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Items by Brian Gardner

StudioPress

RealPro 1.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: May 14, 2012, 5:01 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the RealPro 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be purchased here.

RealPro was developed by Chris Ford of Creativity Included, and is categorized as a Community theme. These are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of them are top-notch.
Theme Features
The RealPro child theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, custom background, custom boxes, custom buttons, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, property listings, theme options.

Take the RealPro theme for a test drive…
Adorable 1.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: May 9, 2012, 9:38 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Adorable 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be purchased here.

Adorable was developed by Lindsey Riel of Pretty Darn Cute Design, and is categorized as a Community theme. These are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of them are top-notch.

Click here to see how the Adorable theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Adorable child theme includes the following features: 5 color styles (colorful, red & aqua, pink & green, teal & orange and pink & charcoal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom boxes, custom buttons, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options.

Take the Adorable theme for a test drive…
Mindstream 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: May 7, 2012, 5:59 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Mindstream 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

The Mindstream theme is the tenth theme released here which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first nine themes are Agency, Balance, Decor, eleven40, Focus, Generate, Mocha, Prose and Streamline.

Click here to see how the Mindstream theme looks across mobile devices.
Post Formats
When WordPress 3.1 was released, they added the ability to publish various “types” of posts called post formats – similar to the way Tumblr allows you.

Mindstream supports the following post formats: aside, audio, chat, gallery, image, link, quote, status and video.
Theme Features
The Mindstream theme includes the following features: 3 layout options, custom background, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, post formats, theme options, threaded comments.

Take the new Mindstream theme for a test drive…
Decor 1.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: May 1, 2012, 5:41 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Decor 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

The Decor theme is the ninth theme released here which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first eight themes are Agency, Balance, eleven40, Focus, Generate, Mocha, Prose and Streamline.

Click here to see how the Decor theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Decor child theme includes the following features: 4 color styles (amethyst, copper, gold and silver), 6 layout options, custom background, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options, threaded comments.

Take the new Decor theme for a test drive…
Meet the Genesis Developers: Part Four

Posted: April 12, 2012, 6:39 pm by Brian Gardner

Are you looking to have your site built on the Genesis Framework? Have you had a chance to see all of the amazing sites built with it? If not, take some time to check out the Theme Showcase, and you’ll see just how powerful Genesis can be.

At StudioPress, we believe in giving credit where it’s due. Genesis serves as the foundation of more than 250,000 sites, and we’d like to show you who’s behind some of the best designed sites on the internet. Below you will meet some very talented people – whom we consider friends and are among the Genesis Developers we recommend that are available for hire.
Heather Jones, Viva la Violette
I have been designing and creating websites for twelve years, and I started Viva la Violette in 2008. I’m a video game artist turned web designer, and I design using WordPress + StudioPress for my blog and web design projects. I would define my style as feminine and chic, and I love turning the web into a beautiful place one blog or website at a time.

The best part of this journey is that I get to work from home and watch my son grow up, and for that I am truly grateful. If I’m not designing, I probably have a toddler, video game controller, or mocha frappe in hand (and sometimes all three).

Website: Viva la Violette · Twitter: @vivalaviolette · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites
Jeff Sarris & Dave LaTulippe, Spyr Media
Meet Jeff. He’s the one who makes those designs come to life. Art galleries everywhere fawn over framed prints of his code, but he’ll never sell out to the man. Meet Dave. He’s the creative who dreams up the tasty designs that make your company look and smell good. He’s a pro at adding just the right amount of pop. Together, these guys are Spyr Media.

Website: Spyr Media · Twitter: @SPYRmedia · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites
Courtney Kirkland, Media Mom Creative
I have always been a creative person. I fell in love with Graphic Design at an early age when AOL Profiles and Blogs were “in”. Since then, I’ve taken a handful of classes, constantly expanding my knowledge of CSS, PHP, and Branding. When I moved my own site from the Blogger Platform to WordPress, I knew immediately that StudioPress was the one.

The Genesis Framework has completely transformed that way that I design. As a Military Wife, I am incredibly grateful for the ability to do what I love from home while raising my son. There is no better feeling than giving a client the Blog or Website that they have dreamed of.

