Once upon a time, there was a young man who wanted to become a web designer.
Trained as an engineer, he nonetheless had a great eye, an advanced understanding of SEO-friendly code, and a unique style that set him apart from the crowd. But he was just starting out and needed a break.
Thanks to a strange combination of coincidence and connections, the young man got to know a crusty old marketing guy. The marketing guy had no design skills, but he could recognize talent and great design when he saw it.
Of course, the crusty old marketing guy convinced the talented young designer to produce a custom WordPress theme for peanuts. Such is the way of life, but this time, there was a huge upside.
Or so it seemed.
The design dressed up a young blog that was quickly growing in popularity. As that blog took off, the young designer instantly had more work than he could handle thanks to the exposure. But that instant success had a dark side, as it often does.
You might have guessed by now that the designer is Chris Pearson, the blog in question is Copyblogger, and the crusty old marketing guy is… well, we don’t have to spell everything out, do we?
Here’s the rest of the story…
Basically, Chris became so overwhelmed, he stopped taking clients all together. It didn’t matter how much he was offered, he just said no every time. Part of this was my fault, as I kept telling him that doing client work wasn’t the best online business model.
Chris and I did several projects together that made him a nice chunk of change, so he disappeared for a while. He was determined to find a business model that allowed him to do what he loved (build killer themes) without managing clients and juggling deadlines imposed by others.
Enter Thesis, a high-quality WordPress theme and support community.
Just another WordPress theme? Hardly. Thesis is a search-engine optimized HTML + CSS + PHP framework equipped with an innovative options panel that makes it easy for anyone to run a professional customized blog or website (without being a code jockey).
You can check out the latest and greatest features here, but there’s much more to come. And at this point, every new and improved version of Thesis is provided free-of-charge to members, but only for people who get on board now. And in case you’re wondering, the initial users are ecstatic.
Why am I telling you this?
Well, besides being the most advanced framework for WordPress to date and extremely relevant to the Copyblogger audience, I’ve been working with Chris behind-the-scenes since the inception of the Thesis project. Now I’m coming out from behind the curtain to announce that Chris and I are partners in DIY Themes, and we’ve got bigger and better things on the way.
So, if you’re looking for a high-powered and easily-customizable framework that makes WordPress better than… well, WordPress, Thesis is certainly worth a look. As I said, charter members of the Thesis community will get huge value as early adopters, so we hope to see you soon.
P.S. For all you affiliate marketers out there, I’ll have more Thesis news later this week.
About the Author: Brian Clark is the founding editor of Copyblogger, and co-founder of Teaching Sells and Lateral Action. Get more from Brian on Twitter.
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Copyblogger runs on the Thesis Theme for WordPress
Thesis is the search engine optimized WordPress theme of choice for serious online publishers. If you’re a blogger who doesn’t understand a lot of PHP, Thesis will give you a ton of functionality without having to alter any code. For the advanced, Thesis has incredible customization possibilities via Thesis hooks.
With so many design options, you can use the template over and over and never have it look like the same site. The theme is robust and flexible enough not only to accommodate a site like Copyblogger, but also to enable the site to run far more efficiently than it ever has before.
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As Chris P would say, “Sweeeeeeet!”
Awesome – I’ve been following Thesis, and I understood Chris.P (from second paragraph) and Brian early, but never did I think that you would be partners.
Killer team, as Chris says.
Brian;
You’re not that old.
Mike
“Thesis” looks quite awesome.
I’ve been looking for months for the right theme for a new set of projects – you just solved my problem. Thanks!
!!!!!! Very very cool.
This is great stuff!
Awesome!
I like the idea and features of Thesis a lot. I was actually working on a few of the link items in a default WP install just yesterday (Thesis would have been a plug n play option for me). A way to display recent pages rather than posts would also be nice.
A couple more things that would help me pull the trigger on purchasing the dev edition would be a layout option: 1,2 or 3 column versions via a simple click. Various colored themes would be nice as well. I’m not in the business of publishing a stock look, but a general theme layout with auto-generated CSS would be a great way to start a new site. Needless to say I’ll keep my eye on updates.
Would you recommend Thesis for an amateur at website development. Someone who would need to use SiteSell (or something comparable) to create a decent site?
Thank you.
Sigh. I’m on Movable Type, and I love it, but when I see the Wordpress themes and blogs I feel a little jealous. They’re so pretty.
Hi Brian – Thesis looks very good. But – a question. You say upgrades are free to “member” – but, members of what? Copyblogger? DIY? – Thanks. – George
Aw, I wouldn’t call you crusty. More like nicely seasoned.
Maybe this is the kick in the ass I need to move remarkable communication to wordpress & a real blog design. Hmmmmmmm.
I appreciate the story of how the copyblogger/designer relationship evolved…it kept me engaged…good luck with DYI Themes!
This is a beautiful theme but its pretty expensive especially for the developer license at 164 USD? Before I make any decision, how can I know it is the strongest SEO theme in the market?
Do you have comprehensive metrics to back it up? Was it compared with the rest of the themes over a period of time?
