Why I Ditched The Thesis WordPress Theme
Ditched.
It’s such a harsh word isn’t it?
Nevertheless that’s the verb many people have used in the past week when they noticed my new theme design.
Hey Lisa! Why did you ditch Thesis?
Let me make one thing clear. My move to another theme was less about any love lost for Thesis and more about finding what I needed in one theme and at the right time.
I was actually planning on installing a fresh copy of Thesis on my local WordPress testing platform so I could redesign from the default design, but for whatever reason I just wasn’t in the mood.
My e-buddy Brankica highly recommended The Genesis Theme after using it for her new design — which I did eventually buy and used for NapturallyCurly. However, I wanted something different for this site.
About two weeks ago I remembered a Facebook fan raving about WooThemes so I decided to check out their designs. And while browsing through, it just so happened their Headlines theme had everything I wanted and more.
My wishlist for the new design included, but was not limited to…
- Clean (more white space, fewer colors)
- A customizable, all-in-one latest/popular post widget
- Space for a banner ad in the header
Could I have accomplished all this with Thesis? I sure could have, but not without more work than I cared to deal with at the time.
Not to mention, I fell in love with many of the additional WooTheme features I never even thought I wanted such as…
- An animated feature post widget on the homepage (I will probably go back to a partial static homepage like before, but I haven’t had time to tweak much yet. I still think it’s important for a blog homepage to have some static elements.)
- Dynamic post thumbnail features
- Tons of extra sidebar widgets, including ones for 125×125 ads, a Twitter feed, author box and more
- It’s also very AdSense-friendly with spots for AdSense in the header and top of the posts. All you do is paste your code into the admin panel. No plugins needed.
- Shortcodes to easily add contact forms, social media icons/buttons info boxes, highlighted text, dividers and more right into your post by using the WOO button on the edit bar.
But Wait…
Now having said all those wonderful things about WooThemes, I can’t lie. I immediately began missing several Thesis features.
Keep in mind, I had been using it for nearly three years, so it’s easy to forget how many of the customizations were specific to the Thesis theme only.
I was spoiled! 
For example, if I wanted to change the width of my sidebars and post area with Thesis, I just had to go to the Design Options menu and adjust the values.
With this theme, I’d have to edit the PHP files directly and begin fiddling with <div> values — which can get messy.
I also love how easy Thesis makes it easy to customize the smaller details like nav menu colors, site-wide font colors and sizes, post bylines/meta etc.
Fortunately I’m pretty comfortable with CSS, so the changes I made weren’t that hard to pull off. However, a CSS novice may have gotten stuck.
My Customizations
So the theme you’re looking at now is pretty much Headlines out-of-the-box. I did upload my own red nav bar image that I made in Photoshop because the original was too small and so was the text.
I also tweaked the header CSS to make room for a 728×90 AdSense banner. The theme only allowed space for a 468×60 image. Fortunately the banner was already coded in so it was an easy tweak.
Also, this particular theme does not have hooks — which makes it easier to customize or add elements to different parts of your site (after the post, before the comments, after the header, above the footer, etc.)
Thesis was a pioneer with the hook functionality, and many themes have adopted it since. However, WooThemes does have a Hook Manager for their Canvas theme, just not this one.
So yes, Thesis definitely wins the “ease of customization” battle, however WooThemes delivered the overall feel I wanted with minimal tweaking.
For the record, I am not completely abandoning Thesis. If Chris Pearson EVER releases version 2.0 (sigh), I may revisit again to test out the new features. That’s a perk of having free upgrades as a customer.
But I’ve got to say, making those few customizations in WooThemes made me appreciate some of the Thesis features I took for granted for the last few years.
In Summary
Most themes have pros and cons, and I find it hard to find one that I like out-of-the-box.
Unless you’re going to code your theme from scratch (the ideal solution but not a desire for me) or hire someone, it’s usually about finding one that gets close to what you want and then tweaking it after the install.
At least that’s how I roll when it comes to WordPress themes. How about you?
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Hi, My name is Lisa and I'm a full-time affiliate marketer who has been blessed enough to earn a living online since 2006. 
Hi, my name is Lisa Irby and I'm the owner of 
Hi Lisa,
I really enjoyed what you had to say about Thesis and other themes for WordPress. Before using Thesis, I used a selection of themes from WooThemes, ElegantThemes and a few other companies. However, I found that their code was hard to translate back to what I had learnt from tried and testing methods.
What I find with Thesis is that I can build , code and style a great site using existing knowledge and I learn along the way with their tutorials.
