December 2, 2008 202 Comments

My Site Dressed in Thesis

Thesis theme RSS readers: come visit! Today, I’m pretty pleased with my new Thesis web design. I love how clean and crisp and clear the layout is, how tidy the letters are, but that’s just the stuff that you see. It’s a premium WordPress theme, which means it’s $87 to buy. Free is usually my default first choice, but it’s when I dig into the controls behind the scene that things look really sweet. I can tell that I’m going to really love using the software to keep my design fresh for a while.

I had a little help. Chris Pearson, the Thesis theme designer, did the customizing, which wasn’t all that much work, from what I learned. He says I can even do it and not break things.

I’ve been a big advocate for Thesis since it launched, but before that, I was a HUGE fan of the design on Copyblogger.com, which was created by Chris Pearson. I used to leave comments on Copyblogger telling Brian I wanted Chris’s themes for myself.

All the time, I’d beg for them. And then one day, Pearson released a theme for WordPress users. And I rushed to use it. It was clean, delightful, and otherwise amazing. But now, looking back on the difference between beautiful and technically superior, that old theme was like something whacked together in notepad compared to Thesis.

Yes, it’s that good.

Thesis themeSo, I’m pretty hyped about this design, and I strongly encourage that you check it out if you’re a WordPress user. I know that some of you have already taken my advice from previous mentions, and if you want, throw the URL to your cool Thesis site in the comments. It’d be fun to see what you’ve done with yours. (Remember, I had some help. It’s not every day the guy who made the theme helps you work it up.)

Speaking of help, if you want help customizing your WordPress themes of any kind, I’d strongly recommend two people. Nico Pin of Snowy Day Design did my last website, and I loved it dearly. He’s a super great guy and a really helpful resource. He’s also sometimes ridiculously busy. If he is, check in with the Content Robot folks at We Fix WP. They’re very skilled and every bit as clever.

So, if you like what you see here, check out the Thesis premium WordPress theme page, and decide whether it works for you.

And if not, just say, “Hey Brogan, pretty site, eh?” Or you can gush about Pearson like I’m often interested in doing.

Thesis theme

ChrisBrogan.com runs on the Genesis Framework

Genesis Theme Framework

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides you with the secure and search-engine-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

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  • http://byteresawu.com Teresa Wu

    I normally read your blog through RSS — just checked it out and I love the way he’s tweaked the theme. There’s a lot of interactivity yet it’s still very clean.

    I’ve been a big fan of the Thesis theme after seeing it on various blogs. If only the college student budget would allow for it. :)

  • http://byteresawu.com Teresa Wu

    I normally read your blog through RSS — just checked it out and I love the way he’s tweaked the theme. There’s a lot of interactivity yet it’s still very clean.

    I’ve been a big fan of the Thesis theme after seeing it on various blogs. If only the college student budget would allow for it. :)

  • http://ariwriter.com Ari Herzog

    Congrats, Chris, for taking the leap into Thesis.

    I migrated ariwriter.com from Blogger to WordPress in early October; and upgraded to the Thesis theme the first week of November. There were many reasons why, namely wanting a minimalist theme without hacking the code and using a gazillion plugins and something that was SEO-friendly and neat. I followed the advice and inspiration of Justin Levy of primecutsblog.com, Writer Dad Sean Platt, and Phoenix Real Estate Guy Jay Thompson, all of whose blogs previously used Thesis.

    Granted, I don’t have Chris Pearson or other developers help me. My blog is a product of my sweat and tears, and every visitor, reader, and commenter has mentioned they enjoy the clean and bold feel of the blog and how my personality shines through. Thesis makes my personality all the more crisper.

    If you run across any questions, Chris, let me know.

  • http://feeds.feedburner.com/ariwriter Ari Herzog

    Congrats, Chris, for taking the leap into Thesis.

    I migrated ariwriter.com from Blogger to WordPress in early October; and upgraded to the Thesis theme the first week of November. There were many reasons why, namely wanting a minimalist theme without hacking the code and using a gazillion plugins and something that was SEO-friendly and neat. I followed the advice and inspiration of Justin Levy of primecutsblog.com, Writer Dad Sean Platt, and Phoenix Real Estate Guy Jay Thompson, all of whose blogs previously used Thesis.

    Granted, I don’t have Chris Pearson or other developers help me. My blog is a product of my sweat and tears, and every visitor, reader, and commenter has mentioned they enjoy the clean and bold feel of the blog and how my personality shines through. Thesis makes my personality all the more crisper.

    If you run across any questions, Chris, let me know.

  • http://www.tributebandreviews.co.uk Tribute Bands

    Hi Chris

    This post is very timely. I registered 2 new domains names recently and I want to create them using WordPress. I’ve been searching around for a couple of eye-catching WordPress optimised themes.