Thanks!
Sonia — Although I don’t advertise it on my site, I actually provide free kicks in the ass. Just let me know!
Oh, I also do continued product development at no additional charge, but the kicks in the ass are really where you gain leverage. Nothing beats the personal connection there, ya know?
Chuckling here.
Any chance of sharing some discount-love with the Copyblogger community? (That sounds unintentionally illegal, but you get my point)
One of the testimonials mentions introductory pricing.
Sonia: call me.
Brian: you’re like, what, one year older than me? Crusty is as crusty does.
Thesis: Mikey likey!
This is the strategy that you teach being put into live action. Will this upload easier than plain old Wordpress?
Editor — I haven’t done any comprehensive analysis on the SEO front, so if you want to crucify me for that, it’s well-deserved. Be that as it may, there is a *ton* of information available on the Web about optimized markup, and you can easily view the source on the Thesis demo site to see just how detailed the markup really is. For what it’s worth, I’m an ardent perfectionist, and when it comes to code, I can assure you that it’s nice to have a ceaseless pedant on your side.
Finally, I see that you’re already using Neoclassical on your site. Maybe I’m being presumptuous here, but it seems perfectly reasonable that you might think Thesis is just a marketing ploy that offers no real benefits over your current free theme. In reality, the entire reason I developed Thesis was because I wanted to take themes further than they’d ever been taken, and in order to do that, I need to get paid along the way. Honestly, I just want to spend my time building something incredible and not worrying about clients, and I can’t do that without an income stream. What better way to go about it than to marry the two, right?
Chris Pearson, you’re a king my man, never forget that. This is amazing.
I just bought and installed it, but it broke after I upgraded to WP 2.6 which has just been released; among other things, the checkboxes for ‘Select pages to include in nav menu:’ don’t stick, they’re unchecked after clicking the Big Ass Save Button.
Update: this and other problems have been solved by a simple hack as posted in the Thesis support forums.
Jaap — Can you believe WordPress didn’t tell me they were gonna change this? No IM, no email, no Tweet, no nothin. The nerve.
Anyway, a fix will be out on the Thesis demo site within the next couple of hours. In the meantime, the aforementioned hack will work for the bleeding-edge 2.6 adopters.
Chris or Brian,
I’m considering switching to Thesis (although I love Neoclassical a lot — this is a tough decision) but something troubled me.
Brian wrote”And at this point, every new and improved version of Thesis is provided free-of-charge to members, but that’s not going to last forever.”
Does that mean if I buy a Developer’s license I won’t really have “Lifetime theme upgrades?”
I’m sure I’m reading something wrong here. Could you help me out?
Thanks,
–Greg “The Undead Rat”
Thesis kicks tall ass.
I wanted to say something in response to the seo question. While I have multiple blogs, my “baby” is Self Help Daily.com. I have only used Chris Pearson designed themes on SHD. In a very competitive field, SHD actually shows up first in GOOGLE when you search the terms Self Help Blog.
Apparently, GOOGLE loves his work as much as I do.
Also in GOOGLE, my “office supply blog” also shows up first for those keywords. Like SHD, it has the Thesis theme.
I recently changed my recipe blog (buttermilkpress.com/blog) to Thesis and am, for the first time, actually, very proud of the way it looks. Thesis looks clean, professional, and the typography is the best online.
Blog themes are like everything else in life – you get what you pay for. If you’re in this business to make money, you should most definitely have a premium theme. It lets people know that you take your work seriously.
Plus, having a premium theme reflects well on you. The blogging community knows which themes are paid for and which are freebies.
One more thing, when you purchase the Thesis theme, you get more support than you could ever hope for. Not only is there a manual that spells everything out beautifully – there’s a cool little forum as well. Creative geniuses frequent there and I stop by periodically to pick up what they drop.
The energy and passion Chris has for his work is contagious. Plus, his sense of humor always makes me smile. If you haven’t bought the Thesis theme, do the smartest thing you could possibly do and buy it. Then go out and celebrate your purchase with a sexy little Starbucks drink.
Thesis is an awesome theme.
Greg, sorry… I could have said that better.
Anyone who buys Thesis now gets all the upgrades included. What I meant to communicate was that eventually, we’ll revise the offer to be less comprehensive regarding included updates, so it pays to get on board now.
Welcome back, Chris. That’s a nice way to return, too, and I wish you muchos success so you can go drink on the beach again – only this time, not to run away from the crunch of fame. I know how tough it can be.
Yes, everyone, what she said
Thanks, Joi, although I think you know a thing or two about running a good site… Your sites’ successes are reflective of your desire to make it happen, and to make it happen right!
James, are you kidding? I’ll never make it to the beach.
That would require at least 45 minutes sitting in traffic on the 10, and that might kill me.
Chris – I used the neoclassical theme only on one website and I must agree it is by far best (coded) compared to other themes I have used and tried out – impressive.
I think that is a valid point that you need to have an income stream, fair enough. I appreciate it man.
