The point of Thesis’ existence can be summed up in one word: efficiency. With each new release, this code framework solves more and more fundamental problems of running a Website, thereby making it easier for you to go about achieving your online goals.
Version 1.3.2 is no exception, and it includes some specific measures that will help you squeeze every last drop of efficiency out of the things you do to improve your site. Go grab Thesis 1.3.2 now, and then come back here to read up on the latest and greatest additions to the ultimate Website framework.
SEO Plugin Compatibility
The most exciting improvement to Thesis comes in the way of plugin compatibility. Specifically, the framework now supports both the All-in-One SEO plugin and the SEO Title Tag plugin, which are arguably the two most popular SEO plugins in the WordPress community.
The integration is seamless—if you’re using either plugin, Thesis will detect this and serve your titles accordingly. You won’t have to do a thing, and you’ll be able to keep all of your meta descriptions, meta keywords, and customized <title> tags.
More SEO Options and Improvements
Now, if you’re reading this thinking that you should run out and put one of these SEO plugins to work on your site, think again! With Thesis 1.3.2, you can specify both meta descriptions and keywords on every post or page of your site (by way of custom fields), so unless you’re already using these plugins, there’s really no need to add them. Remember, the mantra here is efficiency, and the need for fewer plugins is definitely a step in that direction.
Oh, and on that note, Thesis now detects when you last modified your custom.css file, and it ensures that users will see your latest and greatest styles instead of old, crusty, cached ones.
Finally, all archive and search pages now have their <title> tags appended with an identifier that tells users which page they’re viewing. To illustrate, simply check out the <title> tag on the second page of posts on this site (note that “Page 2” has been appended to it).
Improved Multimedia Box Functionality
When version 1.3 arrived, it brought with it some changes to the logic behind the multimedia box, and unfortunately, these changes also caused a problem with the behavior of the box. Basically, if you elected not to use it sitewide but attempted to override this setting on a particular post or page, you were unable to do so.
As of version 1.3.2, this problem has been solved, and to the delight of many of you, this new solution also provides for an unprecedented level of control over the content of the multimedia box. Now, if you select “custom code” for the box, you’ll have access to a new hook, thesis_hook_multimedia_box.
The real beauty here is that you can inject anything you want through this hook—highly targeted affiliate ads, polls, videos, content, Flash, you name it. If you were so inclined, you could literally serve something unique, targeted, and different inside the multimedia box on every page of your site.
Seriously, that’s like whoa.
Oh, but what if you’re using the box for something else by default, or better yet, what if you’re not using it at all? No problem—if you still want to access the multimedia box hook on a post or page (for injecting PHP, perhaps), all you need to do is add a custom field with a key of custom and a value of php.
New Page Template Functionality and Hooks
By default, Thesis comes with a simple page template that you can use to create an archives page with links to both your monthly and category archives. This is all fine and good, but what if you’d like to do something different with your archives page? In prior versions of Thesis, you were out of luck, but now you can use the thesis_hook_archives_template hook to make your archives template display whatever you want!
In addition, some of you may encounter situations where you need to create your own page templates. By using the new “Custom Template” page template, you’ll gain access to a new hook, thesis_hook_custom_template, and you can use that to inject anything you want into the #content_box (the space between the header and footer of your site).
Design and Layout Changes
Design-wise, the biggest problem in version 1.3 was a layout issue that occurred with Internet Explorer 6 and 7 when those browsers were set to a text size of “smaller.” The solution won’t have any noticeable effect on your site, but it does change the optimal header image widths by 1 pixel in all 2 and 3-column layouts.
Next, there are quite a few minor improvements to the core HTML and CSS. Specifically, the dt elements in the comment markup are now completely valid, and I’ve also removed all :visited declarations from the CSS that controls link styles throughout the theme.
The Bottom Line
Whether you’re operating online or off, creativity is the key to your future success. Messing with code, switching themes, and constantly changing the variables of your work environment are all things that stifle creativity and force you to fight uphill battles.
Stop settling for inefficiencies, and instead, start focusing on the creative things that you can do to extend your reach and your own effectiveness. If you’re running a Website to help you accomplish this (and you darn well should be!), then you can use Thesis to remove these fundamental site-building obstacles, and this will leave you with more time to focus on the things that will yield higher returns down the road!
Get Thesis, and quit fighting battles that are already won!
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{ 52 comments }
I upgraded yesterday, and have just been waiting on the post explaining what I had! Looks good – thanks!
Coding’s the fun part; writing posts that explain it all? That’s another story.