    These are the sites I have narrowed it down to:
    http://www.revolutiontwo.com
    http://www.solostream.com

    The WordPress themes on these sites look really impressive. I now have another choice…THESIS! – these look great too!

    Also, Jeff Johnson from http://www.undergroundtraininglab.com sent me an email last week inviting me to download a free SEO WordPress theme that he’s created. It never expires, I can use it on as many sites as I like and it’s mine to keep. Apparently it’s a search engine magnet.

    I’ve got some serious thinking to do.

    Have a Great Day and Thank You for always providing great information.

    John O’Hara
    United Kingdom

  • http://www.tributebandreviews.co.uk Tribute Bands

    Hi Chris

    This post is very timely. I registered 2 new domains names recently and I want to create them using WordPress. I’ve been searching around for a couple of eye-catching WordPress optimised themes.

    These are the sites I have narrowed it down to:
    http://www.revolutiontwo.com
    http://www.solostream.com

    The WordPress themes on these sites look really impressive. I now have another choice…THESIS! – these look great too!

    Also, Jeff Johnson from http://www.undergroundtraininglab.com sent me an email last week inviting me to download a free SEO WordPress theme that he’s created. It never expires, I can use it on as many sites as I like and it’s mine to keep. Apparently it’s a search engine magnet.

    I’ve got some serious thinking to do.

    Have a Great Day and Thank You for always providing great information.

    John O’Hara
    United Kingdom

  • http://passingthru.com/ Betsy Wuebker

    Love it! We’ve been dressing in Thesis, too, since early September. I customized our header, dropped the stock rotating images, and made our blog title “live” using the help of the forums and the tutorials, all in a day. Without. One. Bit. Of. Experience. Ever!

    Looking at your rss and other icons up top makes me want to do more! I love the font you’ve selected and the background color in the sidebars adds just the right touch with your background – very handsome!

  • http://passingthru.com/ Betsy Wuebker

    Love it! We’ve been dressing in Thesis, too, since early September. I customized our header, dropped the stock rotating images, and made our blog title “live” using the help of the forums and the tutorials, all in a day. Without. One. Bit. Of. Experience. Ever!

    Looking at your rss and other icons up top makes me want to do more! I love the font you’ve selected and the background color in the sidebars adds just the right touch with your background – very handsome!

  • http://Eco-OfficeGals.com Jennifer Smith

    I love the new site! The Thesis site needs to see what others are doing with their own theme, they’re dark contrast is hard to look at!
    Good work!

  • http://Eco-OfficeGals.com Jennifer Smith

    I love the new site! The Thesis site needs to see what others are doing with their own theme, they’re dark contrast is hard to look at!
    Good work!

  • http://www.BryanPerson.com Bryan Person

    OK, checking in on the site proper a couple of more times. It really is a crisp, readable font.

  • http://www.BryanPerson.com Bryan Person

    OK, checking in on the site proper a couple of more times. It really is a crisp, readable font.

  • http://blogtelling.net Lindsay

    I am glad you blogged about this – I follow along by rss feed an email and I wouldn’t have checked out the new theme if you didn’t write this post. The theme looks awesome and it is great to hear an endorsement for a paid theme.

  • http://blogtelling.net Lindsay

    I am glad you blogged about this – I follow along by rss feed an email and I wouldn’t have checked out the new theme if you didn’t write this post. The theme looks awesome and it is great to hear an endorsement for a paid theme.

  • http://prospere-magazine.com Cynthia

    Great theme, but not really something that would suit my site’s purpose, which is an online magazine.

  • http://prospere-magazine.com Cynthia

    Great theme, but not really something that would suit my site’s purpose, which is an online magazine.

  • http://www.backtype.com/phefland Peter Efland

    Great post Chris. Have long been looking at the Thesis theme. You post is one in a row pushing me closer towards taking the jump.

  • http://www.backtype.com/phefland Peter Efland

    Great post Chris. Have long been looking at the Thesis theme. You post is one in a row pushing me closer towards taking the jump.

  • http://www.sonnygill.com Sonny Gill

    I’m just glad you stuck to your word and made your header clickable ;)

    Looks great though. CP definitely does some great work.

  • http://www.sonnygill.com Sonny Gill

    I’m just glad you stuck to your word and made your header clickable ;)

    Looks great though. CP definitely does some great work.

  • http://www.mindspring.com/~dbholzel/index.html David H.

    It does, indeed, look great.

  • http://www.mindspring.com/~dbholzel/index.html David H.

    It does, indeed, look great.

