A couple of weeks ago I introduced and reviewed the Affiliate Theme, which I called the perfect WordPress blog theme for marketing.
In the comments to that review, some people mentioned they were using the Thesis Theme, which is also a very powerful theme for WordPress created by Chris Pearson and Brian Clark, two very respected bloggers.
Custom themes for WordPress like Thesis and Affiliate Theme make it MUCH easier to maintain a professional blog, especially if you don’t know how to manipulate code like HTML and CSS. You can use these themes to easily change the design and look of your blog, they are very well optimized for search engines and give you a lot more power of your blog than the default WordPress set-up.
Which Theme is Better? Thesis or Affiliate Theme?
In response to feedback on my Affiliate Theme review, it was clear people wanted to compare it to the Thesis theme.
Joel Williams (BlogTechGuy.com), who is the technology mentor in my private forum for paying students, is a regular user of Thesis, so I invited him to write a review of it and then do a cross comparison between Thesis and Affiliate Theme.
If you’re looking for a robust and powerful theme for your WordPress blog, have a read of what Joel has to say below, read my review of the Affiliate Theme and then decide which one to go with.
Thesis Blog Theme Review
A lot of blog owners are looking for a middle ground between a free, but generic blog theme and a unique, but expensive custom theme. This gap has been filled with the “premium” theme, a paid for theme that is not unique, but comes with admin options and customer support. There are a wide variety of premium themes out there, but Thesis is perhaps one of the most well-known and used.
What is Thesis?
Simply, it’s a WordPress theme, but it is much more than that. It is often described as a “theme framework” due to the fact that many different styles and types of theme can be created from Thesis.
Created by Chris Pearson, and expertly supported by Rick Beckman, the theme has been through a major series of regular updates, continually adding new and user requested features from the 3,000+ users.
It allows the user a huge amount of control through two control panel menus. One is based on configuration options that I won’t go into detail but include options such as what pages to include in navigation, what information you want to show about each post, some display options, Feedburner feed URL and any header or footer scripts that you wish to include.
The other menu, Thesis Design Options (pictured) really give the theme massive flexibility. In the current version (1.5) some of the options include:
- Being able to select how many columns you want
- Where you want these columns displayed
- The exact width of each of these columns
- Whether you want a standard homepage, or “Features and teasers”
- What type, and size, of font you want in all the different sections of the theme.
“Features and teasers” is a new option that allows you to have a front page that is more of a magazine-style theme, showing featured posts and a short excerpt of other posts. Previously you would have to choose between a theme with a traditional blog homepage or a magazine-style theme. Thesis gives you the option to choose either version within one overall theme.
The theme also adds a large number of options to the Write screen, including the ability to add custom images to each post and add media to the multimedia box. This box is a superb feature that allows custom videos, images (or even ads) to be added on a post-by-post basis. You can even have a custom style just for that post if you have set it up in your stylesheet.
Last but not least are the SEO options that allow you to control the SEO of each post when you write it, making this one of the most powerful themes for SEO control.
Customizing Thesis
As well as the in-built menu options, Thesis also allows great flexibility in customizing the theme using a custom stylesheet. Kept separate from the core theme files, the custom folder allows you to keep any custom changes even when you upgrade the theme to the latest version.
There is also a system of hooks that allow you to add your own content into various parts of theme. This can be a little advanced to go into here, but if you have Thesis take a look at the OpenHook plugin that simplifies this process and adds massive functionality without having to edit a custom functions file.
By default the theme works beautifully in all major browsers, and even with extensive customizations I have never noticed any problems with the core theme.
It also comes with some sidebar widgets that are automatically installed. The “Killer Recent Entries” widget allows you to show all recent posts or only those from a certain category, and you can add the widget as many times as you like.
The “Subscriptions” widget simplifies the insertion of Feedburner code to give your readers the option to subscribe to your site. Finally, the “Google Custom Search” widget helps you add your Google CSE code to your sidebar.
There are also some extra built-in text styles that you can use to add a little more pizazz to your site, as long as you know a little HTML. You can add a drop-cap, alert box, a note box, or even wrap text around adsense ads. All of these are covered in the user guide, and the styles and appearance can be customized through your custom stylesheet.
Using the configuration options you can choose what pages and categories to include in your navigation menu (no more manually changing PHP code) and even add in links to elsewhere to the menu easily.
How Good Is Thesis Support?
A great theme deserves great support. While some other premium theme support forums are lacking in responses and depth, Thesis has a wonderful support forum.
Responses to queries are quick, friendly, and for the most part the solution to your problem can be usually be found by searching. I’ve never had the need to contact support directly, but I’ve been told they’re efficient and, for lack of a better word, supportive. Free lifetime access for the purchase of the single theme is a wonderful benefit.
They recently began releasing video tips and tutorials that I think will be a massive benefit to the new Thesis user who may be wondering where to start. Currently there are only a few videos, showing how to use the Subscriptions widget (one of the first things a lot of new bloggers want to add), how to customize the footer, and how to style the comments link number. A short time ago they also released a video on using a web tool (Firebug) to simplify the task of writing custom CSS code to style your site.