I love the theme you’re using now but as you have fingers in many pies, you’ll always be tempted to switch back and forth between themes, which I did in the past and it wasn’t good for my visitors so I would just stick to what you find the best.
Jonny Rowntree recently posted..The 6 Essential Plugins I use on JonnyRowntree.com
I’m going to try and stay put.
When I first started using WordPress in 2007 I think I changed themes like every month! Of course, I now know this is a no-no. I’m pretty happy with the choice. Thanks for the compliment, Jonny.
Sounds like a good plan and you’re welcome for the compliment.
Jonny Rowntree recently posted..The 6 Essential Plugins I use on JonnyRowntree.com
This is a little off topic Lisa have you every thought about doing a video explaining how affialates should post youtube videos without getting in trouble.
Hey Lisa, you should check out wpzoom themes as well. They have great themes to choose from. I chose them after getting tired of using free themes.
P.S. this is my first post to your site, but I have been following your guidance for a while now. Thanks for all the info. Also, have you thought of using the Disqus commenting system for your blog?
Like the look of the new theme, plenty of white space makes it easier on the eye. Guess I am going to be one of the many, saying how great it looks.
Geoff Merritt recently posted..What is Search Engine Optimisation (SEO)?
WordPress is great software and there are free plugins that do the job much better than any built in option of Thesis theme.
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I like the new theme. It’s cleaner and easier to read.
I also like that you tweaked the ad spot to 728×90, cause 468×60 has lower CTR.
Sotiris recently posted..Never Wet, Nano tech to the rescue
Hi Lisa,
I’ve been lately thinking about moving my site to a PRO them, however I always wonder how to do the “moving”… Is there a technique you suggest, like installing on other site and then sort of “import it” into the actual blog? (if you have or know an article about it it would be wonderful
)
thanks!
Definitely install Instant WordPress on your computer and tweak your theme there. Then upload the theme folder and activate it. If it looks good in the testing environment it will look good live.
You’ll still have to make any “admin panel” customizations that are theme specific after you go live because those changes are stored on your computer, but that won’t take long.
Thanks Lisa, I hope it exists for MAc users as well
cheers!
Unfortunately it’s not for Mac users. This is one of the reasons I keep my Windows computer around. lol Mac does have a testing environment called MAMP. It’s not as easy to setup but it works http://codex.wordpress.org/Installing_WordPress_Locally_on_Your_Mac_With_MAMP
You are awesome
Dennis recently posted..Receta: Salmón Al Horno Con Almendras
Looks great! Not too “busy” – loads quickly – easy to read – doesn’t insult visitors’ intelligence with overly large print or too simple a look – you’ve got a WINNER here!
Blog On!
Dave Lucas recently posted..More Pain Coming To A Pump Near You?
Thanks Dave!
new theme looks elegant ,but the header part needs some color tweaks
shyam jos recently posted..Symbian belle update for Nokia N8 and other models available
I think it is alright. What color tweaks do you mean?
Tuan recently posted..The Blogger’s Guide to Comments
The things you mentioned that you wanted in the new theme could of been done in about 10 minutes on Thesis.
I no nothing about CSS but for instance I added a header space for an advert in about 2 minutes after copying and pasting the code from a Thesis tutorial.
Ross Corbett recently posted..Five Things to Do on a Wet Weekend in Manchester
You’re probably right, Ross. I think I also just wanted a new toy.
The one thing that’s great about Thesis is that there are so many tutorials out there you can easily find out how to do something.
gutsy move Lisa considering loss of valuable real estate, but I could be totally wrong?
for a mature blog that gets a good amount of traffic flow/viewership, I think it’s a good idea to have that big banner space in the header. this one spot alone can be extremely lucrative either for an advertiser (and therefore the blogger in terms of monthly revenue), or your own products and services – especially when promoting a launch.
I have seen few other bloggers do this lately, including Ana from TGC and Yaro from EJ. it definitely signals a shift in strategy.
I have to agree that the look and feel is so much cleaner and more “soothing”. very inviting and just makes me want to sit down with a cup of coffee and read every page. it is probably the best blog design I have seen recently that accomplishes this objective. many blogs are too convoluted (noisy) which is often a reason why a potential reader leaves before even attempting to read the content.
design, features and functionality aside, how do you feel the inherent SEO capabilities in this theme compares to Thesis? one of the reasons I decided to go with Thesis is the arrangement of the code and its SEO friendliness. I know you were/are a big advocate of it as well. but how does it compare to your current theme? if anything is lost, what/how do you recommend the lost features be brought back in and incorporated?
another question: not all plugins I use work seamlessly with my theme. how has the plugin integration been. are you experiencing more or less “issues” compared to Thesis?
overall, fantastic! love the way the blog is looking.
