I received an email from a very frustrated blogger.
She purchased the Thesis WordPress theme through my affiliate link after watching my video I posted three years ago.
To put it mildly, she was NOT a happy camper, and was completely overwhelmed with how to customize her site.
The video she watched was for Thesis 1.0. Since then, version 2.0 has been released and I’ve been reading through some of the reviews.
Overall, they haven’t been too great.
So What Happened?
If you were following me in 2009 you know I was a HUGE fan of the theme. I was even lucky enough to have my demo video posted on the Copyblogger homepage for a short time.
Commissions were flowing and everyone was singing the praises of the Thesis WordPress theme (including me since I was using the theme then).
At the time, Thesis was revolutionary. As far as I knew, there were no other themes with drag and drop features and the amount of admin panel customizations.
I was so stoked because I could actually select the number of columns I wanted AND set the widths to specific values. Not to mention there were a handful of other admin options no other themes came close to offering.
Along Comes 2.0
In October, Thesis 2.0 launched. The reviews were less than impressive, but I wanted to give myself more time to actually use the theme more before I decided if I was going to continue recommending it.
So after I received the email from the frustrated blogger, I performed a new install on a “dummy” site.
All I have to say is I was incredibly surprised and overwhelmed by how different Thesis 2.0 is from 1.8. I can tell the framework is powerful — way more powerful than 1.0, but the user interface is confusing.
I’m not exactly sure what I was expecting, but I certainly wasn’t prepared to learn about packages, boxes, and holding down shift keys to drag containers. Wow.
It’s one of those things where you can see the potential because there are so many options and details, but it was going to require way more learning than I was prepared to do just to get my site to look how I wanted.
It was nothing like I expected it to be. Perhaps as more skins are developed and better documentation surfaces, things will get smoother, but I just have no intention of diving into it anytime soon.
For the record, now that I’ve had time to thoroughly test Thesis, I added an annotation on the video stating I no longer recommend Thesis except for v. 1.0 and removed the affiliate link from the description.
Bye, Bye Commissions
From an affiliate standpoint, it was quite disappointing to drop the theme because let’s face it, you can earn up to $65 per sale. But I just can’t keep recommending something I barely understand how to use.
In fact, a skeptic thought I dropped Thesis in favor of the Genesis for higher commissions…
Actually no, Ramsom. I didn’t receive a better offer. I earn a lower commission with Genesis since it’s cheaper, but Genesis is what I use now.
However, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t salivating over the opportunity to make another Thesis tutorial video and hopefully rack in those commissions like I did in 2009.
Oh well, not this time. 🙂
Still Want to Dive Into Thesis 2.0?
If you are interested in learning more about Thesis 2.0, there are some tutorials floating around from Kristarella that have helped people make better sense of the newer framework.
Hesham of FamousBloggers has produced some write-ups of Thesis 2.0.
He happens to be a fan and explains why some bloggers are having trouble wrapping their heads around the functionality of Thesis 2.0 in his article Why It’s Hard to Understand Thesis.
For now, I’ll just stick with the Genesis Prose Theme. I love this theme. It’s mobile responsive (meaning the layout auto adjusts for smaller devices) and has a lot of the admin panel customization options that Thesis 1.0 had.
Although, I have a feeling there will be better Thesis packages, skins and releases down the line that will make Thesis 2.0 much more user friendly. Perhaps I’ll give it another try later.
And from what I’ve read and seen, I actually do think Thesis continues to wear the revolutionary crown and is ahead of its time. Unfortunately for the average WordPress user, this release may have been too far ahead.
What about you? Have you made the switch to 2.0 yet? What are your thoughts?
I think thesis is hardly understand. but, I love this theme. when I find & see demo genesis theme, I like this. simply, easy, & cool design
i also read on some sites that thesis is drag and drop and i bought it because i don’t have any knowledge of coding but then i know that it is partial drag and drop and genesis is much better then it,so i switched to genesis.now i use genesis with a child theme without any customization and it looks very neat and professional.
I think the reality is that these kind of theme are mainly used for affiliate marketing. and I dont like it.
well for me the thesis wasn’t that confusing and it was quite easy i guess. But yeh it have some interface problems but I guess it could be fixed easily.
Genesis themes are really loads faster and seo optimized. My friend is using Whimag theme which impressed me a lot & I’m looking forward to move my blog from blogger to wordpress.
Hi Lisa, i want to know about, what is the difference between normal wordpress themes and Genesis or thesis themes?
