The site theme is the design and format of the MS Paint Adventures website. Until Homestuck, the site used a single theme, however over the course of Homestuck alternate themes were used due to events occurring in the narrative. Each theme is contained in its own .php document, which is included as part of the page URL.
Default theme[]
The default theme of the MSPA site is a simple design with the borders of the site having a dark grey color, the content is framed by a lighter grey, while the content is finally bordered and the news is displayed atop a near-white background. While the theme has its own specific .php document (index.php), it does not need to be specified in the URL like the other themes. The default theme is the only theme that can be switched for another, however pages using the default theme in Homestuck after
the SBaHJ themed page (with the exception of bonus pages) have the default theme explicitly specified and so cannot be changed.
Alternate default theme[]
The alternate default theme is near identical to the default theme, due to its location at test_index.php it seems to exist to test changes to the default theme. It currently differs from the default theme in that, in the list of latest pages, every single page is displayed, rather than just the first page of each update (as has been the norm since the end of the gigapause). This was one of the four known themes that could replace the default theme before the site move.
Theme switching[]
As the theme is specified by the URL it can be manually altered to change the theme on one page to another theme, however as pages using an alternate theme automatically switch to their specified theme, this restricts theme switching to pages using the default theme, except in cases where the default theme is itself the specified theme. Most alternate themes are also restricted to their specified pages, and attempting to use them outside of Homestuck will result in being redirected back to Homestuck.
Classic theme[]
The default theme prior to 19 August 2011. The major differences between it and its successor are that the list of "latest pages" is located on the right-hand side of the page, the MSPA logo is displayed as one image on the left (similar to the Scratch theme) instead of two on either side of the advertising space, and that the header of the pages is a tiny bit larger. While it was replaced, a copy of the theme was kept at testindex.php. Oddly enough, using the theme shows older news stories. This was one of the four known themes that could replace the default theme before the site move.
Scratch theme[]
The Scratch theme is first used in Homestuck when Doc Scratch takes over the narration as he believes the reader “will find [his] voice is more palatable” against the green background. By default, pages using this theme are topped by a banner displaying Doc Scratch's apartment, however the contents of the banner change to fit the narration. During the Scratch theme some alternate text colors are used, most notably a different color is used for Gamzee's text. This was one of the four known themes that could replace the default theme before the site move.
SBaHJ theme[]
A Sweet Bro and Hella Jeff theme used for a single page in Homestuck when Andrew Hussie unsuccessfully attempts to end the Scratch theme, requiring him to make a second attempt. The theme uses a blue, purple, and green color scheme and changes the font of the entire page to Comic Sans. The news section is titled "NEWNS" and the Hella Jeff image links to the SBaHJ comic. This was one of the four known themes that could replace the default theme before the site move.
Cascade theme[]
A theme especially created for Cascade. The site background is darker than usual, and at the top is an image of the countdown on the Tumor, stuck at 10:25.
Trickster theme[]
A theme that appears after Trickster Mode is activated in-comic. The top banner used to make trickster sound effects when you clicked on it, before the site design was changed in 2018.
x2 Combo theme[]
After Gamzee and Caliborn activate a function on the MSPA command station the site enters a dual screen mode. The appearance is that of the default theme, however two pages are loaded side by side. There is a single image spanning the top of both pages, the advertisements usually found on the right are located in the middle, and the latest pages section is on both the rightmost and leftmost edges of the page.
While in this theme, every other link in the "New Pages" sidebars leads to the page preceding the intended page. The same applies when attempting to override other site themes with this theme through URL manipulation.
Caliborn theme[]
A theme used to indicate Caliborn's control over the narrative. The color scheme is changed to several shades of green and a red circle representing one of Caliborn's cheeks appears on each side of the top ad banner. The top menu links now have disparaging captions directed towards the thing they link to (the "Shop" link, for example, now reads “OVERPRICED TRASH.”) and the candy corns are replaced with cherub teeth. Additionally, Caliborn has written on top of the "Latest Pages", "News" and "Sponsors" headings and changed them to “LAME”, “ZZZZZ.”, and “BAD.”, respectively.
Scroll theme[]
Used here and here, it is a theme which includes a blinking forward progression arrow at the bottom (to instruct the reader to scroll), as well as a scrollbar. If the image is wider than 1107 pixels, the scrollbar is horizontal and located on the bottom. If the image is taller than 512 pixels, the scrollbar is vertical and located on the right. Otherwise, the scrollbar is not present. This theme also makes everything below the actual comic content inaccessible.
Scroll theme b[]
There is a secondary scroll site theme, which features an all-black background, and apparently no other normal site features. An audio Flash item is placed at the top center.
Collide theme[]
A theme especially created for Act 6 Act 6 Act 6, Collide. The site background is black, and at the top is an image of an ocean, reading ACT 6 ACT 6 ACT 6. The theme does not contain news posts or update logs. It also does not contain the auto save and delete game data options.
Act 7 theme[]
A theme especially created for Act 7. The site background is entirely white and the header displays the white curtains and the words "ACT 7". It is not used on the final panel of the comic, but curtains are shown closing in the final panel's gif.