Sunil l Entrepreneurship & Personal Finance recently posted..I am Giving Away $1,500, an Apple Ipad 2, a FREE VACATION and a $25 Amazon Gift Card in Celebration of my 6,000+ Subscribership Mark
Fortunately I don’t use a lot of plugins compared to most people so I had no issues with any of them moving over.
Sorry, I didn’t answer the SEO question. They also have some built-in SEO functions like Thesis does. There’s even a separate tab just for SEO. But from a code standpoint I think Thesis is probably cleaner.
Thanks a lot Lisa!
Sunil l Entrepreneurship & Personal Finance recently posted..How to Research a Profitable eBook Topic Successfully
I like the new theme. The whitespace really allows the theme to “breathe” since it doesn’t look crowded. The menu bars at the top look great and are easy to read since they aren’t squished.
Overall the new look is great!
Paul Salmon recently posted..Creating a World Where SEO and Web Design Live in Harmony
I think the new theme looks wonderful. Ultimately it should be up to you to determine what best fits your needs and your vision. We are all creatures of habit and once we get used to a certain look it is just associated with that particular source.
Elke Hinze recently posted..The Web Developer Toolbox – Part 1
mam, will this theme does not affect the videos in you tube?
like (increase your traffic seo,affiliate marketing) shows your previous versions of the website
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Aside from being customizable, Thesis hss created another advantage for its users–the DIYThemes forum. For novices like me, the support I receive there is invaluable. Thanks!
doug_eike recently posted..Conversation – Ten Tips For Improving Your Conversation Skills
Agree, Doug. The forums are where I actually learned to customize Thesis. WooThemes also has a great forum for support as well. In fact, I’d say it’s equally good as the DIY forum.
Looks great! I use Huex, also a Woo Theme, and have been very happy with it. I fiddled with it a bit, though. I am very impressed with how Headlines looks right out of the box!
Thanks for sharing your experience with us, Lisa.
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Hi Carolyn,
Thanks. Just took a peek at your theme! I now see why it’s called Huex! I’ve never seen a theme like that where the visitors can customize the colors to their liking! Very cool.
Hi Lisa, yes, that color customization is what sold me on Huex. The way I see it, each reader can choose what he or she likes best which only enhances the reader experience.
Carolyn recently posted..Poll: YouTube Rage Dad – Justified or Not?
This new theme that you are using for your blog looks great, I must admit it. But I used to Lisa’a blog as a Thesis skeleton.
I remembered when I had just started blogging and you mentioned how much you love Thesis, and that’s one of the reasons I am using it today for my blog.
I guess its whatever you want and what you are looking for. Just keep on providing great blog posts.
Kharim Tomlinson recently posted..5 Easy Steps In Creating Content To Grab Google’s Attention
Oh, wow, Lisa – I noticed you were playing with your design, but never actually noticed you switched the themes!
I do understand your point about having less upfront work. To me though, a little upfront work pays in the long run.
Either way, the blog looks great!
Ana Hoffman recently posted..35 Headache-Free Split Testing Resources to Increase Your Conversions and Sales
Thanks, Ana! Love your new avatar as well.
I love Woo! You know Lisa they are one of the first who actually expanded the horizon of WordPress. I mean like with their Woo Listings and Woo Commerce…they are one of the best out there….but I think this theme that you are using is hugely customized. How did you add the Niche Marketing E-Book Banner??
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It’s really not, Rahul. The AdSense banner up top, the larger red nav are the only two major things I customized. But I’m actually glad you think it looks customized because I don’t like having a theme that looks exactly like a lot of other blogs.
I had to go to the Woo forums to figure out how to add the banner. I added the HTML code to the single.php file. That’s another thing that would have been easier to do with Thesis.
single.php ok got it thanks for the help. I still have this weird feeling that in the future 2createBlog and Website is gonna look exactly like the new smashing magazine website.
I also think that this theme is loading up faster and its good for SEO…thanx for the response LISA!
Rahul recently posted..Empire Avenue Website Review
Lisa
the woo theme is beatiful, it gives your website a much sleeker look. And look at the bright side positive change is always good and this is a positive change
Kenny Fabre recently posted..what is nofollow?
Thanks, Kenny! I agree about change.
