How do I get a more visually appealing wordpress landing page?

I use wordpress to give a more of a static site type look, rather than listing posts in blog format. An example would be 8tar.com That's just a standard theme.
It's using a plugin called Page Columnist which allows columns of content on a page. You can also have columns in posts if you like.

Hey Cathy, If you don't know how to create WordPress themes, you can buy any good theme from popular websites like themeforest.net. Or, you can outsource the work.

Go to http://Codex.wordPress.org for official tutorials

Hey Cathy,

Yes, all the customization happens in the CCS file. and also the PHP files found in your theme.

some themes are easier to customize than others.

Thesis theme is great for customization but the learning curve might be a bit long depending on your html, css, php experience. (although there are plenty of user friendly customization options) you can see a video of how it works at diythemes.com.

Im not familiar with the specifics of the theme you are using so I wont be able to give you much advise on how to edit it but you can try different themes to get the desired look. Maybe consider buying one that already has the look you want.

also as a side note I noticed that you have a comments box on the page. unless you have a specific reason for having it I would remove it. The main purpose of this page is to set up a consultation so I would not have extra fields or content that doesnt add to that goal.

hope that helps,

feel free to PM me if you have more questions

JR

Hi Cathy

There are a good couple of premium themes that give good results and are easy to work with. I quiet like the themes from Woothemes.

There alot of books and online tutorialss on learning how to create custom themes or customise them. The best way though from my experience is just to jump into the deep end. Get a basic theme and take it from there. Toolbox is a good theme to start with.

Hi Cathy,

as it has already been mentioned, yes, you'd need to edit the css file of the theme, along with some php editing, there are tons of tutorials online on both topics, a quick search on css or php basics should give you lots to read. As it also has been suggested you could purchase a premium theme, again, there are many good ones to choose from.
Alternatively, you could use a WP theme generator, which would allow you to create themes without knowledge of css/html/php etc. One of the good ones (in my personal opinion) is Artisteer, I can't post links yet, so just search for it in google, they have a free trail version so you can give it a spin.

Hope that helps

There's some fantastic landing page software available.

right u r.. its all on the CSS recipe! I would suggest to first design ur skin/theme concept and come up with a mock up on Photoshop... then take it to the CSS artist and he/she will just take it apart... and you got ur self an original WP theme... or just buy them, saves you a day or two