37 Reasons You Need the Thesis WordPress Theme
August 3, 2009
Article in: Bird Conservation
WordPress is the number one blogging platform that runs a wide range of world class blogs. But it is also the perfect choice for anyone wanting to get their new idea or product, or to just share to the world what you think. Thesis is a premium (paid for) theme that fully enhances your blogging experience. Here are just some of the reasons you should be running Thesis.
- custom.css file – place all your style changes in this file – organization is nice!
- custom-functions.php file – create functions to do all sorts of neat tricks; only requires some basic PHP knowledge
- Hooks – Thesis has a slew of hooks that let you add or remove actions (hook them)
- Filters – like hooks, filters manage content areas; the main difference is that it works on content that already exists (hence why it is a “filter”
- Quick layout changes – within the Admin controls of Thesis (aka, no coding whatsoever) you can pick between 1, 2, or 3 column designs and the widths and positions of these
- Sidebar manipulation – create functions to display your sidebar the way you want; better control!
- Conditional styling made easy – by using Custom Functions, you can call up different
.cssfiles depending on what post/page a user is viewing more on how to do this - Navigation Menu Control – choose which pages show up in your navigation; reorder them; even rename them without altering their URL/linking structure
- Image rotator – add images to the “rotator” folder and they will randomly show up when the image rotator is enabled in the multimedia box
- Post image control – add/remove borders, change default positioning and more
- Change Title Tag – choose what shows at the top of the browser window
- Add No-Index to various archive pages – SEO-friendly
- Add Canonical URLS
- Add syndication feed – just cut and paste
- Add Header Scripts – to run various javascript functions on your site
- Add Footer Scripts – good for analytics tracking code like Google Analytics
- Home Page META – the description of your site
- Number of featured posts to show on homepage – from 0 to 6; the rest are “teasers”
- Font and Font Size changes throughout – easily switch fonts and sizes to your liking
- Teasers Setup – change what shows for the smaller (1/2 width) “teaser” posts
- Feature Box – show off a specific call to action above your content (or even above your header)
- Image Rotator – display randomized photos
- Video Embed – instead of photos, embed a video
- Custom Multimedia box – add your own code to display what you want (or turn it off completely)
- Framework Options – Thesis is default as “page” but you can switch to “full-width” if desired
- Header – site name/tagline
- Bylines – date, author, etc.
- Posts – show full posts or excerpts
- Archives – titles, excerpts, etc.
- Tagging – allows you to specify where/when to show tags
- Comments – show comment numbers, change avatar size, disable comments on pages
- Sidebars – disable the default widgets (in case you are only using custom sidebar functions
- Administration – housekeeping on where “edit” links show up when admin is signed in
- No need for SEO plugins – straight from Thesis creator, Chris Pearson, there is no need for SEO plugins while running Thesis
- Lifetime upgrades – Chris is fully behind his product; his passion for improvement is amazing and in around a year’s time the platform has improved immensely from an already great product.
- Support Forum – this may be the overall best feature of Thesis. The users are amazing and willing to share their advice when you inadvertently bung up your blog. (I’ve done it numerous times). No matter what your issue, you’ll find a solution here.
- Customization tips – while these are also found in the forums they are worthy of their own acknowledgement. The users of the forum are not just correcting coding mishaps but are always spreading ideas about ways to style and enhance the already amazing Thesis.
Customization
In the realm of blogging, customization means standing out. Thesis looks great immediately after install. But for those with just a tiny bit of CSS knowledge, you’re in for a treat with all the ways of customization.
Thesis Admin Option Controls Including Design Options
All of these are found in the Thesis Admin and require no coding knowledge; you can play around with the settings to get what you want. The Admin is part of your WordPress interface.
Display Options found in Thesis Options Control
Other Great Features
Full disclosure: we are affiliates for Thesis. We purchased the developers license for $164.00 (personal license is $87) on the belief that this would be our theme of choice for years to come. It’s been about a year and we know we made the right choice. From Birdfreak.com’s creation to the switch to Thesis we had gone through many design changes trying to find one we were happy with. Each time was a headache of trying to figure out what colors to use, which files to edit, etc. Thesis removes the headaches and lets you focus on your content.
Get Thesis Now and we guarantee you’ll be happy with it. Feel free to contact us if you want more details.
How to Add Custom Code Above the Comments In Thesis
January 22, 2009
Article in: Product Reviews
Thesis is the easy to use, highly functional WordPress coding framework that runs Birdfreak.com. This is a simple way to add custom code in a place where there is no hook designated for it: right before the comments begin. This tutorial is for Thesis Version 1.3.3. and will allow you to customize similar to what is visible at copyblogger.
UPDATE: Thanks to Rick Beckman, Thesis coding expert, we finally figured out a more efficient way to do this. Please see below ☟ (Add your own styling and commentary as you see fit.)
Insert the following code into your custom_functions.php file:
function thesis_advert_post() { ?>
<?php
if (is_single()) { ?>
<?php echo "<div id=\"thesis-ad\"><h3>Birdfreak.com Runs on Thesis</h3>
<p><img class=\"rightframe\" src=\"http://birdfreak.com/thesis-screenshot.png\" width=\"200\" />Thesis is the world's best <a href=\"http://www.wordpress.org\">WordPress</a> theme whether you are just beginning a blog or running a fully featured online publishing business. With its amazing ability to customize and the groundbreaking use of hooks to arrange content, even non-code geeks can easily get on board.</p>
</div>"; }
?>
<?php }
add_action('thesis_hook_after_post', 'thesis_advert_post');
Check out our complete review of Thesis and you’ll soon know why it is the best WordPress theme out there.
Using a program such as Adobe Dreamweaver CS4
comments.php. At the beginning of the file paste the following code:
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Complete Review of the Best Premium WordPress Theme – Thesis
January 19, 2009
Article in: Product Reviews
As a promoter of bird conservation, it is vital to have a versatile, clean site that is easily found by those searching and yet be functional when those visitors arrive. Thankfully, blogs make this easier and by adding a great theme, you have the groundwork for greatness.
Thesis by Chris Pearson provides a solution to all your behind-the-scenes customization leaving you more time to work on content and other marketing methods. Is Thesis really the best premium WordPress Theme?
For starters, Thesis provides coding framework [HTML + CSS + PHP] that is completely search engine friendly. No other theme available is as efficient at simplifying search engine optimization (SEO).
If you aren’t into the whole “coding” thing (or if you enjoy making things easier) you can make use of the the Thesis Options panel built right into the WordPress admin panel.
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