Website: Media Mom Creative · Twitter: @CourtneyKirklnd · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites
Ok, Now it’s Time to Say Hello!
If you’ve worked with any of these developers, or want to comment on their work, go ahead and leave them a comment below. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you!
Optimal 1.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: April 6, 2012, 5:03 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Optimal 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be purchased here.

Optimal was developed by Wes Straham of Appfinite, and is categorized as a Community theme. These are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of them are top-notch.

Click here to see how the Optimal theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Optimal child theme includes the following features: 10 color styles (black, brown, dark blue, dark gray, default blue, green, orange, purple, red and silver), 6 layout options, custom background, custom boxes, custom buttons, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options.

Take the Optimal theme for a test drive…
Mocha 2.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: April 5, 2012, 5:11 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Mocha 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

For those who already have the Mocha 1.0 theme, the updated version will be sent out to the email address you used to purchase.

The Mocha theme is the eighth theme released here which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first seven themes built with mobile responsive design are Agency, Balance, eleven40, Focus, Generate, Prose and Streamline.
Updating to Mocha v2.0
This version underwent a major design change and code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

Click here to see how the Mocha theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Mocha child theme includes the following features: 5 color styles (blue, green, orange, pink, red), 2 layout options, custom background, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options, threaded comments.

Take the new Mocha theme for a test drive…
Innovation: A Free Quote Graphic (PSD)

Posted: April 4, 2012, 5:36 pm by Brian Gardner

It’s no secret that infographics and Pinterest are a hot topic and that we enjoy providing free web graphics here at StudioPress. So now we’re giving you the chance to publish a customized graphic on your own site.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The Innovation quote graphic comes as a customizable PSD file and packaged with the Google Fonts that are used in it.

Feel free to modify the graphic and be sure to add a Pinterest “Pin It” button to your website after you publish it.

Designed by Rafal Tomal.
Prose 1.5 Theme Now Available

Posted: March 21, 2012, 5:09 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Prose 1.5 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

What’s New With Prose 1.5
One of the biggest changes you’ll see is the updated Design Settings UI, which is now formatted in one column and uses the new Genesis Admin class to build its settings pages. We’ve added a few more options for design control, and made some changes to the default Prose style. (More spacing, better typography, etc.)

Click here to view the new Prose demo site.

In addition to the updated Design Settings page, we also created a Custom Code page, which is where custom CSS and custom functions can be placed. These files will now be saved in the /wp-content/ directory of your WordPress install, rather than in the Prose child theme folder.

This means that you should not be modifying the style.css or functions.php files inside the Prose theme folder, as those will get overwritten in a Prose update.
Automatic Updates
You might wonder why we moved the custom files outside the child theme – the answer is quite simple, and something we know you’ll enjoy.

After you manually update this one time (see below), Prose will now have automatic updates.

That’s right Prose now gives you the ability to auto update with one simple click. In order to avoid CSS and functions from being overwritten in an update, we had to place them outside the child theme.
Mobile Responsive in Design
Another major update to the Prose theme is that it is now built for responsiveness on devices such as iPads, iPhones and other smart phones. How cool is that?

Click here to see how the Prose theme looks across mobile devices.
Updating to Prose 1.5 from 1.0
Because a lot of the core code in Prose was rewritten, there’s a few steps you need to take. Fortunately, the ladies over at Site Setup Kit have helped us out by writing instructions on how to upgrade.

Learn how to manually update to Prose 1.5.
Agency 2.0 Child Theme Now Available

Posted: March 15, 2012, 6:13 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Agency 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

For those who already have the Agency 1.0 theme, the updated version will be sent out to the email address you used to purchase.

The Agency theme is the sixth theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first five themes built with mobile responsive design are Balance, eleven40, Focus, Generate and Streamline.
Updating to Agency v2.0
This version underwent a major design change and code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

Click here to see how the Agency theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Agency child theme includes the following features: 4 color styles (blue, green, orange, red), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options, threaded comments, WooCommerce integration.
Responsive Slider
As the Agency theme is mobile responsive in design, we recently released the Genesis Responsive Slider plugin. This is very similar to the Genesis Slider plugin, but this includes the Flex Slider script in order to make the theme fully responsive. In fact, try swiping the slider on an iPad or iPhone.
WooCommerce
In addition to the Responsive Slider, the Agency theme is also the first to incorporate WooCommerce – here’s a sample store. In order for proper integration, we developed the Genesis Connect for WooCommerce plugin to serve as a bridge.

