Thesis Forums Are Now Open!
You Thesis users are a savvy bunch. You get recognized for creative design wizardry; you rock your sites in style; and more than anything, you’re flat-out smart.
Thanks to you guys, I’m happy to announce the new Thesis Forum—a place where we can get together and geek out over drop caps, color schemes, and how you got that Twitter thing in your sidebar.
I’ll see you there 
{ 48 comments… read them below or add one }
Awesome, Chris. Thanks for the shout.
I’ve been working on a new blog using Thesis, and I think it will really show the versatility of the theme…should be up by Thursday.
Perhaps I’m missing the boat here, but what is so amazing about this vs many other 3 column free templates available? My apologies if I am not immediately seeing a key feature when looking at the description.
Dan:
Chris’s themes (both Thesis and his free themes) are much more well-crafted than the typical themes out there. It’s what’s on the inside (the code) in addition to what you can see (attention to details) that sets them apart.
Jay — Killer, I can’t wait to check it out.
Dan — Good themes are more than just “interchangeable” designs that you can slap on your site to achieve a different look. Truly great themes offer you a level of optimization and refinement that you likely won’t get anywhere else, even if you purchase a custom design for your site. As a designer, I can honestly say that Thesis is more tightly optimized and detailed (literally down to the last pixel) than any client site I’ve ever worked on.
Thesis is not just another WordPress theme. It’s a piece of software that I am developing and perfecting based on the priceless feedback of an awesome user base. Moreover, because it’s a paid theme, Thesis also allows me to provide a level of support that simply wouldn’t be possible under different conditions.
Dan - as a “customer” of Chris’ I can attest that (a) not all themes are created equally (especially based on mere aesthetics), (b) if you want support, even for free themes - you’ll be hard pressed to find forums or a theme designer more open than Mr. Pearson and (c) the modifications and improvements that Chris commits to are second to none. I’m a customer of his free themes and his paid themes. I’ve also purchased themes from other designers. And spent far more for them I might add than Chris is charging. For full disclosure I should tell you I’m a fan of the minimalist approach - and I’m also Chris’ cousin.*
*not really
Sorry if this should be not the right place for this question, but I wonder what exactly I get when I buy the thesis theme. Is this with a license for one domain or can I use it on more than one domain? What if I setup a blog site for a friend, can I use the theme for this or do I have to purchase again for every site?
I am happy I’ve found your site. There are lots of information I find very useful.
Moritz — Until I roll out developer pricing (which is slated for later this evening), consider all Thesis licenses to be personal site licenses. If your friend would like to use Thesis on his/her site, then he/she should purchase the theme separately.
Of course, you are still free to help them set up the theme, but as a general rule, separate people require separate licenses.
Hi,
How about google adsense?
Soecially embedding with the post.
make150aday — Thesis comes equipped with ad-handling CSS classes you can use to integrate ads into your posts. I’ve explained them in detail in the user’s guide.
Chris, I’m quite impressed by Thesis, especially it’s scaling and typography. How well would Thesis work as a framework if I wanted to make a tradition business website… with multiple layouts, such as offered by WP Remix? (which scaling quickly brakes unfortunately)
Hi Chris, I just wanted to say thanks for doing all of this! The thesis theme has been such a great investment. I am new to website design and wordpress, so I’m really glad I went with Thesis because of all the support. It’s been really easy to figure out how to customize things how I want, and I’ve gotten so many compliments on my site. I really wanted something professional looking but that also allows nice visuals - the combination of typography, layout, and the great rotating images function is perfect for me. (Plus - I’m currently writing my graduate thesis so the name is quite appropriate for me at the moment!)
I have a question on customizing sidebar widgets to implement the categories feature you described on Pearsonified. I posted a thread in the forums under thesis troubleshooting. Not sure how much you check there; guess I’m mentioning it here in hopes that someone finds it and can answer my question
thanks again for all the support!
Eileen, your site is beautiful! I’ve just started working on mine and am inspired by what you have done!
Samuel — There is no reason why Thesis wouldn’t be the perfect fit for any type of site, regardless of whether it is mostly static (like a business) or mostly dynamic (more like a blog). In its current state (version 0.3), Thesis doesn’t come with out-of-the-box support for multiple layouts; however, you can customize and tweak the theme with ease through the use of the custom stylesheet.
Once version 0.4 (possibly to be called version 1.0) hits the streets, you’ll have way more flexibility in terms of alternate layouts and choosing what you want to display on each page (especially in the multimedia box area). Also, at that time, you’ll see the emergence of new custom style add-on mods, which will allow you to change your Thesis layout with the flick of a switch.
In time, I hope to make Thesis the must-have platform for everything on the Web. I’d like for the theme to transcend the paper-thin marketing ploys currently dotting the premium theme landscape… Specifically, I’m talking about claims of “magazine style” layouts to saying a theme will turn WordPress from a blogging platform into a CMS.