I’m new to wordpress and am really not aufait with the themes at the moment. Mainly I concentrate on getting the posts out. My older blogs are all on Blogger.
One important thing I have to work out is how to put widgets in the footer of my wp blogs. I’m still fighting with this.
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Hi Anne,
The best way to work with the footer widgets is to find a theme that already has them built in. Both Thesis and WooThemes have that and many more. So adding footer widgets is just about dragging them from the Widgets area and editing.
I like your new layout!
I had to stop using Thesis because it wouldn’t let me import my comments. At least they did give me a full refund.
Jean recently posted..Incredible Day in Vegas!
Oh yikes! Never heard of that one. Glad they refunded you though.
I already told you few days ago how much I love the new look. Sunil said exactly what I was thinking about being more “soothing”.
I am not missing hooks since the switch since Genesis has them but the editing you mentioned (like the width) is a bit more complicated. However, I played with it on a test blog and realized it only takes a few small changes to make it work.
A few days ago, I installed Thesis with a skin to a client’s site and guess what, it was a mess. It was the latest 183 release and apparently some things didn’t work well all together. We did get it sorted out by getting a guy to customize some elements but it just made me a firmer believer in the fact that I made the right choice.
I love the theme you are using on Napturally Curly, I think I will use that one on a blog I plan to start soon.
I liked most of the time I used Thesis but I had no problems I had before since switching so I will just stick with G for now. I think it would have been much better if they released the 2.0 but the wait is just too long to sit around and wait when all others are pushing forward fast. As you say, if 2.0 is good it may be worth another look.
Did I say I love the new design, lol. Thanks for the mention, you know how much I appreciate that!!!
PS about SEO, have you tried WordPress SEO plugin, it works great with most themes and it would probably be the perfect solution.
Brankica recently posted..Custom 404 Not Found Page for Genesis Framework
I remember some of those nightmare tweets about your battles with Thesis. LOL
I’ve been getting such great feedback on the NapturallyCurly site so it seems to be a winner. Glad I listened to you and got to test drive Genesis. lol It’s nice to try different themes just to see which ones have the features you need. The Genesis themes are just so crisp and I like that.
Honestly, I’m still using the old school All in One SEO plugin and haven’t looked into anything else for awhile. I’ll have to check on WordPress SEO. Thanks for the tip!
Lisa, I totally get it. For my personal blog I wanted something different and when I won the Simply Fresh Theme in a blogging contest I decided to use that. And while I do LOVE some of the features I missed many of the Thesis customization features that I had grown used to.
I think I will always love Thesis but every once in awhile you want something different without having to spend hours tweaking.
Danielle McGaw recently posted..The Goods on Social Media Spam
Exactamundo!
love the new theme lisa. simple customizations in thisis are easy, but I still struggle with figuring out the right coding for hooks and things. I like the look and feel of this new theme. How much coding knowledge do you need to do it all though? i have a very basic (translate TINY bit) knowledge of PHP, but thats about it.
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Hi James, it really wasn’t hard at all.
1. I edited the style.css file to tweak the existing coordinates of the banner and make room for a larger one. The theme has a place in the admin panel to place the actual AdSense/banner code
2. I edited the style.css file to change some font sizes.
3. I overwrote the original red bar under the header to a larger image I created so I had to increase the height given to that image in the style.css file and adjust some padding, etc.
4. I added some HTML to the single.php file to add the banner to my book below the posts.
Everything else was part of the theme.
I honestly think even a CSS novice could have tweaked this theme very easily if you just understand what to look for. If you don’t have the Firebug browser addon/plugin that comes in handy because you can learn what attributes to edit.
I did everything locally first using Instant WordPress so I could test everything before going live.
I’m glad you switched the theme because the last one felt too cluttered and not very modern. This new theme is a lot cleaner and I find it easier to find what I’m looking for now.
It’s less overwhelming. I think the last theme may have freaked out some newbies, so I’m happy you switched…
Looks really great Lisa, I finally took the plunge and am in the process of upgrading TGC so that I can start using it for what I always wanted to…
I went the Genesis route and wrote a custom child theme for myself. Just signed up for a VPS server and just waiting for DNS to propagate and then I’ll be live…
Scott recently posted..Exploring the Genesis Framework
Awesome Scott! You’ll like Genesis. It’s working well on my hair blog. All the best.
That’s a great choice, I really love the new design of 2createawebsite.
Btw, I am using a Woo theme as well after a long time sticking to Genesis and Theme Junkie. Honestly, its customizing options are not as diverse as Genesis, I find the theme of Woothemes are designed more beautifully than any other child theme I’ve used.
