Welcome to Jennifer Wilson, today’s guest contributor! I first found Jennifer at her beautiful website, Simple Scrapper. Simple Scrapper uses Thesis (my favorite Wordpress theme), so today Jennifer is going to talk about a couple of reasons why she loves it! Thank you Jennifer, and congratulations on becoming the new editor-in-chief of DigiShopTalk!
Why is it that we love Google or Adobe or Apple? Is it because they have great products? Well sure. But even more so, we have trust for these brands because there is an amazing community of users supporting them! This too is a key reason why so many bloggers are flocking to the Thesis theme.
There are thousands of free themes for the WordPress blogging platform and perhaps as many that are for-a-fee. But not until Chris Pearson released Thesis was there an elegantly beautiful and finely crafted (inside and out) theme that was both super simple and robustly supported.
There are many posts touting the wonders of Thesis (just Google “I Love Thesis Theme”), so I wanted to highlight just two ways DIYThemes hits it out of the park.
Uber-simplicity
From the interface to the drag and drop layout design, Thesis touts many features to make your life easier. However, there is one area in which the developers have gone above and beyond – custom coding.
Many bloggers are regular people, sometimes writers, first and foremost and not coders. This huge crowd is largely self-taught in web programming and often clams up when it comes to editing code.
Thesis takes this fear away. With just two files, custom.css and custom_functions.php, you can modify nearly every single graphical or functional feature of your theme. You never need to touch (or even find) the original code since using these files overrides any default parameters.
If you want to go one step even simpler, check out the Thesis OpenHook plugin. This essential tool gives you areas to customize your CSS and PHP directly within WordPress – no FTP required!
Hearty support
As I mentioned, Thesis offers unparalleled support for its users. Their Web site includes an essential knowledge base of information, including regular blog posts highlighting useful features.
Even more importantly, your purchase of Thesis ($87) entitles you to lifetime upgrades and membership in the support forum. With active feedback from both moderators and other users, this community can answer nearly any question you could generate!
Adding to this built-in support network is an extended family of Thesis enthusiasts, including bloggers who share their tips and tricks for making your blog purely unique. Both ThesisHacker and ThesisThemeHQ are excellent resources to help you on your journey from Thesis newbie to pure expert.
These are only two such areas where Thesis makes other themes want to hide in the corner. I’ve personally chosen Thesis because I know I can count on both the developers and the user community to make my blogging even better.
Do you have questions about Thesis? Ask them here and I’ll visit Texas Chicks Blogs and Pics again with answers just for you!
Jennifer S. Wilson wants to help you find more time for what you love. She shares her passions for productive creativity and simple memory keeping in her blog Simple Scrapper and as the (new) Editor-in-Chief of the DigiShopTalk Insider, the premier online magazine of the digital scrapbooking community. Jennifer also offers copywriting, marketing and web design services through her personal Web site (jenniferswilson.com).
{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }
I use Thesis and absolutely LOVE it!!! It has made designing my personal space on the web so much easier and took a lot of the intimidation out of it.
.-= Monica@DailyDwelling´s last blog ..Just a Redneck at Heart =-.
This is a great explanation of why sometimes it is just better to PAY the money and get it done right. Many of us work on a shoestring, but some money is well spent when it buys you time and peace of mind. Great post, Jen!
.-= Jenn White´s last blog ..We’ve made some changes! =-.
Jenn,
I so agree! It’s so easy to blog completely free, but the bang for the buck is immense sometimes when you put a little money into it. Not to mention the time savings!
I’ve looked at the Thesis theme when I saw it recommended by Erin, and you’ve offered very practical answers as to why I should consider it. Honestly I was intimidated by it but you seem to make it sound do-able. Thanks for the breakdown of advice.
.-= wayoutnumbered´s last blog ..Check Me Out =-.
I’m a new thesis theme user and I’m loving it !
.-= Roseli A. Bakar´s last blog ..Blogging Demystified =-.
I have been using Thesis from 4 months and I highly recommend this theme to all.
It’s SEO and typography is amazing, more over Customization of Thesis might feel little
tricky at the beginning but once you get kick of it, you will enjoy editing and modifying this theme.