Community Forums › Forums › Archived Forums › General Discussion › Need advice on which theme to buy first
- This topic has 7 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 8 months ago by mwgaines.
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July 28, 2014 at 1:24 pm #116124mwgainesMember
Hi everyone,
I'm brand new here. I'm a newbie website builder. I've built a few sites using premium themes, but after hearing so many good things about Studiopress, I've decided to try working with a framework instead. I'm fairly comfortable with HTML and CSS, but have very little exposure to PHP.
I've purchased the genesis framework, but I do not yet have a child theme for it. I'm on a fixed income and can only afford one theme right now. I'd like to have a theme that can be used for different kinds of sites without conveying an obvious "cookie-cutter" similarity. So, I'd like to ask for some guidance. If you could only purchase one child theme for the Genesis framework, with this goal in mind, which one would it be?Thanks in advance for any suggestions or advice,
MichaelJuly 28, 2014 at 1:35 pm #116127Lauren @ OnceCoupledMemberI'd just customize the Sample theme, which is the child theme that comes with the Framework. You'll still want to read some tutorials and learn up on the PHP a bit, but you can change a lot with just CSS. This is free, and if you plan on buying the Pro-Plus package at a later time, you'll have learned quite a bit for reading and editing any of those themes.
Cheers,
Lauren
We create mobile-first, PageSpeed-optimized, pixel-perfect custom themes! https://www.oncecoupled.com
July 28, 2014 at 6:26 pm #116164mwgainesMemberThanks for the courteous response, Lauren. I guess that would allow me to practice a bit with the framework. However, I still need to purchase my first child theme at some point and I'm hoping to benefit from the insights of those who have gone before me. I'm trying to discover whether there's any consensus as to which theme, if any, out there is considered a "must have."
Michael
July 28, 2014 at 6:32 pm #116165DTHkellyMember1. Look through the archives re: tutorials customizing various StudioPress ChildThemes (keyword - childtheme name):
http://wpsites.net/
http://sridharkatakam.com/There are other great Genesis developer blogs.
2. Compare http://my.studiopress.com/themes/
with how folks have customized specific ChildThemes
http://www.studiopress.com/showcase
I started with Magazine Theme.
Executive Pro seems to be a popular choice to customize (and no longer look like the demo).
You can learn a lot from Epik, Centric Pro, Parallax Pro.
3. http://www.rickrduncan.com/free-genesis-child-themes
Unique, free Genesis child themes4. Off topic, but this helped me transition to Genesis:
4. Essential:
http://genesistutorials.com/visual-hook-guide/There is a plugin version https://wordpress.org/plugins/genesis-visual-hook-guide/
Hope this helps!
July 28, 2014 at 7:04 pm #116171mwgainesMemberThanks, Kellylise! That's a lot of helpful info.
Michael
July 28, 2014 at 7:35 pm #116173mwgainesMemberI'm planning to use the Visual Composer plugin to help me build my Genesis themes. I hope that's not a mistake.
Michael
July 28, 2014 at 8:02 pm #116176DTHkellyMemberWith Visual Composer, your Genesis childtheme base could be the Genesis sample theme or Bill Erickson's base or another from http://www.rickrduncan.com/free-genesis-child-themes.
VC is great, but adds a ton of divs to each page/post it's used on.
I also have a (Genesis) Dynamik-Gen childtheme from Cobalt Apps. Their Forum recently solved the Genesis/Visual Composer issue for full width color rows.
Here's the (terrific) video tutorial:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/oxbqq8v3n9hh1e6/vc.zipFor a low tech solution on a site with a fluid wrap, you could try nesting rows.
The Dynamik-Gen forum post also includes the CSS and PHP needed for the custom page template.
July 29, 2014 at 6:53 am #116207mwgainesMemberThank you again, Kellylise! I really appreciate your helpful comments.
Michael
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