With Genesis, you are getting better code that loads faster, is more “search engine optimized”, uses HTML5, etc. Plus you are getting support and you know your theme code will always be up-to-date with the WordPress releases. With free themes support is not guaranteed and your theme could stop working with a WordPress upgrade.
Lisa, I did switch over and I was like what in the….
To me it’s not user friendly and you almost have to havea PHD in knowing how to configure it and all that jazz – which is something I am definately not interested in.
Bottom line… I switched back over to 1.85 version and in the process of doing a make over.. great post and sorry for the commission crusher 🙁 … but Your are awesome not promoting something you dont recommend. Talk soon.
This comment looks like a plant to me. Hmmmmm…..
a plant? like a cactus? lol. I am 100% impartial I am simply giving MY opinion on MY experience with the platform and yes it differs greatly from the authors though I completely respect her reasons for being disappointed with 2.0. Now most of the issues have been sorted and there are quite a lot of resources and documentation for the framwork.
Appreciate the update, David. Good to know it’s better. I may give it a go later.
Thesis 2.1 Rocks! I love the platform and think the improvements from 2.0 are massive leaps in the right direction. I will be using it for EVERY web design and development project from now on.
You no longer using thesis affiliate links in your posts that tells us how much honest your are!
Its been few month I’m using genesis and I’m loving it 🙂
Thanks
I got the beta email, downloaded Thesis 2.1, and attended a couple of BYOB webinars to see what the new Thesis was all about. I’m still using 1.8 and loving it but wanted to keep up with the updates if possible, assuming they would be positive. Then I remembered you had posted about going with another theme after previously promoting Thesis, but I didn’t take the time to read why at the time, so after the webinars I came back here to read your whole article.
I am completely on the fence here. I’m not afraid of code, but I don’t always get along with it either. It does seem like it’s a lot harder to do some basic things in Thesis that used to be so easy (like creating a 3-column layout). On the other hand, some things were made a bit easier, at least for me. If it’s truly better, more responsive, and more powerful, I want to get in there and tackle that learning curve. On the other hand, I really would like to spend more time working on my products and my overall business and less on site creation/customization.
I guess I don’t really have a question for you – just wanted to share my thoughts on the matter. 🙂 I’m going to fiddle with the beta version on a test site and see if it works well for my particular needs and skill level.
That’s one thing about this business – things change so fast and there’s very little you can depend on to always be consistent! But I guess we knew that going in. 🙂
Glad you stopped by Laura. I was actually planning to post a question on my FB page to see who has upgraded to 2.1. Very curious to see if it’s improved from 2.0. Keep me posted on how you like it!
It is massively improved. If you would like to discuss the differences etc then I welcome you to email me. 🙂
Lots of Anti-Thesis posts on here, so I thought I might as well chime in as a fan of Thesis 2.0.
It is frankly incredible. Unbelievably powerful. I am moving most of my sites over to it now. I find it incredibly flexible and far easier to use than 1.85.
Having said that when it launched the documentation was awful, it still seems relatively non existent.
However it is definitely worth digging in!
How is v. 2.1? I got the beta email. Have you tried it yet?
I have just tested it… And it seems good… A little different.. It’s definitely moving in the right direction!
Good to hear! I’ll need to see some demos or something before I dive back in again (lol) but I have a feeling it will come around.
I utterly agree that its good to forgo the commissions for this product, I’ve found some tutorials from byob web site, after following to the letter 3 or 4 times and it still not working, I’ve given up on it as a waste of time.. was easier learning the code for thesis 1.85
will take down my affiliate link as well…
Great post Lisa, I wish I’ve read your post before buying Thesis. I’ve bought the Thesis Theme 2.0 few months ago. But as I didn’t have time to figure out how to customize it, I’ve bought another theme (Thesis 2.0 is less user-friendly than the first version). I’ve bought several ebooks about thesis customization but It was designed for the previous version. I didn’t find anything for Thesis 2.0…. if you have some documentation for thesis 2.0 don’t hesitate to contact me. 🙂
Welcome to the world of being a THESIS customer Benjamin!
Hi Lisa,
Well, I just thought I was really stupid. Now that I’ve read your comments, I see that there is simply something intrinsically wrong with Thesis. We can’t invest all that time setting up our sites, when we have businesses to run, and blogs to write. I was so looking forward to this theme, after making the big decision to pay for one. I think I’ll ask for my money back – or become a programmer! (Plus the tutorials had mistakes in them – very frustrating when you can’t track down your error.)
Kathy.