Question, Is there an upgrade path if I choose to buy the personal license for now and decide to get the developer license later on?
Yes, you can upgrade to the developer’s license at any time for $77 (at least until the price goes up, which is TBD and not something I’m going to spring out of nowhere). At this price, the total cost to you would be $164, which equals the price of the standalone developer’s license.
“Thesis” looks like a cool theme…Look fwd to hearing more about the new themes.
@ Chris – beats my two hours and some…
Wow—I hope you have a driver.
And a Mercedes Maybach 6.2 with a stocked cooler.
Brian,
Thank you for the clarification.
I love Neoclassical, but I think it may be time for a switch.
–Greg “The Undead Rat”
Hi Brian,
I was wondering if your theme can support many languages, like right-to-left languages -Arabic-. I didn’t see such option in your theme panel
Thanx
Amer
I couldn’t agree with Brian more. I’ve bought the Thesis theme and it seriously make the whole process of setting it up, modifying it and running it a cinch. It’s one of the most flexible and SEO friendly premium themes on the market today and Chris just keeps making it better with every upgrade.
But, you’re not just buying a theme. You’re buying a whole freakin’ support system that is managed by Chris himself. I believe Chris has mastered the art of customer service and you’ll only need to ask him a question to find out how unbelievably good he is.
Absolutely no regrets if you do any sort of business with Chris.
Amer — Thesis 1.0 is completely set up for localization; the only missing pieces are the .po files that pertain to different languages.
I’m honestly not 100% sure how the translations work, but I assumed (perhaps wrongly) that you had to know a particular language in order to create a .po translation file reliably. I had hoped that in time, the community would create these files on their own, simply because I’ve seen a bunch of plugins develop along those same lines.
Either way, the internationalization issue is definitely something I want to tackle in the near future, and I welcome any and all ideas on the topic!
Kevin — Incidentally, “the art of customer service” looks a lot like a chicken running around with its head cut off.
Looks pretty solid. As we bring up some new blogs, thesis looks like the way to go
Brian and Chris have done a phenomenal job at creating and marketing the Thesis theme.
I happened to purchase it just yesterday and found a bug with WordPress 2.6 as I like to stay on the bleeding edge with my WP installation.
In any case, I managed to figure out a little hack for the problem, but had already reported it on the support forums. Chris had replied within the hour and within a few more hours the problem was resolved with an incremental release.
I am impressed with the ease of use of the theme so far, but I have much further to dig into it. From some of the examples of its use, Thesis is extremely customizable, and the underlying code generation is very clean.
If you are looking for a good starting point for a professional blog theme, Thesis is well worth the money.
I came over here from the Thesis support forum to cheer and support Chris in this endeavor. I love my theme and I am someone who has very basic CSS knowledge but I am able to make some tweaks here and there to make the theme the way I like it. I love it. Highly recommend it to everyone.
All I am really missing is a nice little logo, which I am working on…[g] Take care.
Hi Brian, really nice job, now I think now i can make my shopping blog much attarctive. thanks again
@Chris Pearson, didn’t check comments yesterday, so did not realize that ass-kicking was a free add-on. Now *that* is a deal!
Looks interesting. I think Precise Edit could benefit from Thesis!
It’s a great looking theme but that price is a smidge prohibitive for the amateur guys like me, I think. Although with the current GBP/USD exchange rate… hmmm…
I’m giving myself another day to consider whether I should dump weeks of work on my own design and go with this… this looks soooo much easier to accomplish what I want to do.
I agree that options on layout would be nice – 2 columns instead of three, possible shifting the sidebars to the left, and easily changing widths.
I’ll probably do it… best of all, will be a great way to also show support for the folks behind Copyblogger.
Thanks for the site. I’ll use the theme for my site. Please post an article on some of the best wordpress themes. I’ll be very happy if you do that for me. Thanks.
Thanks for the background info. I agree that you should share some free and fast loading WP themes especially 3 column ones if possible.
Looks interesting!
Thanks for letting us know about it.
As a common wordpress user, I found this quite helpful. Thank you for the information!
“Managing clients” .. why .. that’s not hard, is it?
No, just kidding. Actually, a light bulb went off when you said that!
This sounds great, and very sensible!
OMG. How I wish I have such money to buy this theme. I really want to grab it.
Chris — I have finally decided to buy the thesis theme and it is awesome. Also, I can’t wait for the Cosmo theme. Thanks a lot for creating this.
I’d love to purchase and switch to Thesis, but I need dropdown menu for subpages. Any chance this will be a feature in a near future?
Since a couple of people asked about the SEO aspect of Thesis, I thought I’d post a quick note here. When it comes to SEO, the proof is in the pudding, right? Do a Google search on “thesis theme” and look for “http://www.thesistheme.org/” in the results.
At the time of this posting it isn’t in the number one position, and for good reason it may never be, but it isn’t far behind either. And that’s for an almost brand new blog. Not too bad, IMO. Chris does good work.
Инфа интересная, мне понравилось. Автору спс.
“Thesis” looks quite awesome.