One of my favorite WordPress themes – Thesis – has in the last week released an update with some pretty cool features.
My strategy with blog design is like this. I generally aim towards a completely customized blog design that will give my blog a distinct look and brand – but before I work towards that I almost always start with a more affordable option because I like to test to see whether the blog is going to work or not.
As a result I’ve always been on the look out for great themes and when Chris Pearson and Brian Clark started DIYthemes and released the Thesis theme I was keen to test it.
I used Thesis as the first theme on TwiTip and have been very happy with it.
I’m actually about to release a complete overhaul of the design of that blog (completely custom) but in the year or so since TwiTip’s release I’ve been more than satisfied with Thesis. It’s been easy to use, it’s set up really well by default for Search Engine Optimization and it’s been easy to add extra things in (like advertising spots etc).
I never did much with changing much of the default design on TwiTip but many bloggers use Thesis as the basis for quite impressive customizations. You wouldn’t know it to look at but blogs like Chris Brogan, CopyBlogger, Laughing Squid and Rae Hoffman all use Thesis as the basis for their blog design.
The new update for Thesis (you get all these updates for free if you’ve already got it) takes the version up to 1.6. It includes new navigation menus with drop down menus and the ability to change colors throughout the themes without having to get into the code.
I’m told also that Thesis 2.0 is also being worked on and promises to be a fantastic update.
PS: here’s a cool video that shows just some of what Thesis is like to use – in it Chris Pearson plays around with changing the default layout in a number of ways to shot you how you can begin to customize it.
I’ve recently purchased the new Thesis 1.6 theme for one of my blog. And I absolute love it.
For all the functionality they offer, I consider it as a really bargain!
I’d have to agree with Peter, another Thesis 1.6 user here and I simply love it.
I did customize my design quite a bit, but it really was a breeze.
And with thesis OpenHook, it was even simpler. I could do everything I wanted without having to touching a single core file.
Can’t wait for the V2.
Thesis theme has very neat and clean look. That is what I like the most about the Thesis theme.
Drop down menu was one thing I thought it lacked. Finally 1.6 version filled up that too.
I am going to buy it very soon.
Thesis 1.6 makes blog customization even easier.
I just love Thesis Theme !
Sure it looks clean baut I don’t have enough money anyme to purchased it..!!! T.T
A lot of folks have a hard time imagining what can be done with Thesis. Check out my design at http://www.RyanShell.com – it’s 100% Thesis. So many options… and it’s 100% on point from a SEO standpoint. Also, the DIY forums provide a ton of help!
Ryan
Hi Darren,
Thesis is one of the best WordPress theme.It’s not complicated to customize.It’s hooks gives the more power to customize it easily.
Even I know that it’s best for SE due to its SEO features.
And the V 1.6 is awesome thesis with some new changes of 1.5.1 like custom file editor and navigation styling feature.
I’ve been using Thesis on my blog for a little over a year now and I love it. I just upgraded to version 1.6 last week and now I’m thinking of hiring a designer to customize my blog completely. If anyone is on the fence on whether to get Thesis, I would recommend that you get it.
I like the thesis theme. One of my agenda for my blog is to get a thesis theme. I hope I can achieve that.
Seems like a cool theme, I’ve been hearing more and more about it lately..
I’m sure it is a really good theme however I have visited a number of blogs today and they are still fighting with it. So, until they get their blogs back up and running and work out the kinks I’m inclined to steer clear of Thesis.
I’m currently happy with my theme but every time I see Thesis, I’m tempted to switch over. Undoubtedly, when the time comes for my redesign, Thesis will be on the top of my list of options.
Darren,
as a new blogger who is a bit unsure as to whether or not to make the jump to a premium theme, this post has pretty much sealed the deal. Thanks mate. Greg
It’s a great theme. If you’re not a real coder I wouldn’t touch it without also installing the (free!) Open Hook Thesis plugin though.
I like the look of the theme, but I’m trying to determine it’s real self-worth. Looks like it’s popular, but don’t know if that’s due to it having an affiliate program.
Scott – it does have an affiliate program but is also very good. I didn’t have to use it on my own blog at TwiTip but did because it’s genuinely good.
This theme has lifetime updates. It is also continually in development with new features and improvements.
Thesis continues to blow my mind.
A blogger i read alot uses this same template for his blogs and new blog projects.Ya this looks nices i might use this.
this theme is great! good work i really love the work
Network Marketing
I like the clean look, it’s very simply yet very effective.
This one is really cute. and simple
I do agree with you on the power of Thesis. That is why I switched from One Theme V2.0 even I invested in One Theme V2.0 100$. Now I am happy with Thesis and hope to get more features for V2.0
Thesis theme is my dream theme for my blog. But still, can’t afford it. :(
I am using blogger blog, Blogger blog are so attractive like wordpress blog, So I think that I can not drive much traffic on my blog.