The bottom line is that a great framework should make it easier to do anything that you want to do, and that is definitely my goal with Thesis.
Eileen — It’s great to have you aboard here! I checked out your post in the forums, and hopefully, you’ll be able to find some direction from the initial response there. If not, please let me know, and I’ll be sure to point you in the right direction.
Chris, thanks for a great theme. I changed the config file to show videos instead of images. How do I add custom videos instead of those on display?
Wish list:
1. More CSS detail/guide to edit. Am using a Mac CSS application & still having some difficulty identifying things.
2. Expand the manual, especially customization abilities.
3. Question - the inline comments on this page look like the AWP plugin. Is that right? If so, am having some difficulty with the CSS on that. Any tips?
I’m pleased with your theme and although it’s a bit short on supporting info, look forward to .4 or 1.0 .
Love the new theme. I am working on a new site and the thesis theme looks like it may be the foundation. Thank you!
Hi Chris !!! you are flying and I love every bit of it. I have been a follower for years and cant wait to get hacking !! . Just a Developers Q. what made you opt for vBulletin for your forum system? I have been looking at BBpress but have had second thoughts !!
keep at it !!!
G
Hi Chris-
Looks like you are passionate about what you do. Great work.
I am a completely internet newbie (doctor) attempting to host a blog which eventually links to, or is part of, a health education authority membership site; one that hosts lots of video.
Can your Wordpress theme accommodate this or do I just use it for content and traffic and send people to a separate membership site?
I was looking at http://www.Subhub.com for the membership site hosting.
Respectfully,
Ron
I appreciate Chris’s themes because they’re very well-designed for writers; i.e. they’re great if you want the content to be what the viewer focuses on rather than the useless distractions that characterize too many blogs.
BTW, you’re a talented writer, Chris. I think that has a lot to do with your success. It’s rare to find designers who are also decent writers (and vice versa).
I’m starting a content business (print and online written material and SEO), and I think the thesis theme will be a good choice for my company website. Spending $87 on thesis will save me countless hours of design and updating work. It looks like a great deal.
However, although I like the rotating images feature, it would be nice to have a mod that allowed me to simply post a featured photo every week on the front page, and perhaps retain the decorative rotating photos on other pages. I know I can go into the code and do that myself, but I’d rather be lazy and just do it from the dashboard
Awesome! I’ll check it out. I need help.
Hi Chris,
A fantastic theme. I’m a newbie to the whole blogging thing yet, so i’m about to ask a really dumb question.
Do I need to know wordpress/php/any sort of coding to get thesis to work well for me? I used other cms softwares before, but I’m really keen on wordpress. Just want to make sure i don’t end up with something that would need expertise more than what I have to offer.
Again - congratulations and good luck!
Best Regards,
Max
Graham — I opted for vBulletin (which isn’t free) because:
Ron — As I said to Graham, I use a separate (but integrated) piece of software called aMember to handle memberships and users. I don’t know much about other membership software, so I’d be hesitant to comment on any other system!
Max — You don’t need to know any code to get Thesis to work for you. In order to make some custom modifications, you may need to wrangle a bit of HTML, but even in that case, you’ll probably be able to copy and paste code from other users in the forums.
The bottom line is that Thesis is pretty darn flexible, and as the community grows, more and more collective knowledge (and code!) becomes available to users.
Hi - I purchased the thesis theme on Thursday the 22nd of May and have not received any kind of email or a link to download. I tried to post on the forums to no avail and the only email address I could find was the one paypal gave me (sales@diythemes.com) but I haven’t received a response from that email address. I am posting here in an effort to reach Chris. I’m psyched about the theme!!
Fitz — Sorry about the problems with your account! After cross-referencing your payment with PayPal, I was able to activate your username for use on DIYthemes. At this point, you should be able to download Thesis without any trouble.
Please let me know if there is anything else I can do to make your Thesis experience a good one!
Chris - You rock. Thanks so much for taking care of that. I know this theme will be worth the wait!!
Well the forums may be open, but I am not able to post a question there without registering and in order to register, I need to purchase the theme.
Unfortunately my questions are pre-purchase questions. Sort of a catch 22 certain to turn off potential buyers.
I did email the questions using the contact form on the forums, but have had no response. Can the author of the Thesis theme please contact me using the address attached to this comment. I believe I want to purchase your theme, but have a few questions first.
Thanks.
Thank you for your email answering my questions, Chris. Hope your move went well and that your new internet connection is fast and reliable!
Hi Chris , i just found this site , its a bit weird as it talks about the theseis theme and makes it out to be you when it uses the Neo theme.
http://thesistheme.com/thesis-theme-introduction/
it just smells a bit fishy to me .