Check out the full list of features at the Get-Thesis page –
http://diythemes.com/thesis/get-thesis/
Who Would Find Thesis Useful?
Paying for a theme is often the last thing a new blogger wants to do, especially when there are so many great free themes available. However, this particular theme is worth the price if you want control over your blog layout and want to be able to easily change your layout, font and display settings without having to wrangle with code.
Even those who are comfortable with code will find the theme powerful as it allows you to implement things much more easily than with other themes, yet still allows the flexibility to customize to your heart’s content.
What I love about Thesis is the constant innovation, and improvements to the theme. Even with the single-use option you receive free lifetime updates and by using the custom stylesheet you can always have the latest features available without losing your customizations.
What I Don’t Like About Thesis
All themes have problems. In Thesis, the options can be a little overwhelming to newer WordPress users; it’s a difficult balance between adding functionality and adding too much complexity.
I would like to see a color picker for the fonts (as well as size and type already offered). Also the fact that the custom stylesheet is in a sub-folder means it cannot be edited through the WordPress dashboard theme editor.
The multimedia box also poses a problem for some, as code has to be entered (and understood!), perhaps the addition of a media uploader would help here? The navigation menu is more difficult to style than it should be too.
The theme is also very popular, meaning that it takes some work to make it look different from all the other Thesis based themes out there. However this can be said of most free and premium themes.
It also works best with the latest version of WordPress and PHP5. For most people this is not a problem, but for those on older servers and installations this does cause some issues.
You can find out more and download your copy of Thesis here -
http://diythemes.com/thesis/get-thesis/
What Is The Difference Between Thesis And Affiliate Theme?
Yaro recently reviewed the Affiliate Theme and it’s interesting to look at the differences between the two.
|
Feature
|
||
| Layout Chooser | Yes | Yes |
| Exact layout widths | Yes | No |
| Color Picker | No | Yes |
| Optimized for SEO | Yes | Yes |
| Simple install and go | Sort of | Yes |
| Code free header and background changes | No | Yes |
| Support | Forums, video tutorials | Forums, video tutorials |
| Single-use Cost | $87 with lifetime upgrades | $97 with no upgrades |
| Multi-use Cost | $164 | $147 |
Both themes are great choices and are setting high industry benchmarks with their excellent admin panels. The themes are not directly comparable as I believe they fulfill different needs.
For quick, easily changeable sites, then Affiliate Theme would be my choice, but for permanent brand-building blogs then Thesis is a better choice if you are prepared to do some work to customize the design and colors.
Thesis is a framework, and an excellent gateway to achieving a custom theme with a powerful admin panel. It takes some work to get there, but it’s worth it as Thesis is one of the most powerful and flexible WordPress themes.
If you want more details, visit the Thesis website –
http://diythemes.com/thesis/get-thesis/
Joel Williams
WordPress Professional
Read quite alot of reviews about this Thesis theme but some of my friends have met problem with this thesis and it isn’t as flexible as expected.
This is really great. I had been considering purchasing Thesis for quite some time. I really like the product reviews that you do as well.
While I am currently not into affiliate marketing, all this information is quite useful.
Great info, thanks Joel. If you’re a non techie (like me) I think when it comes to blog themes of any sort but especially the free themes, it’s worth getting someone who is technical to look over it before going ahead with it (wish I’d done that).
Whilst I’m really pleased with the look and feel of my site, I had to get a lot of the work done by someone else as the code needed work and there wasn’t a whole lot I could do through the dashboard to make the changes I wanted and to improve the SEO. I’m stoked with the end result but given I’m code challenged, I had to pay for it.
Thanks Sami. I think most bloggers are in your situation and you blog certainly looks good.
I like Thesis a lot. In my opinion it’s much better than Affiliate Theme. Although I didn’t use AT at all but I’m using Thesis for two of my sites. It’s so great when you can customize theme in admin panel.
I actually don’t like thesis. I bought it for my site, and I didn’t have a clue how to use it. Coming from blogger, which was so easy its silly, I found myself wasting so much time trying to figure things out.
Its not intuitive at all, and there are a ton of free wordpress themes that have a better look and feel.
I’d save yourself the $87.
Yaro, I just love your blog, the info and all you share. Truly an inspiration to us all…
So no reflection on this review but I am with Caren. I also bought Thesis and wasted so much time trying to understand it and going on the forums etc etc.
I dont want to use code either. I did that back in 1997 when I built my first web site and cant understand why I needed to go back there. My blog is a free wordpress theme, on my own site, and I also have a static site for my art and books. It works for me. Thanks for the opportunity to comment…
Wow great and sleek looking theme, I tried going for the same look by modifing several themes together into one @ dopecool.com
Wow, I really like the amount of variables and customizations you can make to it. I’ll have to check into a bit more.
Thanks for sharing!
I will say that I love both themes. They have their own pros and cons. Thesis is by far more SEO Friendly than affiliate themes. But affiliate themes are for affiliate marketers who want to throw the theme on a site quickly and get some quick bucks…
Affiliate theme in my opinion is a no match for Thesis in SEO. Just speaking because I saw the framework of both.
