In this article we introduce the topic of WordPress Theme framworks and the specifc framework that this site has been launched on.
Introduction to ‘Theme Frameworks’
When styling a WordPress site usually you install what is called a theme; that is what gives every WordPress site its unique appearance and layout. A framework is still a theme but it focuses more on creating a solid code base for making sure a site is easily customised whilst retaining the most powerful features.
The actual appearance for most theme frameworks is either controlled by an options panel or via the use of ‘child themes’. These child themes require that a framework is installed so that they can borrow code from it and they simply focus on the sites appearance.
The Genesis Theme Framework from StudioPress
The Genesis Framework is something that I’m starting to use more and more in my WordPress blog and membership work. It’s reliable, customisable, easy to use, secure and has a great community around it.StudioPress is the company that produce this theme framework for WordPress and it’s fair to say that they have been pivotal in the development of the premium theme market for WordPress.
The Genesis Framework itself doesn’t look amazing out of the box but as soon as you install any one of their themes you can instantly launch a professional looking site in most cases.They also offer a special ‘pro-plus-all’ package that gives you over 40 different theme appearances for one up front payment. This is still one of the best value collections of the market right now.
Popular Genesis Child Themes
The Lifestyle Child Theme was one of the first released by StudioPress. With it’s ‘magazine’ style home page its perfect for membership site owners covering lots of different topics. It can also be useful to set up different columns for both your free and paid content.
The Generate theme was released more recently but is already gaining significant ground. It follows a more traditional blog style appearance however it features a very prominent email optin form so that you can generate leads for your business.