Personally I’m not one to like the themes that are automated on the backend… however I do like Thesis! There have been other similar themes like Affiliate Theme… but Thesis does a much better job!
Thanks Darren!
Joe
A very useful theme. I like it!
Hi Darren,
I’ve updated thesis theme to version 1.6 for my blog yesteday. I really love this update as there are options for you to change the color of the background, page, primary text and link. What’s more, with custom file editor, you can tweak around with the CSS.
I’ve took about 2-3 hours for the migration and the procedures are not straight forward. But, I do enjoy the overall progress.
Cheers~~~
I upgraded http://www.TheMommyInsider.com to Thesis 1.6 last week and love it. The biggest difference for me is the ability to add the drop down menu easily from the Thesis options and not have to code them in manually. I’m having a little trouble with the styling the menu (finding the right styles to use) but I’m sure if I look in the forums I’ll figure it out quickly.
It is a very nice and simple theme. I love thesis.My blogs are running on thesis.
Thanks very much for telling this. I have used Thesis before, but I don’t know now it is the latest version 1.6. Thanks for your posts. I will try it for my blogs.
Darren,
Just wanted to say good article. My wife and I use the thesis theme for our website http://www.inspirationtheride.com. We love the way you can totally customize it. Even if you don’t know a lot about coding, the forums provide a great resource to be able to find all the information.
Also, wanted to say that your book Problogger: Secrets for Blogging your way to a Six figure income was great. My wife and I used it as part of our initial research when beginning our blog (we actually just mentioned your book in our latest post) and we include it on our marketplace page under blog resources.
Lastly, thanks for continuing to provide all the great content through your website. I have a few emails in my inbox I am waiting to implement.
I wish you the best and much abundance for years to come.
Take care
Nice vid and themes Darren. Thanks for sharing.
Thesis has been a godsend to me. I am anything but a techie but have managed to get my personal blog (www.inspiratus.org) into the top 3 on several Google searches and even built a nice looking site for a friend’s company (www.corehomeimprovement.com) and this from a guy who doesn’t know HTML, CSS, or anything else (except the power of good, compelling content). If you’re on the fence about Thesis, go for it. Lots of support out there.
Running thesis on most of my blogs, and I love it. makes upgrades easier, and very customizable – even more so now with 1.6
I have just upgraded to thesis 1.6. I like the theme for its clean lines. Highly recommended too!
If you purchase these, do you have to post their ad on your site or be an affliate? All the sites I noticed were but I’d rather have the option not to. Thanks.
I would really love to have thesis theme one of these days,it’s a great theme like the one i see on copyblogger site
I recently purchased the developers version to use it on all my sites, and it’s worth every penny. You can fine tun so many things just with the standard options. The problem with pratically any of the free themes is that you have to be a CSS or PHP wizard to customize them.
And if you have Theses, be sure to get the OpenHokk plugin to be even more flexible.
Seems that the thesis theme si very popular this days, isn’t? I’ve been considering the change of themes, but the thesis isn’t one of my options.
Hi Darren,
I’m enjoying reading your book and your problogger blog. I’m still not at the stage where I can set up my wordpress blog self-hosted, but I’ll definitely keep this them in mind for when I do. Thanks for another useful post.
There’s a small typo on the last sentence of this post:
…Chris Pearson plays around with changing the default layout in a number of ways to shot you how …
Best,
David K
I’d have to agree with Peter, another Thesis 1.6 user here and I simply love it.
I did customize my design quite a bit, but it really was a breeze.
from http://battery-store.com.au
I have 56 wordpress blog but I have no shame to say that your one blog is worth of all my blogs. And this one is the best complement I had ever given anyone. It’s really helpful and informative share.
Thesis is a great theme for wordpress if you don’t have the time/skills to edit and modify the template files yourself.
In fact the best part about thesis is the backend template modifications and options. There’s lots of customizability.
i like some of that theme. But i still find a suitable for me..
HmmmMMMmm… Very Nice New Thesis 1.6 Theme. It is so much easy to configure. I love it so much.
Do You ?…
Thanks for letting us know about this. I guess I will wait for it to be released and will see how others are doing before upgrading.
A must try. Why didn’t I hear this before… *sigh* :)
While it’s great to see all of these laudatory comments about Thesis I would like to be the voice of decent: while I do not regret my purchase of Thesis (because it IS excellent SEO wise) IMO it is advertised as a LOT easier to customize than it actually is. If you’re like me and are essentially brand new to blogging and WordPress and don’t have much of a clue when it comes to CSS and PHP be prepared for countless sleepless nights or to shell out more than a few bucks for some help in customizing.
@ Karen, I agree completely–I use Thesis as well and while I’ve been able to do a lot with the drop downs and non-coding, I’ve also had to learn a LOT of coding. Not to say that this hasn’t been beneficial, but I think users should really know what they want from a site before they buy Thesis thinking that it’s going to be easypeasy to customize.