If it is you … my appologies and please delete this post
All the best Graham
Graham — Fortunately, I own that domain, so there’s no trouble there. Originally, I was going to launch Thesis on that site, but ultimately, I decided to house it here at DIYthemes. I need to implement a 301 redirect to point to this site.
Sooo many things to do!
Hi-
I decided to buy your theme. I am completely new to blogging. I have two sites that I wanted templates for. So from reading your material I assumed that i had to sign up for the “Developers License,” which I did. $164. Then I see that I still have to pay another $87 just to get the actual template… is this correct?
Ron
Hi Chris,
Can you give us an idea of when 0.4 will be released please?
Thanks
Graham
Ron — All you have to do is log into this site, and then visit the download page to grab the theme. The developer’s license gives you the whole kitty, so you’re good to go!
Graham — I’ve decided that the next release will definitely be called 1.0, and I’m developing it full time right now. Essentially, I’m rewriting the entire code base in order to allow customizations through the WordPress dashboard. Right now, there are about 600 new lines of code, and I expect the total will be closer to 1500 or so when 1.0 is complete.
I hope to have it all done next week (believe me, I’m hurrying), but you never know with this kind of thing. I’ve made huge headway of late, though, so I’m pretty optimistic!
Hey Chris
Thanks for all of your hard work! I’m looking forward to the next release. Be encouraged and keep up the amazing work!
Hi. I’m considering switching from Semiologic Pro to Thesis for my blog. Is there a fairly simple and commonly used way of switching themes and getting everything set the way you want without subjecting visitors to the switchover chaos?
In other works, can I show visitors the old theme until I’ve got the new theme looking the way I want?
Eric,
If I were in that siuation I would setup a separate blog just for development off the rot of your existing site and limit it to be viewable only by you. I would then export your current databases and import them to be used for the test site. Then switch the dev blog to thesis and start working on getting it perfect. Once you have it the way you want you can simply copy the theme over to your main site.
Thanks John. Would this necessitate getting a developers license do you think?
Eric — John’s advice about the development blog is excellent. Also, you won’t need to purchase a developer’s license for that kind of implementation because you’re really only using Thesis for one site.
Integrating a new design in this manner is actually a pretty savvy thing to do, and I’d recommend it to anyone who is looking to switch themes on an established site!
Thanks guys. Purchase made. Setting up a separate test blog and looking forward to taking it for a spin.
No problem Eric. Enjoy thesis, Chris has done some really awesome work. The best part is I am entirely positive that thesis will be ten times better with the version 1.0 that is forthcoming. Best $87 I have spent on my blogging venture that’s for sure.
Eric — Welcome aboard!
John — Thanks for the kind words! Your site cracks me up, bro.
Chris - Thanks man. My mission in life is to make as many people laugh as possible. I’m going to put a check mark next to your name. One down, 6 billion to go.
Chris,
I sent you PMs in the forum and to your email account days ago, asking for a refund as the theme is not as user friendly as I expected it to be. I feel like I am being ignored here, and now I have to ask you for a refund here as I am hoping that you will respond to this post.
Please refund my money…
This is an update to let everyone know that my money has been refunded.
I just want to note that Chris does have a nice theme here. It’s just that I am a novice when it comes to Wordpress and coding. At this time this type of theme is too technical for me.
However, I am sure that those who are more experienced with blogging will greatly benefit from this theme.
Chris,
It’s a shame you aren’t sticking around for the upcoming versions of thesis. Judging from the screenshot I saw, it makes things pretty damned simple. Also, the forums are very helpful for getting people up to speed on how to customize thesis. Hopefully anyone else that reads this will think twice about refunding and at least check out the forums first. Trust me, there are some really helpful people in there!
Chris — Ironically, I was so busy trying to improve the user experience for Thesis 1.0 over the weekend that I haven’t checked out email or the forums since Thursday. My goal is to create an environment where people don’t actually have to touch code, but unfortunately, it looks as though I wasn’t able to crank that out soon enough.
I’ve gone ahead and issued you a refund.
Hey Chris P
Thanks for your support and hard work with Thesis. I’m also a beginner, but I’m sticking around; I would be lying if I said this has been easy but I’m learning and will continue my learning.
I don’t know where I might be along in my learning of code and so on, if I never purchased the Thesis theme. So, thank you! Your theme has been both a challenge and a breeze, at least in my experience.
Chris,
I am willing to try this again, but I would need to know what changes you have made first, to make it easier for the user.
chris — Thesis 1.0 will be available for download sometime between now and Friday, and I’ll be rolling out feature documentation over the next week. There’s an awful lot to cover, but fortunately, the things you’re most interested in are also the “highlights” of the new release, so to speak.
I’d suggest grabbing the Thesis feed, and stay tuned until you decide it’s time to hop back on board!
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