Great one Lisa. I am also using my own blog using Thesis and personally running 2 affiliate sites only for Thesis. But when I first tried Thesis 2.0 myself I was really so confused with the operation of the skin. Moreover since last October, 2012 they are telling that they will provide pearsonified and social trigger skin free with Thesis but I am not sure how more long the developer will take to include these 2 simple themes!
It’s nice to see that I’m not only, not alone, but that my suspicions or assumptions on my short-mindedness wasn’t purely due to my being a hobby blogger. I felt rather upset that the Thesis team would put together something and release it with nary a page of documentation. I feel like they’re moving on and blowing off their older, established customer base.
Bummer. 1.8* was pretty cool. Too bad.
Thanks for this, and those links that “might” help me wrap my fuzzy brain around this 2.0 thing. If not, it’s off to the other place to try their product!
-Brusimm
Totally agree about blowing their customer base. Good luck! Hope the links help.
i have a few sites using thesis 1.8, and tried the 2.0 version, after 3 hours of scratching my head i dropped it like the hot potato it is. I also posted on Bobs site to say that the only connection to 1.8 was the name and low and behold my comment disappeared!
I got started with thesis 2 years ago with thesis 1.x. Loved it. It was same experience for me as most people who are commenting here. Things got a little problematic when I upgraded to thesis 2.x recently. I also created a new website with Thesis 2.x which is still coming along.
After getting over the initial learning curve I realize how much better thesis 2.x is and how much more capability I have with my websites now. I was not able to do all that I wanted in thesis 1.x.
I really appreciate the new thesis.
In terms of the upgrade process, the content is unharmed because is it backed up and part of wordpress. I don’t think anyone is going to lose traffic or search engine hits. What truly suffers in the upgrade is the aesthetics. When you upgrade you have to reload thesis and start from scratch with the new Thesis tools.
I would still find a way to upgrade even if I had a critical website which I couldn’t afford to keep in limbo during the upgrade transition. However, I would delay change as long as needed until I was sure my upgrade plan was solid and would proceed smoothly. One option would be to find someone who can rock thesis 2.ox and can quickly to redesign the look of my site. I would have them give me a tour and walk me through a few things, then I would take over site management myself. There seem to be plenty of people on the net who can do amazing things with Thesis 2.x.
Hi Jeff
No doubt the platform is way more dynamic and robust than 1.0 but for the average beginner it is not friendly. If you have someone to help you (as you stated) I do think that could be an option if you want to stick with Thesis. However, that part alone turns a lot of people off. Upgrades shouldn’t require outsourcing someone and that’s where I think Thesis 2.0 missed the boat.
Also, if they came out with better documentation or even videos that would have helped ease everyone into the transition. It just seems they were so focused on the development side they forgot who their average user is.
I found thesis 2 difficult to use at the beginning but after playing with it for a while it became very easy to use and i was able to convert my design to thesis 2 within a few hours.
According to my opinion thesis 2.x is better than thesis 1.x and its getting a lot better with the latest version thesis 2.1 , but there is a learning curve to get used to thesis 2 framework. Beginners might find it difficult as you said.But after learning it they will feel its the easiest theme to customize themselves.
Thanks.
Since using Thesis from version 1.8 I felt extremely let down by Thesis 2. However I gave it a chance and got some way to recreating my sites with it.
Then after warming to it I had another shot or reality. I was spending so many hours on details that I had already working perfectly on the old version that I realized Thesis 2 is too clever for its own good. Yes I believe it can do pretty much anything you want it to if you’re prepared to live your whole life inside the Thesis Skin editor… I’m not.
The other thing was that my customized theme looked horrible on mobile devices. Out of desperation I tried free theme that I stumbled on just a few days ago, so I could rebuild my site from scratch to showcase a new campaign of mine. It took me one evening to complete it with hardly any messing around to get the customizations I wanted.
Also my site now looks great on a smart phone and loads quicker. No I didn’t find Thesis to be particularly fast either compared to any other theme/platform and the admin area was dog slow.
Sorry but Thesis 2.0 has lost me. Too much time investment required and no where near lives up to the hype.
I just bought Thesis 2 expecting it to deliver al the SEO optimisation and development ease promised.
I am totally dissapointed. It is not intuitive or easy to use, no documentation, and it wil take weeks of my time (and I am a developer) to get it useable. Its just not worth the time when I can use a standard theme and have a site built in a day.
I’m asking for a refund under their 30 day policy.