In general, I am satisfied with Woothemes now, but still expecting more features from them.
Tuan recently posted..The Blogger’s Guide to Comments
I like your new blog theme… it looks very nice and clean. I have never used them, but Woo Themes are great, from what I hear. Reading your post, I got excited initially when I thought you switched to Genesis
I am a big fan of Genesis and have been using it exclusively for quite some time now! Glad you’re happy with your new theme, though 
Sherif Morgan recently posted..Welcome to Connexins 2012
Thanks Sherif,
Well I am using Genesis on http://www.napturallycurly.com and I do like it too.
Lisa,
This site and the napturallycurly site look great. Napturally curly is neat, clean and loads fast. I still love my Thesis Theme (I’ve created over 30 video tutorials for Thesis Theme) but there are definitely benefits to Woo Themes and Genesis (which is a really top notch theme!). Brankica Loves Genesis now, too!!!! Thanks for your review and for breaking it all down with the coding etc. All I can say is “Thesis 2.0 better kick some Behind when it finally arrives!!!!” LOL
Thanks again!
– Jupiter Jim
Jupiter Jim recently posted..WordPress Tutorial: Add Facebook Social Plugin for “Comments” to your WordPress Blog
Hi Lisa,
You have created a new face to beautify and understand very well the sense of WordPress Theme… A kind of twist is really cool!
Chelyn24 recently posted..How To Get Pregnant Video
It’s a great template. Simple and clean. Many blogs have great content, but have too many things. This only makes the reader confused, and sometimes you can’t even find what you are searching for.
I do use an allinone template as well, and although you never have all the feature you need, it’s a huge time saver.
Franck
Franck Silvestre recently posted..List Building Automation – How To Increase Online Sales On Autopilot With Aweber!
Copycat
LOL! What’s funny is I just stumbled upon YOUR site after a google search last week trying to figure out how to get those dang hooks working and realized my theme doesn’t have hooks.
Oh well. You have Canvas right?
You site looks wonderful Lisa!
I can well understand the problems of coding with Thesis, as I have recently purchased it for my writing blog and am having a tough time trying out the codes to make it all work!
While on the other hand, I wanted something easier and simpler and have taken up Genesis for my other family related blog. That’s of course simpler, something which i wanted when I shifted onto WordPress from bloggers
I do wish there was a nice place where such themes were laid out clearly and in a simpler form, along with the required codes
Thanks for sharing
Harleena Singh recently posted..How to Move On and Get Over a Break Up
I’ve heard about this a couple of weeks ago, and I was hoping Thesis 2.0 will be release this quarter of the year. Btw, congrats on the new theme! Looks sleek
sanjay recently posted..How to Create a 3D Search Bar in HTML / CSS
Lisa,
I too like the new theme, however when I was reading the information on the homepage, it would jump up and down as the slideshow photos changed. It was very disconcerting and difficult for me to want to remain on the homepage, I just wanted outta there as quickly as possible, so you might want to check into that and make the change. Otherwise, all was great! Oh, just for your information in ferretting out this problem, I’m using the Safari browser on a MacBook Pro right now, haven’t tried it on any other browsers, sorry.
Cathryn–The Wicker Woman recently posted..Sounds of the Wild–Wolves
Yeah I noticed that and I’m not a fan either. I will probably stop the animation and just show the latest post. In the future I will probably go back to a static page anyway. Thanks for the feedback.
Hey Lisa,
Wow, the wordpress monster got you too? haha j/k!
I absolutely LOVE how your site is looking now, so fresh and tidy!
In my case I have more than a few premium wp themes (I can see you do too!) and to be honest I don’t fall in love with any of them.
The reason I say this, is because I strongly believe that whatever you dominate to the point that you can do whatever you want and do it fast, then that’s a keeper.
A theme that doesn’t fall into that category, it’s a ditch for me.
If you have to live in the forums, searching for answers, trying to figure out stuff all the time, then by all means it is not worth it for me.
I was very efficient not only with css but also php, mysql and other ‘techie’ things and if I have to be reverse engineering a theme just to make it work like it is supposed to…
I’d rather spend my time creating my own platform from scratch and who knows, maybe start my own theme development service.
Anyway I think I’m starting to rant so I’ll stop here lol
So far I am loving the new Woo-look and I also know Brankica has been playing non stop with Genesis these days.
Might follow your lead girls so if I get stuck, you can give me a hand! lol
Looking forward to see if you make some more changes around, take care and have a great day Lisa!