  • http://www.google.com/s2/profiles/117560664691580702505 Susan KN @pinkolivefamily

    OK.. you sold me on this WordPress thesis theme… and after reading ur post again (btw – copyblogger site is great as well & love his content) ~ now I have no choice but to go with this vs. typepad which I was considering earlier (few recruiters suggested that I should consider that to start my blog). Anyways, long story short.. this inspires me so I will go ahead with it :) and looking forward to it.. I may need some help with customizing etc.. but I’ll figure it out somehow ~ so thx Chris. (p.s. how else am I going to get on ur rockstar list LOL) – it will be exciting to start one beginning of ’09. So thanks! Best always, Susan KN

  • http://www.google.com/s2/profiles/117560664691580702505 Susan KN @pinkolivefamily

    OK.. you sold me on this WordPress thesis theme… and after reading ur post again (btw – copyblogger site is great as well & love his content) ~ now I have no choice but to go with this vs. typepad which I was considering earlier (few recruiters suggested that I should consider that to start my blog). Anyways, long story short.. this inspires me so I will go ahead with it :) and looking forward to it.. I may need some help with customizing etc.. but I’ll figure it out somehow ~ so thx Chris. (p.s. how else am I going to get on ur rockstar list LOL) – it will be exciting to start one beginning of ’09. So thanks! Best always, Susan KN

  • http://www.iammikesmith.com Mike Smith

    I LOVE IT!

    I personally love the links in the footer. Nice touch.

  • http://www.iammikesmith.com Mike Smith

    I LOVE IT!

    I personally love the links in the footer. Nice touch.

  • http://oktober5.com Ryan

    Cynthia — If an online magazine is your thing, DIYThemes will soon release a new version of Thesis with magazine-style homepage replacement. I’ve also created a plugin that gives some of that “magazine” functionality like post thumbnails and excerpts much like you have on your site currently.

  • http://oktober5.com Ryan

    Cynthia — If an online magazine is your thing, DIYThemes will soon release a new version of Thesis with magazine-style homepage replacement. I’ve also created a plugin that gives some of that “magazine” functionality like post thumbnails and excerpts much like you have on your site currently.

  • http://www.jungleoflife.com Lance

    i just updated my site to the Thesis theme over the Thanksgiving weekend (much funner that fighting the crowds at all the stores!!). And, I’m loving the new design.

    Yours looks great here, Chris – nicely done!!

  • http://www.jungleoflife.com Lance

    i just updated my site to the Thesis theme over the Thanksgiving weekend (much funner that fighting the crowds at all the stores!!). And, I’m loving the new design.

    Yours looks great here, Chris – nicely done!!

  • http://franklinbishop.net/ Franklin Bishop

    Could I use your old theme? I loved it!

  • http://franklinbishop.net/ Franklin Bishop

    Could I use your old theme? I loved it!

  • http://www.billpetro.com Bill Petro

    I too have moved to Thesis. I have a number of friends who had it on their site so I bought a developers license for use across my 5 blog sites. Initially, I’ve only converted my primary blog “History of the Holidays” at http://www.billpetro.com.

    Take a look and tell me what you think.

    P.S. I’d be MOST interested in learning how you added a “top” sidebar above your two right sidebars, and a “bottom” sidebar at the very foot. Tips?

    -Bill

  • http://www.billpetro.com Bill Petro

    I too have moved to Thesis. I have a number of friends who had it on their site so I bought a developers license for use across my 5 blog sites. Initially, I’ve only converted my primary blog “History of the Holidays” at http://www.billpetro.com.

    Take a look and tell me what you think.

    P.S. I’d be MOST interested in learning how you added a “top” sidebar above your two right sidebars, and a “bottom” sidebar at the very foot. Tips?

    -Bill

  • http://dereksemmler.com/ Derek

    I’ve come close to buying the Thesis theme so many times and am now kicking myself for not taking advantage of the Black Friday discount. The redesign looks great.

    But dang, the Thesis affiliate link to word count ratio in this post is insane, lol.

  • http://dereksemmler.com/ Derek

    I’ve come close to buying the Thesis theme so many times and am now kicking myself for not taking advantage of the Black Friday discount. The redesign looks great.

    But dang, the Thesis affiliate link to word count ratio in this post is insane, lol.

  • http://www.se7enize.com SE7EN

    Sweet! I just bought thesis with discount on thanksgiving. but it will take me some time to customize it away of default look.

  • http://www.se7enize.com SE7EN

    Sweet! I just bought thesis with discount on thanksgiving. but it will take me some time to customize it away of default look.

  • http://prospere-magazine.com Cynthia

    Ryan – I know this is really late, but thanks for the info!

    C

  • http://prospere-magazine.com Cynthia

    Ryan – I know this is really late, but thanks for the info!

    C

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