Take the new Agency theme for a test drive…
Be Inspired – the (in)SPYR Theme from Spyr Media is Now Available

Posted: March 8, 2012, 5:10 pm by Brian Gardner

We’re excited to announce the release of (in)SPYR – a theme from Spyr Media. In typical fashion the guys wanted to do things differently so they created this theme with diversity in mind, building 3 distinct styles into one neat package.

This is a community theme and not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package. No worries, though – we assure you that (in)SPYR theme is top-notch.

Take the (in)SPYR theme for a test drive.
Unique Theme Features
There are some unique features built exclusively into the (in)SPYR theme. This is the third responsive theme from the community (Driskill and Production), but currently the only one to include a responsive slider. As previously mentioned, it also includes 3 distinct theme styles, with a combined total of 6 color options.

Additionally, a custom subscribe widget provides a simple (novice friendly) interface that automatically adjusts to display a single subscribe form on both the homepage and the interior sidebar. To round it all out there is a social icon shortcode, a custom theme options panel and built-in How To Tutorials.

Click here to see how the (in)SPYR theme looks across mobile devices.
Prose 1.5 Beta Theme Now Available

Posted: March 5, 2012, 8:04 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce that the Prose 1.5 Beta child theme is now available for testing. We strongly advise that you do not use Prose 1.5 Beta on production or client sites. Please wait until it is out of testing and officially released.
Beta Testing
We have opened up the Prose 1.5 Beta testing to StudioPress Pro Plus members only. You can download the beta version of Prose and use the Prose 1.5 Beta forum to report any bugs.
What’s New With Prose 1.5
One of the biggest changes you’ll see is the updated Design Settings UI, which is now formatted in one column and uses the new Genesis Admin class to build its settings pages. We’ve added a few more options for design control, and made some changes to the default Prose style. (More spacing, better typography, etc.)

Click here to view the new Prose 1.5 Beta demo site.

In addition to the updated Design Settings page, we also created a Custom Code page, which is where custom CSS and custom functions can be placed. These files will now be saved in the /wp-content/ directory of your WordPress install, rather than in the Prose child theme folder.
Automatic Updates
You might wonder why we moved the custom files outside the child theme – the answer is quite simple, and something we know you’ll enjoy.

Prose now will have automatic updates.

That’s right, once we officially release Prose 1.5, you’ll be able to auto update with one simple click. In order to avoid CSS and functions from being overwritten in an update, we had to place them outside the child theme.

There will be a little bit of work to do when updating to 1.5, but we can assure you the pain will be minimal.
Mobile Responsive in Design
Another major update to the Prose theme is that it is now built for responsiveness on devices such as iPads, iPhones and other smart phones. How cool is that?

Click here to see how the Prose theme looks across mobile devices.
Introducing Site Setup Kit
Is your website helping your business, or hurting it? How would you like to have a website that’s easy to set up, simple to maintain, and looks great?

I’d like to introduce you to Pamela Wilson and Wendy Cholbi, huge advocates of Prose and the Genesis Framework – so much that they’ve built an entire business around helping folks set up their websites.

I’m very happy to introduce Site Setup Kit.

Site Setup Kit gives you everything you need — including instant styles you can customize, the Genesis Framework and Prose child theme, and step-by-step instructions to create a great-looking website you can maintain yourself.

It’s yours for just $187 until March 6.

Get started now and build a website you’ll love with Site Setup Kit.
Focus 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: March 2, 2012, 5:36 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Focus 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

For those who already have the Focus 1.0 theme, the updated version will be sent out to the email address you used to purchase.

The Focus theme is the fifth theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first four themes built with mobile responsive design are Balance, eleven40, Generate and Streamline.
Updating to Focus v2.0
This version underwent a major design change and code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

Click here to see how the Focus theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Focus child theme includes the following features: 3 color styles (blue, brown, gray), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Focus Theme
Production 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: February 29, 2012, 7:31 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Production 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Production was developed by Nick Croft of Designs By Nick the Geek, and can be found in the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these are quality themes from our community and not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of them are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Production child theme includes the following features: 10 color styles, 3 layout options, custom background, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Most importantly, Production is the first Genesis based video theme available in the Market Place. It makes use of the brand new Genesis Media Project plugin, also developed by Nick, to add responsive and simple Video support to Production.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Production Theme
Give Your Site a Fresh Look with the Bluebird Skies Makeover Kit

Posted: February 28, 2012, 5:41 pm by Brian Gardner

The Genesis Framework empowers you to quickly and easily build incredible websites with WordPress. With state of the art code built that allows search engines to clearly see your content, Genesis also follows security best practices.

