The first header is fine, but everytime I write subheads - I can't figure out how to get spaces after it.

    If you go to http://www.controbeatingcopy.com you'll see what I mean.

    I've tried going into the html part and using , , just hitting enter, etc. etc.

    Is there anything in the html part of the index or header file that I can change?
  • I am looking to downlaod the free three column WP theme "Clean Copy" by Cory Miller but your link goes to Wordpress and does not seem to be available any longer.
  • Hi Corena,

    Here are the links for two of the three Clean Copy themes. They are currently available on Cory Miller's Blog:

    http://corymiller.com/free-wordpress-theme/clea...

    Hope this helps,
    Steven
  • Hello, Mr. Fortin,

    You're one of my heroes. And yet, I only just realized that you are the source of the Clean Copy theme.

    I have the later two, but I'd like to get the first one.

    However, your link to the Wordpress Theme Gallery isn't working very well. Your theme does not appear, and searches on 'clean,' 'cleancopy,' 'clean copy,' 'fortin,' or 'michael fortin' do not find the theme.

    Has it gone missing? I'm sure it serves you in backlinks to have it exist and findable, and I'm sure many folks are grateful because it's a lovely and workable theme.

    Can you tell me the download link which would work for the original Clean Copy theme?

    -- Arthur Cronos
  • nice theme. but three column templates are good for online marketing based websites.
  • John Garret
    Hi Mr. Fortin,

    Whenever I try to add a widget to the right side of the three column layout of your Clean Copy Theme... the big RSS icon disappears. Any suggestions?

    Thank you,

    John
  • @John Garret - I think it's because the call for the dynamic (widgetized) sidebar in sidebar.php occurs BEFORE the RSS icon (which is static). When you add a widget, you make your sidebar dynamic and supercede the static one.

    Possible resolution (and remember, I don't provide support for this theme), you can copy the RSS icon code in the sidebar.php, and add a text widget and paste the code, or... place the RSS icon above the call to a dynamic (widgetized) sidebar.
  • John Garret
    @Michel Fortin -

    Holy Batman! Your idea worked! Thanks Michel!
  • Thanks for your effort. I already download it. Thanks.
  • The DL link in your post does not work anymore. It just takes you to page of many WP themes and yours is not on it. I searched WP and still did not find this theme.... HMmmm Weird

    Kevin
  • Darren
    Hey Micheal I'm trying to find your "clean copy" wordpress theme using your links. Not having any luck at all. It just takes me to wordpress with a host of unrelated themes.
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