Finally, I developed a concept based on 4 irregular-width columns (above). You can see this grid at work on this blog post (the red areas of the illustration). If you click on any of the other tabs in the navigation above, you will see the grid on a "traditional website" page (highlighted with green on the illustration).

Visually tying these two very different page configurations together are the widget areas in the footer and items in the header, which are aligned with the grid. The result is combination website and blog with an integrated appearance. The precise measurements of the grid can be adjusted, subject to your preferences and understanding of CSS.

Evo4 CMS is a free WordPress theme that serves as a basis for building complete websites with integrated blogs. It helps to make WordPress into one of the better Content Management Systems (CMS) in existence. This website and blog uses Evo4 CMS, and as you might have noticed, it’s pretty plain out of the box. The theme is a blank canvas for competent designers with good to excellent design skills, Photoshop skills, and minimal PHP skills.

What do you get with Evo4 CMS? Essentially, you get a grid-based layout (with supporting files) for building a "traditional website" with an integrated blog. I’ve never had much success adapting 2- or 3-column WordPress blog themes as a foundation for business websites. It always required major surgery, and the result never looked quite right; I couldn’t achieve the integrated look I was after.

Along with the theme, you can download a Photoshop design grid especially made for Evo4 CMS. That’s where you should start in designing your Evo4 CMS-based website.

There is no requirement that you credit me or acknowledge the use of Evo4 CMS. I would love it, however, if you sent me links to completed Evo4 CMS-themed websites. Also, any ideas you might  have for improving the theme: I’d appreciate hearing them.

Certain plugins are recommended to make the theme work as intended, but using them or not is your choice. You can enhance your website with jQuery, other plugins, Flash, or whatever you think will make your client sit up and say "Wow! We’re going to pay you extra!"