Yep, it’s why I took all my affiliate links down. Not for beginners at all. Try Genesis themes if you want a good premium theme. And you are a developer so that says a lot. Usually developers love it.
Thisis theme is really awesome… It is compatible with any browser and maximum types of resolution …but I am not using this in my seo blog .. I use the metro ui theme… I have a question- in my blog webseotrix.net which template is better-thisis or present?
Thank you for the great info
I find when I use a new theme that has a lot of customization, it takes me about 2 days to learn the theme. Sometimes we just want to put our work out there and not have to take the time to figure these things out. Too many themes do not come with any instructions, which makes the process so frustrating. I think that programmers feel, because they understand the program, that you will as well. That’s not how it works. Programmers, always assume the customer does not know how your theme works and give detail instructions in writing as well as video.
thank you
Lisa, I’m confused. According to your post, it looks like Thesis 2.0 is more difficult than Genesis, but one other reviews, I read that Genesis requiring more coding than Thesis.
Are we talking about when we’re trying to customize Genesis, it’s tougher than Thesis? I see lot of websites under Genesis Showcase link that looks very proprietary and original, are those custom jobs that only programmers could make?
So if I want to create a unique designed website and don’t have any coding background, would it be better to go with Thesis 2.0?
I can’t speak for Thesis 2.0 because I couldn’t get past the installation so you may indeed be right. When I saw all I had to go thru just to change to 3 columns I was turned off. So I don’t know how that could be. Maybe I didn’t give it enough of a chance.
But Thesis 1.0 has way more control panel options for customizing than Genesis does. So from that standpoint, yes Thesis 1.0+ is better but I have no intention of going back to a version that is only going to be temporarily supported.
I am using Thesis 1.8 and have for years. I have loved Thesis. I just built a site with Thesis 2.0 and like it much beter than Thesis 1.85. the reason is that it uses Box theory and that is what I was taught when I took a class in web design. When coding a site with a piece of paper and pencil you use box theory to run the CSS design so Thesis 2.0 is way better for me. I hate messing with hooks especially the time I broke my site. good thing I backed up my custom functions file first.
I just built a site with Genesis and loved it.
I am here because I am wondering if to switch from Thesis to Genesis for site speed and SEO reasons. I have not really found a good answer yet but have been all over looking for answers to will switching hurt my seo by changing framework and will Genesis load faster. I just ran yslow on my site and it got a couple “F”‘s yuk. So I may try a switch to Genesis and at least move to Thesis 2.0 from 1.85 or to Genesis. One way or another I will get a new theme on there soon.
Hi Clay
I honestly don’t really know about the speed to be honest. I don’t remember testing the speed when I used Thesis but Genesis does seem to load fast.
I use Thesis and I absolutely LOVE it. It’s stupid simple to work with, especially if you have any experience with hooks.
Lisa! This post was perfect timing for me. I was just about to purchase Thesis for one of my blogs, but definitely don’t have the time to spend hours upon hours figuring out how to use it. Hope all is well with you,Thank you so much,,,,!
hi lisa, Hi Lisa, Readers are more important than affiliate marketing. I am not using this theme, but advised by many to use that.
Hello,
I like it for the various customization options it gave me in my website design. But after waiting so long for version 2.o, I was very disappointed with how much it changed. But nonetheless, it was cool.
Lisa – You are totally on target with your observation. I also took my affiliate link down because I am totally confused by 2.0. In all honesty, I was waiting for them to release a ‘converter’ app to allow people to upgrade, but that does not seem to be happening. I have received quotes on converting my site to 2.0 from 1.85, but am not prepared to shell out $1,200. I also looked at training in 2.0, which would take 8 hours and cost more money. All in all, I am sticking with 1.85 and not selling the theme anymore.
$1200! Yikes!!
I have been using Thesis for about 1.5 years now. The SEO is just awesome, especially coming from Joomla. Ok, I like to think it was Thesis but it just may be that WordPress is just a superior platform. I have a developer’s license for Thesis and when 2.0 came out, I was stumped. On top of that, everyone who is touting how great Thesis 2 is has a basic no-frills site that uses 2.0. The other thing is that if you are familiar with Thesis, you can easily tell when others are using it because they look the same. I just bought the Pro Plus Pack from Studiopress yesterday after reading your blog. I haven’t dove into it yet but am excited after seeing your site. I just worry about the hit I will take in my Google ranking from switching platforms. I am not a WP wiz nor even close but getting better. I hope Genesis is all it is cracked up to be!