Sergio
PS. Your Napturally site looks amazing as well!!!
Sergio Felix recently posted..Basic Video Marketing Production
Well, I can only sypathize regarding the Thesis theme: I have been struggling for 6 months to make sense out of a Thesis Childpress theme and am on the point of ‘ditching’ it. The default theme looks splendid but when you try to adapt it to your needs the whole structure falls apart. A nightmare.
Simon Oliver recently posted..Exploding radiators, boilers and towel rails
hi lisa..yes I love this clean look, there are alot of nice new clean minimal looks online which I can’t seem to achieve with thesis, however I’ll put it on the back boiler for now,generally speaking thesis is great, and I’m glad to hear from you that there is nothing to be concerned about with the theme! lol!
sharon slater recently posted..social media madness
A change is always good yes, and, I have to say, I really love this new theme (just need to wear shades to get use to the brightness:-)I have been using Flexsqueeze lately and absolutely love it, the results for my Affiliate sites have improved due to the neatness and professional look so a change is always good.
Stephen recently posted..Come See Ann Irwin At Over The Edge Open Reading Thursday 23 Feb. 2012
Love the theme Lisa – bright and modern.
“Most themes have pros and cons, and I find it hard to find one that I like out-of-the-box.”
Couldn’t agree more.
I’ve used Elegant Themes and am currently using Genesis.
I’m pretty good with html and CSS, but please… dont mention PHP.
You are far braver than me Lisa.
Keith Davis recently posted..Driskill – Genesis child theme for WordPress
I found a few designers who create themes not only for functionality but also with proper SEO and generally stick to purchasing from them. Too many times we had to work on a theme that required hours of work to modify the code to make it properly optimized and quite frankly – not worth the effort
Alex Sysoef recently posted..WordPress Hack Attack Against Login Increase
I think this new theme is far better than the last one and although I never used Thesis, I do feel ya when it comes to being spoiled by a certain platform and then having to switch, but hey that ability to quickly adapt is a good trait to have
The color scheme and new layout also has a good feel to it..
One thing I am noticing lately and now here on your new theme is what’s up with so many bloggers switching to left sided sidebars
Caleb recently posted..Got Blogs? Then Get This…
The left sidebar switch was purely about conversions. I also switched my static site back to left and Adsense, page views per visitor, etc. increased.
I use WP Weaver Pro II at http://weavertheme.com it’s a great theme, even the free version is pretty good. I use it on a lot of different sites because it’s so easy to manipulate to how I need it. Anyway your site looks great!
Cool! That’s a new one to me. Gosh, there are so many themes today. Can’t keep up!
I think it looks great Lisa – nice and fresh.Easy on the eye!
Sorry double post. Gave wrong web addy
Hi Lisa,
Is it possible to reduce the width of the template so that it fits smaller computer screens too?
On my 10.1″ Acer netbook only the edge of your share bare is visible.
Thanks!
Eszter recently posted..Feb 20, Minibuses between Aqaba and Wadi Rum
Hi Lisa,
Ever since I used Headway Themes, I haven’t looked elsewhere (so far at least).
For me nothing beats the ability to draw my website and control small details without using any code.
I’d say the only downside is that their new pricing model makes it very expensive.
This site looks great though, so maybe I’ll try Woo Themes for my next project.
Amit recently posted..My Love-Hate Relationship With Headway Themes
I actually considered it briefly because I heard you can draw your theme, but then someone told me 3.0 was buggy so I left it alone.
It was for a brief period initially because they released it too soon.
However, it works perfectly now.
If you have the time, do have a look at my article below, which has the whole story
.
That website is built with Headay 3.0.
Amit recently posted..My Love-Hate Relationship With Headway Themes
Really lessa…your knowledge about WP and its theme is amazing..
I can take some tips from this blog
thanks for sharing
Garage door remotes recently posted..Bai Barcode
Hello Lisa,
maybe Thesis has more features, and I am sure it’s not easy to throw away all the hard work, but it look much better this way. I just never loved Thesis theme, since it doesn’t look very clean or too professional. Still, I think Genesis would be a perfect choice, because NapturallyCurly really look amazing.
Danijela recently posted..Turkish Coffee Recipe – How to make turkish coffee
I’m pretty happy with Woo Themes .Despite the features I miss from Thesis, I’m much happier with the overall design on my blog now.
Lisa,
How does SEO effect you when you change your themes ? There is nothing like a perfect theme, there are close to perfect or want some alterations, either in the css or html. I have worked on many themes and my experience is that the lightest and the most customizable would give you good results. And of course it has to look attractive too, as design is the initial effect which holds the reader.