Whoa ! That’s a lot more than I expected from this version.
You better be careful,Theme Dude, or this over-delivering stuff will catch up with you.
This more stuff for no more money stuff is just crazy. Who thought of this anyway ?
Lots of new great stuff here Chris. I especially like being able to inject php into the multimedia box with a custom field. I’m going to put one to use right now.
Keep up the good work!
any word on being able to use the_excerpt instead of the_content?
Ouch!!! #container’s width has been changed to 99.9em from 100em. Breaks my header image, margins, padding. ( sob sob…)
Chris,
I just want to tell you that you are doing a great job!
I am very happy with Thesis!
Keep up the good work!
Nice work, Chris!
I can see you’ve been busy, but do you still plan to create the .po/.mo files for Thesis so that it can be localized for non-English users? That would be really great.
Brother, whoa! So, I could have different content in the media box on different pages if I wanted? Besides placing the hooks into the sites php file (do I simply place the php code into the file like its done with CSS?), what else is required on my part to use the various php hooks? Thanks!
Another fantastic release Chris!!
Good job!!
Chris,
thanks for the update.
One Question: How Do I create the yellow / orange textbox, you have on your starting page above the first blog post, underneath the headder, left from the mm box.
What kind of hook do I need to create such a box for myself.
I tried to find info on this subject in the forum, but I could not find any.
All the best,
Michael
Great Theme!
Shivanand — You’ll have the option to display either excerpts or content on your home page once the Thesis home page controls debut.
Nils — Internationalization is a big deal, and it’s definitely part of Thesis’ future. Right now, my development efforts are focused on adding home page controls, but once that’s done, I’ll be able to create the standard
.pofiles necessary for translation.Miguel — Yes, if you wanted, you could make the multimedia box contain different or targeted content on every page of your site. Now, regarding your question about hooks, you will always use your
custom_functions.phpfile to utilize a hook and inject content into the theme. For more info, check out this article from the user’s guide on how to use hooks effectively.Michael — I’m using the
thesis_hook_before_contenthook to display the text box above the first post on the home page. To keep this box from displaying on any other pages, I’ve placed the HTML for the box inside anis_home()conditional statement.Chris, thanks for your answer.
And what kind of html do I need to construct the box. What do I have to write to get it colored and to get a frame around it?
Michael — If you don’t mind, start a new topic over in the customization forum with your question, and you ought to get a prompt, helpful response!
Ok, I do that.
Dude, I’m waiting for magazine layout 2 months already …
Thank you Chris,
Trying out Sidebar 1, Content, Sidebar 2, woohoo.
With Thesis can i have a different ad for each post?
newkid: Absolutely!
More specific instructions can likely be found already posted on our support forum, but it would involve creating a function to output your ads. Within this function, you can use WordPress’ array of Conditional Tags to single out particular posts, categories, or whatever else, serving different ad content depending on the type of page being displayed.
Thank you for the fast reply, I’ve been eyeing Thesis for a while now but I really think its time for me to get it! Thanks again Kingdom Geek
How about making videos explaining it all? It is 2008 after all.
Videos aren’t SEO-friendly are therefore aren’t in tune with the spirit of Thesis.
Seriously, though, videos are planned, I just don’t have the software to do them at the moment. Maybe after the new year sometime.
I second the ask for videos. They would make the instructions for Thesis so much easier to understand for code luddites like me.
Add one more vote for videos. For me, and I’m sure for many others, videos would greatly speed up the learning process.
Cant wait for WP 2.7 to be released!! It boasts one a cool new feature the wp_page_menu function…@ Chris i am sure you have your eyes on that!!
Ahad: I’m still a bit unclear what
wp_page_menu()offers, besides allowing easy inclusion of a link back to the home page. Thesis already provides that, so I don’t see how the function will improve Thesis much. I dunno, perhaps I’m just uneducated on it.@ Kingdom here’s the original post.
Yup its nothing special but allows you to save some time…Sorry about the confusion…seems that i need to start exploring Thesis a little more.
Any idea when 1.4 is out? I’m looking for a theme, and I want to compare the Cosmo functionality to other themes before I buy one.
Hi there, I would like to purchase this theme but I cannot use paypal do you have any other alternative payment methods?
Wordpress has just advised upgrading to 2.6.5… I’m assuming there are no issues with Thesis ( 1.3.2 or 1.3) and I can simply upgrade WP as usual? Sorry if this should be a forum question – wasn’t sure.