I never really used Thesis until a friend of mine gave it to me for free. I am a huge Genesis fan ever since. As a web designer, I always use Genesis for my clients because it is a lot easier to manipulate for new wordpress users.
No doubt, Thesis is great. However, when I tried using it on a “dummy” website, I can say Genesis is a lot easier and is more understandable to use compared to Thesis.
Nice article Lisa. More power!
hey Lisa !
i this theme is good and having some modify function but it is not easy to use.
I think in start i have to use a simple theme for my blog.
I am not sure how that all works, but I really like 1.85 because it’s very user friendly for non-coder and non-designers.
wow, didn’t thought it was such a problem with the new interface..
I always couldn’t decide between genesis and thesis, and took genesis in the beginning but thought in the last months that thesis has better looking themes in my opinion.. but genesis is definately easy to use.
I recently started up a blog and I use Genesis. It is very user friendly, it didn’t take me long to get everything set up and customise. I haven’t used a single code. Its perfect for newbies!
hey Lisa!
i will not switch to 2.0. i think you are right, that it has confusing user interface.
I really liked your pieces of advices.
Thanks.
I gave up on that product as well. I use to work in frontpage years ago, I liked the “what you see is what you get” drag and drop. Thesis just made me feel as though too much time wasbeing wasted designing. Thanks for the review.
Mr.MakingUsmile
Hey Lisa, I too switched over to Genesis framework sometime ago. Although I did enough experiment with Thesis 2.0 and got OK with it, it was just way too much to handle. I just wish they provide pre-designed themes like Genesis so we can at least use it without any customization. It took me about three days to make a basic layouts and fonts for my niche sites. I could’ve exported the design for other sites, but the amount of code for a simple site was just overwhelming. Anyway, so I totally understand why you made the change.
Lisa, I think it’s great that you’ve been so open about this especially the comment about commissions and everything.
Despite all of the bad press and all that surrounding Thesis 2.0 it’s still on my to buy list for 2013 – that’s probably because I like a challenge though, but it does look super powerful.
so suggest things that you have used and you are happy with them! nice post. I use genesis with eleven40. It’s just awesome. I don’t have much knowledge of HTML .. But I am able to customize it with the help of their tuts and online help. 😀
Lisa, I respect your honesty about the theme and how it has changed. I would not expect you to chase money because if anyone has followed you long enough they would know your credibility is stronger than that.
For one thing you do not need to chase a few bucks like some people who do not care about their integrity. People do not necessarily buy the products; they buy from people they trust.
It does not matter how much money you make. The money will take care of itself once you establish that you are trustworthy and not holding anything back.
Lisa you are ranked higher than a car salesman. Your reputation precedes you in everything you do.
I hate that you have to deal with doubters. It just goes to show how much influence you have.
Thanks so much Michael. Means a lot.
I uploaded the new Thesis 2.0 and quickly reverted back to the 1.85. Geez, what a nightmare.
I am currently looking for a clean, easy-to-use theme. Considering Avada from ThemeForest. Anyone have that theme yet? Or suggestions on another?
thx, d
Yeah, Thesis is a bit hard theme. We first need to understand it, it’s common functions then we can proceed comfortably with it.
I am using the theme at one of my blog and it is really working very fine for me. 🙂
I was really thinking as to which theme to use and this post of yours really helped me make up my mind. As I love a revolutionary things as well as complicated ones I will almost definitely get down to learning more about thesis two but for now I will use genesis
I hope and am pretty sure that Thesis2 will rock the show in no time, as Chris Pearson told the skins will be coming to the stores very soon which will end many of the users problems who have issues in customizing the theme..
Enormous integrity Lisa, thanks for putting readers first
Thesis is a great theme, but the interface is confusing for any beginner. But I think as more resource come out for it will be even more popular than it is now.
Mike
I love Thesis, and won’t change my theme. That being said, a little bird on my shoulder told me not to worry about updating to 2.0, so none of my versions are any higher than 1.8. Which are very easy to customize, quite user-friendly, and have no bugs that I have encountered. I don’t actively try to sell it as an affiliate, either, so that’s not an issue.
Dave, if you happen to see this comment, you could look a bit more professional and buy a domain name and forward it to the blogspot.com domain. But for what you are doing, you are probably fine. The big downside to having a free blog is that blogger.com could disappear tomorrow and therefore so would your blog. Always better to own your own online real estate, but if you really don’t want to bother paying $5/month for hosting, there are plenty of people who make money using the blogger platform, and it’s probably not going anywhere anytime soon. 😉