The first, How to Build Small Business Websites Using the Thesis WordPress Theme [pdf file], comes from Expand2Web.com, by Don Campbell. His site was packed with similar information, so if you like this doc, swing by and check out his other information.

The other document was called Thesis Tutorial – SEO for Everyone [pdf file] , and I found that at DoubleMule, which had lots of posts about Thesis themes and designs.

Most folks appreciate the theme and get it installed just fine, but I do get the occasional email from someone who isn’t as comfortable with the installation process, or they might have it configured in bare bones mode, but want to do more. I think having an affordable premium WordPress theme is a great way to make your blog look even more attractive and professional, but you have to remember that I’m biased.

Need suggestions for good designers? I recommend both Nico Pin and WeFixWP.com. If you want to go a bit more premium than even that, my friends Justin and Eric at Coffee House Ideas kick serious butt, too.

Good luck with tuning up your blog with Thesis. I think it’s a really useful theme and I love promoting it.

If you’re more of a visual thinker, you might try checking out Great Thesis Resources, where I found you some videos to browse.

Let me know how the docs work out for you, okay?

I’m still really happy with Thesis as my premium WordPress theme. I am an advocate for the product for several reasons. Firstly, I’ve wanted to have a site designed by Chris Pearson ever since he did Copyblogger.com way back in the day. Second, because I wanted something a hair above the standard themes I was finding freely available. Finally, because it has some really great SEO features that I don’t know how to do on my own.

Thesis does a lot to make my WordPress software really hum. There are all kinds of design elements you can tweak without knowing any code. Here’s a quick screen cap of some of it:

I also really like the design options:

Because of these types of features, I find that I can keep Thesis looking really fresh, keep the search engine optimization details nice and tight, and I can customize it without knowing a whole lot of code. It lets me focus on my writing and my work instead of worrying about the look of my site.

I’m an advocate for the Thesis WordPress Theme because I believe in Chris Pearson’s good work, and because it makes my site look good while improving its effectiveness. If you’re interested in upgrading your WordPress theme to something a bit more professional-looking that doesn’t cost as much as a professional designer, consider Thesis.

(And yes, if you buy Thesis, I get a couple of beers from Pearson.)

The new dashboard design is so publisher friendly. I love the look and feel of it, especially the drag-and-reorder feature that lets me put things where I want them to be. I love the automatic plugin upgrades (one push install-and-upgrades of most plugins) that have been around for a while, but seem to work better in 2.7 (is that just me?).

I like how everything tucks nicely into the dashboard, so that if I’m looking to work within the plugins, those features unfurl, and when I’m looking to tweak my design, that box opens. It’s very simple, and makes it even more user friendly for bloggers.

It feels at once like everything in WordPress 2.7 is optional, and yet, I don’t feel like I have a huge menu of choices to go through. Simplicity at the top and complexity underneath, if that makes sense.

Thesis and WordPress 2.7

I’m a proud advocate for Thesis, the custom WordPress system and theme designed by Chris Pearson. (I wrote about my love for Thesis already.) I’m even more thrilled to have it for the WordPress 2.7 upgrade because I feel it ties the platform together even more solidly.

Thesis costs $87 USD, and I find it completely worth it. When I was researching what theme to put on my site next, I new that I’d spring for a premium theme (And the reason why is that it gives the site a little bit more distinction when coming to it), so I evaluated a lot of them. Another that I liked was Revolution, and I think it’s a nice looking theme.

What sold me on Thesis as the premium WordPress theme for me was that it’s got a lot more integration parts. Here are a few pictures to explain that better:

You can see how the design elements are tucked in nicely, and that they’re easy to work with, and in plain English. That’s probably one of the reasons why I push the theme so much. It’s just so powerful, so customizable, and so simple, all wrapped into one.

The Power of Publish Later

Other Resources

If you’re already a Thesis user, be sure to check out SugarRae.com. Her Thesis tutorials are just awesome. I learn something new every time.

ProBlogDesign has 10 Things to Do After Installing WordPress

Want to see another site dressed in Thesis? Here’s Catskill Cottage Seed.

One little trick: people ask me how I seem to post all the time and many times a day. I don’t always write all my posts when they come out. I use the publish later button quite often. Never noticed it? It’s here:

Your Ideas

What do you think? Are you on 2.7 already? What have you found about it? If you’re not using WordPress, what do you want to know about it, or what do you like about your platform that you don’t think exists here?