You want your WordPress blog to stand out from the crowd and one way to do that is to install a stunning theme to catch their eyes. It doesn’t matter if you have fantastic content if the people don’t discover your site in the first place. For better or for worse, first impressions matter.

To make that powerful first impression, you may want to consider the Mystique theme from DigitalNature. This two-column theme has been designed with aesthetics in mind, offering a great-looking background image and an easy-to-follow interface.

Among the features included are great integration with social media accounts, clean navigational toolbar across the top, and several built-in widgets. The theme settings interface is quite intuitive as well, so you don’t have to deal with messy and complex code.

Gain access to a live preview and download the Mystique WordPress theme for free from WordPress.org.

WordPress can be used for a variety of different websites. There’s so much more to the popular content management system than just blogging and that’s a big reason why it is so popular with so many different web users and website owners.

For instance, you can try your hand at the Scarf Folio WordPress theme. This template has been clearly designed to work as a portfolio-type website, complete with a highly stylized background image, easy navigation, and attractive animated slider.

The Scarf WP theme features a simple black design, two fixed columns, and full Flickr support built right in. In this way, it’s a great fit for graphic designers, photographers, and other creative types who make use of Flickr to showcase their work.

Check out the demo site and then you can download Scarf Folio at 3oneseven.com. It’s a free download and there is support in the forum if you need some help.

There’s nothing wrong with getting paid for the hard work you put into your blog. Even if it’s just a personal blog, there’s nothing wrong with trying to get some suitable compensation. That’s where AdSense-ready WordPress themes can come in incredibly handy.

One such theme is the Blueiz theme from Gr8Template.com. The template has been designed to take your advertisement codes using widgets, so there’s no need to edit the individual template files. It’s a simple two or three-column design with predefined ad spots.

You’ll also notice the clever integration of the search toolbar near the top of the page, as well as the unique RSS logo in the top-right corner. This is a free theme, but the developer has asked for a $20 donation should you choose to remove the footer links from your site.

A live demo is available through Gr8Template.com, which is also where you can find the free download link for Blueiz Theme.

Sometimes, you just want to kick it old school. You may be very much ensconced in the world of high technology, but you also yearn for the simplicity of days gone by. If that happens to be the case, then the Desk Theme for WordPress from Nearfrog Web Design just might might be up your alley.

This “very clean and functional” theme is based on the concept of having a single lined piece of paper lying on a wooden desk. Perhaps it gives you the feeling of getting away from all, sitting down at a desk in your cabin in the woods, finally getting down to writing your memoirs on a regular pad of paper. This makes your blog feel approachable and familiar.

The Desk Theme features a simple two-column layout, allowing you to place pertinent navigational and section links in the sidebar. Some additional navigation links are just above the header image, giving readers quick access to whatever it is that they need. The theme is completely widgetized in its sidebar and footer. Other highlights include the custom menus, post image support, threaded comments, and admin control panel.

Check out the live demo to get a sense of what this theme can look like. Then, go to Nearfrog.com to grab the free download link and give Desk Theme a try on your own site.

While a great number of people choose to use WordPress as a blogging platform, it is also versatile enough to be a content management system for other types of websites. Fitting somewhere in between is the recent growth of “magazine” style themes.

One option for people interested in that format is the new Suburbia free WordPress theme. Made in cooperation with Demian Peeters, the theme is meant to be “clean and flexible,” while offering the versatility of a grid-based playout.

You can feature your bigger stories with larger thumbnail images along the top, plus your “second-tier” stories below with smaller thumbnails. Other highlights include a widget-ready design, SEO-friendly characteristics, logo uploader, theme options page, and clean typography.

Head over to Wpshower for more information, a live demo, and the free download link for Suburbia 1.1.

Are you thinking about starting a travel site of some kind? Maybe you want a blog to document your own journeys or perhaps you want to set it up as a way of reviewing different destinations. Whatever the case, the Travelofe WordPress theme could be a good fit.

It features a relatively simple two-column design, but it has a very travel-oriented background image to provide a suitable backdrop to your quality content. You should be able to change this image to suit your specific needs, but the graphic already looks quite good. The logo and font are included in the theme as well.

The theme comes completely sidebar widget ready, it has been XHTML + CSS validated, and it is tested as working properly in a wide range of browsers. The include search bar sidebar widget is quite attractive as well.

Head on over to US Vacation Cabin Rental for more information, a live demo, and the free download link.