As we approach the anticipated public release of the Genesis Theme Framework, here are 5 reasons you should build your site using it. There are many more, of course, but in my opinion these are the biggest (and most significant) ones.
1) Security
We are very happy to announce that Mark Jaquith, lead developer of WordPress has been hired to run a security audit on the Genesis Theme Framework. We take our products (and your security) very seriously here at Vancouver Website design, and want you to have full confidence that the Genesis Theme Framework is as secure as possible. What better way to ensure this, than to hire the best of the best – someone who knows WordPress code and security more intimately than anybody else. Mark can be hired at his consulting firm, Covered Web Services.
2) Post Thumbnails
Many of you are aware of the recent WordPress 2.9 release, which includes the feature to include/use post thumbnails. Currently, Vancouver Website design “classic” themes are using an image-resizing script called TimThumb, but the Genesis Theme Framework will not be using that code and will be serving post thumbnails using the organic way WordPress includes them. While this might seem like a step back, we assure you it’s not. With the ability to create intermediate (or custom) sized thumbnails and upcoming WordPress builds that will include additional thumbnail size options on the media setting page and ultimately auto-sized thumbnailing, we feel this is the best direction to go in. While TimThumb is a great script, we are trying to keep Genesis lightweight and less dependent on 3rd party code.
3) Child Theme Marketplace
Not only does the Genesis Theme Framework have very solid code, which is secure and well-written, it will also boast a child theme marketplace. While the marketplace will initially launch as invite-only, it will provide a variety of professional designs from designers across the internet. We are very excited about this concept and this will give our community a number of designs/layouts to choose from. The child theme marketplace will also give a Genesis user the ability to change their designs, without changing the code or platform on which they’re used to. In other words, if you enjoy all of the custom widgets and features that Genesis has, you can simply redesign your site by using another child theme. Here’s some additional information regarding the marketplace which will help explain our vision.
4) Layout Options
We took it upon ourselves to assume that a user who’s working with the Genesis theme framework would want some flexibility. That’s one of the reasons why it will offer 5 6 default layout options. (An additional Full Width Content option was added after the post was written.) In addition to having 6 universal (or site-wide) layout options, we have also given users the opportunity to select any of them on an individual post/page basis, all without having to create a separate theme template. In other words, if your entire site is using the content/sidebar layout, but you want a sales page to have a full width content layout – not a problem. Its as simple as clicking a button on the write post/page screen, which you can see here.
5) Theme Updates
One of the primary focuses that Nathan and I had while in the development process was to ensure ease of use – both with day to day operations, but also with theme updates. While the current Vancouver Website design “classic” themes have required folks to load updated versions from scratch, and meant that customizations had to be redone – the Genesis Theme Framework should end that. We have spent an enormous amount of time and energy on the parent theme, and the emphasis we made on semantics and careful naming of CSS elements should mean that most (if not all) theme updates will not affect your customizations.
