BrowardBeer.com [link opens in new window/tab]

Of all the from-scratch WordPress themes I’ve built, this is probably my favorite, even more so than the one you’re using to look at my portfolio. It’s crisp, clean, but also vibrant and (thanks to a little self-indulgence when it comes to animating color transitions) lively, and just a little bit retro too (mostly thanks to the fonts, which I didn’t make, but did choose to pair with each other, which counts for something).

It never hurts when the client’s material helps rather than challenges the look. Joe’s stories are enjoyable even for someone, like me, who doesn’t live in Florida or drink a whole lot of beer, and his photography is a significant asset. I designed the theme to optimally show off his photos, but without those photos in the first place this theme probably doesn’t work.

Originally built in 2020, the has endured pretty much unchanged in the twoish years since, and its longevity sparked one of Joe’s friends (who commissioned the BrowardBeer.com redesign as a gift) to re-commission the theme for a pair of websites he operates for the Society of Professional Journalists. So if the websites for SPJ’s Florida Chapter (which also calls itself SPJ — it’s a really long story) and Green Eyeshade Awards site look like they copped their look from a blog about beer, it’s by design and not malice.