Moreover, Google just said websites with header google ads might be penalized, you might want to check on that.
I’m not worried about the header ad because I don’t have an excessive amount of ads on my site. In fact, it’s the only add on this site. When it comes to searching for themes, I look for clean code for SEO, which this theme has. They also have their own SEO add-ons which I don’t use because I already have a plugin. The majority of this traffic to this blog has never been search — it’s mostly RSS, bookmark traffic, referral traffic. So I consider any SEO traffic a bonus.
My bounce rate and page views per visitor stat have also improved since the theme update which can also have a positive affect on SEO. Those factors are important too.
Good input, Lisa, but curmudgeon that I am, I will stick with Thesis. I LOVE Thesis and have used it over and over. I originally bought it because of your high recommendation and I actually look forward to designing new things with it whenever I am starting a new blog or just tweaking an old on. In my (humble) opinion, Thesis is about the best and I love its versitility of design.
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Nice to hear that you are going for the headlines theme, Just a few weeks before you changed the theme for this site I made my new site here with the headlines theme.
Although I haven’t made all that many changes its just one of those themes that make you feel like the sites going to be successful!
I am also going to change the widget section the left like you mentioned in an email newsletter which is a very simple yet not obvious tip! I think it could be exactly what I needed
Thanks alot lisa, keep doing what your doing! Your extremely quickly growing my trust as a fellow internet marketer!
Infact you kickstarted my IM presence and boomed from $200 per month to $1250 and getting higher every month!
Michael recently posted..The ReviewPress WordPress Script
I’ve always found Thesis to be confusing and hard to customize. I’m a big fan of Graphene
Olivia recently posted..Flat Iron Reviews
Your new theme is great! I’m trying create a new wordpress theme for my blog too. But I’m not sure it optimize for SEO or not. Can you give me a hint or a tool that can check SEO for new theme?
Jame recently posted..Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue (2010) BRRIP
Who am I to quetion why you ditch The wordPress Thesis theme, you obviously had impelling reasons for doing so . Thanks for sharing them.
Charles Green recently posted..Why Idol Lash is the Best Eyelash Growth Product
Well i would have see this theme far more good @ your site Nice customization
Usman recently posted..Malcolm X (1992) 720p BRRip 750MB
I like the new look Lisa. It is cleaner. I wish I could take this and plug it into an SBI site.
Dave recently posted..Feb 18, Setting Goals – Indoor Track Race Story
thats true. the site is cleaner. it struck me once i opened the site and i was delighted with the new look
I am a big fan of the Genesis also, but I’ve been testing a few different themes lately to get the right one. It’s hard not to want to change your theme every now and again, I can relate. Thanks
I like this new theme you chose. I have had a tough time working with both Thesis and Genesis themes. I find myself continuing to use themes from ThemeForest, since there are several developers constantly evolving what is possible within the WordPress backend.
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I did the same thing on one of my sites that is more focused on my consulting business and selling selling info rather than blogging.
Then I did the same thing on my blog till I started looking at on page SEO optimization and realized the new theme I used does a tremendous job of on page SEO optimization on landing pages but it fails miserably when you use it as a blog.
The scary reality from my experience in consulting is Thesis hands down crushes all the competition when it comes to on page SEO optimization.
To put that in perspective I’ve worked on content management systems that have cost companies tens of thousands of dollars and their basic SEO is absolutely horrendous.
So for me to get the best of both worlds I installed thesis in my root where my blog exists and put the other theme that flat out rocks for building sales / squeeze pages in minutes as long as your copy is pre written in a different directory on the same domain.
I’m just a stickler for having H1, H2 tags populated with the relavent content for the desired page.
I think these days people think on page SEO factors are worthless, however I did some work a few months back for Tetra and all we focused on was on page factors and they saw a 40% bump in organic traffic in 90 days.
I have yet to be fully satisfied with a single out-of-the box wordpress theme… I echo your sentiment about wanting a theme that will allow you to put a banner/header up. It bugs me that I can’t do this with my current theme. I’ve been looking closely at artisteer themes… there is a cost, but they seem very design-able and highly functional. Have you used artisteer themes before?
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I’ve only used Artisteer for static sites, not blogs. But I’m getting ready to launch a video on my 2createawebsite youtube channel that shows you how to add things to your header. Maybe it will help you with your banner.
I really like the new layout from Woo Themes. It looks so “clean”. I noticed the latest-most popular menu on the left right away as I always look for those on my quick glance through you site to get to the latest post. I have you on reader but your site is also on my favorite bar and I click there first all the time.