Thesis: I love it – I hate it.
I’ve been blogging for about three years. I’ve built website and blogs. I’m not newbie when it comes to the behind the scenes mechanics of WordPress.
That said, I’ve been more frustrated than pleased with the Thesis Theme. IMHO, and somewhat contrary to the marketing behind it, it’s not built with ‘ease of set-up’ as it’s main attraction. If you’re a coder, you’re probably fine with Thesis. But it you’re a casual WP mechanic, it can be challenging. Even the Thesis forum, while well-intentioned, is somewhat vague in its assistance efforts.
Here’s a very helpful resource for those who wish to tough it out on the Thesis front. Marko Saric’s blog: ‘HowToMakeMyBlog.’ http://howtomakemyblog.com is the link.
He’s got some great tutorials with visuals that make it pretty easy to get the same results he’s getting in terms of design.
If I weren’t as far along the road using a different theme for BlogAsReligion as I am, I’d do a regroup. However, for the rest of you it’s really worth the time to read Marko’s slant on Thesis.
It just might make it easier…and isn’t that what we all want?
This theme is very nice. I probably will buy it. thanks for sharing your thoughts about it with us.
Great review and timely as I was already thinking of getting Affiliate Theme. Helpful to see the comparison chart for These and Affiliate.
Great review, which I read last week and decided to buy the theme for a site I am helping build at http://www.the-marsta.co.uk/
What I’ve found great is that all changes go into the custom files, and I’ve already made some changes. I just copy the normal CSS code for what I want to change to the custom file and then play with it there. I’ve already done some customisation to make it look a little less standard but want to try and replace the top menu system next with some that has some better formatting and nice dropdowns, but I love the fact that when I upgrade the template files I won’t have to worry about re-integrating all my hacking around with the CSS.
Regards, Mark.
The reviews by both Yaro originally with Affiliate and Joel with the comparison have been so helpful.
But what has really made me decide are the above comments from everyone.
Initially, I thought I’d go for Affilliate. Then reading some of the Thesis reviews on the Thesis site and seeing what it could do – I decided that thesis seems so much more flexible.
But the above comments have really done it for me. Whilst I definitely think that Thesis seems more flexible, comprehensive, and has a lot more features.
I’m not a real techie person and I want speed and ease. And so it is definitely Affiliate.
Thanks Guys for all of your comments.
Kashonia
http://www.TheLearningLovingandLaughingProject.com
Looks like its the perfect blend of simple but customizable. I can’t believe each of those examples are actually based on the same theme!
I’ve not tried Affiliate, but I do use Thesis on one of my blogs. I was hoping it was all that was said of it so that I could buy the developers license to use it on all my blogs, but I found it sorely lacking. I still use it on my Load Of BS site, but I found what I believe to be a lot better and after buying the developers license to the new theme I now run it on my other 7 blogs.
I’ve been using the Flexx theme and I’m really pleased with it. Need to look at this theme as an alternative.
Andrew
This is one theme I would seriously recommend anyone. The admin features are really well done and the support is incredible. For a non-techie this theme is a boon.
yeaah great theme for search engine, but for me it’s very expensive, in my opinion…..great theme must be unique, like yaro blog, i like the theme.
As someone that has a free wordpress theme I’ve been thinking about getting my blog self hosted and getting a premium theme like thesis.
I have concerns though. I have ZERO coding experience and know next to nothing about wordpress in general. What I want to to is change colors, font and add social media buttons and such.
So for a person like me with know coding knowledge what is my best option? I want to make customizations but it seems that thesis might be too difficult? Help me out please.
Cameron – definitely a good move to self host your blog and moving to a premium theme could make sense for you.
I am also a non-coder and hence give you some advice. I have taught myself to use WordPress. I taught myself to use and edit themes by Studiopress and IThemes. But it takes time….a lot of it….and I am still not an expert. It was enough to get me started online though.
And being a non-coder it can be incredibly frustrating some days. Support forums are great and very helpful, but sometimes the people who help are speaking a foreign language – code!
We use Thesis for all of our sites now, but I also have someone else who does the coding. I think if you’re going to go down the path of a premium theme and you want to make some decent changes to it, then:
1) you need to be prepared to spend hundreds of hours learning code, wordpress etc Possibly even thousands of hours to get good at it.
2) Spend some money and get a professional to edit it for you. You could probably go on eLance and get it for as little as a couple of hundred bucks.
If I was you I’d definitely go with option 2. (But keep educating yourself in code and WP and its functionality – but you can probably do something more prouctive with your time that spend thousands of hours learning code if it’s not really your passion).
Good luck!
Luke
Thanks very much. I will be going for Thesis Soon. I have seen it around many blogs and it just uplifts me
I have to be honest, I hesitated for a long time to “pay” for a theme. But, now I simply LOVE Thesis and I use it on a few of my blogs. I have tried other themes and they just don’t have the flexibility and SUPPORT that these has. So, I ended up getting the developer’s edition to use on other blogs. IN the end, if you are looking to stick with your blog and monitize it, etc – go for Thesis, I don’t regret it!