Nicky Jameson: I just added this blog post about Thesis & WordPress 2.6.5; in short, it should work fine.
Need to ask a question regarding duplicate content. I intend to incorporate video into my Thesis site, with posts appearing on the home page, then being archived as they slip off the page.
I also want “video” as a menu item, with all videos available there. This means that any particular video would be available in two places — under the video section and also in the archives under whatever category — and Google would frown on that, right?
If this is the case, is there a way to deal with this?
Next item, how close are we to being able to create custom home pages (a Cosmo feature)?
And If I did create a custom home page with the blog being one of the menu items, would that be a problem because all of the updating would be on the blog page, not that static custom page. Would I be shooting myself in the foot if I was trying to get ranked for my keywords by doing this custom page?
Thanks for any help.
Hi I just got Thesis!
Was wondering which wp plugins are recommended (on a general wp blog). Is there a post on this already?
Terry
@ Terry
I wont give you a comprehensive list but for starters:
1. Headspace2: SEO your blog, do it now!! This is the BEST plugin for SEO’ing your blog. Immediate results if configured properly.
2. Akismet of WP Spam Free: Akismet ships with WP, and you can find WP Spam free.
3. C Forms: Get a contact page up on your website, with C forms you can also have an INLINE form.
You can check other plugins out at the Wordpress Codex. Good luck, and what use is a blog if peeps arent reading your posts? SEO it and the sooner the better…
Videos are SEO friendly ask the number 2 search engine youttube. I would not ignore the power of video.
Searching *within* videos is a very new technology; when searching on YouTube, you’re searching video descriptions and keywords — otherwise, there’d be no need for the keywords. In all seriousness, though, what I said earlier was in jest, hence the winky-face.
Hey Kingdom Geek,
Do you recomend using Headspace2: for SEO your blog?
Jeff Link: Actually, I’ve never used *any* SEO plugins, so I can’t recommend any. I’m skeptical of most SEO advice, and simply do my best to write content for people. Then again, at my site, I’m not selling anything or conducting business, so my methods may not be suitable to most.
Also I just tried to use podpress and got this message.
(Theme Compatibility Check Required
Current Theme needs to be testedpodPress has not yet detected the “Thesis” theme to be compliant. Please visit your main blog page for podPress to re-check.
The header.php in your theme needs to be calling wp_head(); before the closing head tag.
Change this:
To this:
The footer.php in your theme needs to be calling wp_footer(); before the closing body tag.
Change this:
To this:
Look at the default theme files for example.)
Any ideas on this plug in? Since this plug in will increase my web presence by geting my content on iTunes any ideas are greatly appreciated.
Jeff Link: Is there any way to override that check? Thesis *does* called wp_head() and wp_footer(), just not in those files. I’ve not heard any one report that PodPress is incompatible.
Where are the docs showing how to use custom fields on a post for the Multimedia box, i.e. “video” or “image” custom fields? I found it once and now I can’t find it anywhere.
To use an image:
Custom field key: image
Custom field value: http://example.com/blah/image.jpg
(must be on the same domain as your blog).
To use custom code:
Custom field key: custom
Custom field value: your HTML
To use video:
Custom field key: video
Custom field key: video code, such as the “embed” code from YouTube.
Hope this helps. Not sure if the manual has anything on the subject yet or if it’s been mentioned in the past on this blog. I’m sure the forums have all this explained, just not sure where, though.
Thanks for the quick response.
BTW, wouldn’t it be great if there was (so we could easily find it again? hint-hint)
Yeah, yeah, I know, I’m woefully behind on documenting. I’m planning video tutorials, but am waiting on to get a license to ScreenFlow (~$99) so that I can make nicer tutorials; there are free products, but I don’t want a five minute limit or anything of that sort…
Anywho, yeah, definitely need to work on that documentation. Thanks for the reminder.
If you can it would be great if you could just take what you wrote in response to me and add it as a page to the manual along with an entry in the TOC. JMCTW.
Plan all your videos out. Then get the 30 day trial free trial of Camtaisa. See you in 30 days.
Jeff Link: Well, that’s a good idea… but I’m on a Mac; looks like that’s Windows XP/Vista only. :\
Comment on another blog where I guest posted: … “Hey, I love your blog! The design is awesome and the content’s great!” Proof positive that even with very little customization Thesis stands out in a class of it’s own. I’ve not done that much (yet) in terms of design, but he’s right, the the design is pretty darn awesome
I just wanted to share the comment about a super theme.
Oh my, I don’t have Thesis but knowing how great it is creates such a yearning in me!