Small ridiculous pet peeve is I started to read they Why post (latest) and wanted to go back to the home page. Guess what no home page in the menu. So I did click the 2create logo after hitting blogging on menu first. So where is my home page?
Anyway thanks again for all the good info you provide. I think you have yourself a winning new theme.
Edward Melton
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Haven’t been on the site in a little while Lisa, I love the new theme! I did the same as you but I found mine on ThemeForest.
Jamie Northrup recently posted..Why I Don’t Do Video Marketing
hi lisa….
i am a new blogger and want to grab traffic but i am not able to do that…i always hear that search engine optimisation and keyword selection is most important thing..but i am not a seo specialist..so what i did is just customized my website with firecow theme and it’s great….
i also like thesis and genesis…but i preferred firecrow and it’s awesome..
nice post
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I love this new theme much more than your previous Thesis theme. It look much better and professionally designed.
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You are looking at someone who used to change his Wordpess theme almost as often as most people change their underwear!
Thankfully I stumbled across Thesis and my current theme a couple of years ago and I haven’t even thought about changing.
I have used a couple of the free themes from Woo Themes and found they didn’t display properly and back then I was a novice who didn’t know how to edit themes.
I must say I do like the new look.
Dean Saliba recently posted..Utilization of Social Media to Increase Brand Management
LOL! I used to be the same way, Dean.
I like what you’ve done with the redesign Lisa – it looks much better. And I was just starting to get comfortable using Thesis…
Jason recently posted..Why You Should Use Google Business Photos
Well, I’ve always liked woothemes more than Thesis. Thesis is really ugly by default.
Bill recently posted..How to Make a Girl Laugh
hi Lisa,
Just wondering if the word press theme required you to leave the footer credits intact. Were they requiring you to do so?
College of Content recently posted..Can Fraud Risk Be Minimised To Acceptable Levels
what theme of woothemes is this?
Headlines.
Lisa,
Love your new theme design. I have also move from thesis to my custom coded theme as I can’t customize thesis to what I am after to. I want to be honest that when I move to new theme that I design myself, my ranking fell down
. But I love my new theme now LOL!
Can’t afford to buy premium design themes. But will gonna check them as you use them LOL!
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Theme looks great, i use Thesis with almost all my sites. But one thing about Thesis is the 2.0 version a myth or is it real?
Genesis is seem to become to next Thesis 2.0
I also like this theme your using now, i’m going to check out the themes they offer to see if i like any that i could use for my site.
Hi Lisa,
I think WooThemes is great. They make things a lot easier to customize + very SEO friendly. Thesis is a little archaic in customization. Your site looks great!
Genesis Framework and never looked back…
Sean C recently posted..Fagor Futuro 10 Quart Pressure Cooker
I am loving Genesis as well.
Lisa, I must commend you for using such a harsh word….ditched, most don’t use it quite often even if they find something useless or ineffective.
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I love Thesis and will never leave! Probably.
Alison Moore Smith recently posted..Why PopCred Requires PayPal Accounts
genesis frame work is the best . thnx for the post
Hi Lisa, I am not sure why experts are moving away from Thesis Theme lately. I’m not a developer I don’t even know proper ABC of codes! For me Thesis Theme development is way to expensive and original version is too plain. However, I cannot ignore the fact I love thesis features or maybe I haven’t tested any other theme other than Thesis theme.
I have tough question for you and straight forward answer needed
…
Which theme would you suggest for a person with no knowledge of coding?
Thesis, Genesis, Or Woo Themes?
Thanks
Ahmad Wali recently posted..Importance of Twitter Hash tags (Info Graphics)
hey lisa, i got a good information from your post. Thesis is awesome at least one can make his website stunning with little code. But it seems to me that it is costly.
I like this theme. I may have to look into it for my own blog. Although I like WooThemes also.
Thanks for the summary Lisa – I’ve seen more people using Woo recently, and I DO like the clean look you’ve got with this site. As you say, it’s always a trade-off between the best features on each theme – none quite seems to have it all! I’ve been using Headway for a while which I love!
Tanya Smith Lorenz recently posted..Facebook Marketing – Get Your Timeline Looking Good
Lisa, I recently replace my domain name and I changed my theme to Woo. I love the options and the flexibility. It is a great theme. I lost my ratings because of the domain change but I figured it is better to make the change now than later when my site is more established. My site is recovering fast.
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Glad you’re recovering and like the Woo theme!