So we’ve built you a solid framework, which isn’t really news – right?

Well the part I haven’t mentioned yet is the extensibility of the Genesis Framework and that comes by way of child themes.

In other words… Design.

You can radically change the look of your site every week if you want to, and you’ll never hurt your search engine rankings because the design is kept completely separate from the core code.

While we have an incredible selection of our own WordPress themes, today I’d like to introduce you to something new.
Makeover Kits by Creativity Included
The Genesis community is filled with talented designers and those who know how to wrangle code. But like every community, there exists a few who are unique, who stand out and are truly one of a kind.

This is how I feel about Chris Ford, of Creativity Included.

While I could go on all day about how great she is, I’ll cut to the chase and am proud to introduce Bluebird Skies – a makeover kit for our Lifestyle theme.

(click to view Bluebird Skies demo)
What’s Included in the Bluebird Skies Makeover Kit
1. Two Header Graphics – The kit comes with two whimsical flattened headers with graphics by Mel’s Brushes © MyGrafico.com. You can easily upload either one through the WordPress dashboard.

2. Google Fonts – The “logo” is simply the title and description of your site set in a stylish Google font combination – you don’t need to do anything! They’re also used for stylish titles, navigation labels and body text.

3. Three Backgrounds – Three colors of tileable backgrounds are provided. Like the headers, these are easily uploaded through the WordPress admin panel.

4. A Bunch of Goodies – learn more about the Bluebird Skies makeover kit.

* Please note that he Bluebird Skies makeover kit requires that you purchase the Genesis Framework and Lifestyle child theme separately. Customization support is not provided for Makeover Kits.
We Proudly Promote Genesis Community Members
The Bluebird Skies makeover kit is not a StudioPress product, nor is it included in our Pro Plus Package. Just wanted to be clear with that.

Our community is filled with quality designers and developers who exclusively use the Genesis Framework for their client work and WordPress business.

It’s only natural that we reciprocate by promoting the awesome things they do.

Want in?

Be an active member of our Community Forums, design sites that can end up in our Showcase or simply evangelize about Genesis on places like Facebook and Twitter.

That’s all it takes.
Streamline 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: February 23, 2012, 5:10 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Streamline 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

For those who already have the Streamline 1.0 theme, the updated version will be sent out to the email address you used to purchase.

The Streamline theme is the fourth theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first three themes built with mobile responsive design are Balance, Generate and eleven40.
Updating to Streamline v2.0
This version underwent a major design change and code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

Click here to see how the Streamline theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Streamline child theme includes the following features: 3 color styles (blue, green, orange), 3 layout options, custom background, custom header, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, mobile responsive, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Streamline Theme
Introducing the Simple Social Icons Plugin for WordPress

Posted: February 22, 2012, 5:08 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very pleased to announce that we have released the Simple Social Icons plugin for WordPress. Simple Social Icons is an easy to use, customizable way to display icons that link visitors to your various social profiles.

With it, you can easily choose which profiles to link to, customize the color and size of your icons, as well as align them to the left or right, all from the widget form (no settings page necessary!).

Many of our themes have used CSS and the Custom Menus function to accomplish this. You can still use this method, and if you do – here’s how you can pull it off.
But Now There’s an Easier Way to Add Social Media Icons
Thanks to the code craftsmanship of Nathan Rice, you can add these icons to your header right section, your sidebar or even your footer widgets with a few clicks.

Here’s a screenshot of the widget admin screen.

The great thing about this plugin is that it will work on any WordPress site – it’s not limited to the Genesis Framework.

So what are you waiting for? Head on over to the WordPress.org plugin repository and download it there.
Calling all Geeks: Come Join us for Genesis Connect at SXSW in Austin

Posted: February 17, 2012, 5:02 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very proud to announce the second Genesis Connect event, which will be held during SXSW on March 10th in Austin. Genesis Connect is an unofficial meetup open to anyone who uses or develops with the Genesis Framework.

If you are interested in learning more or want to meet others who make their living with it, here’s your chance. Join folks such as Bill Erickson, Brian Gardner, Jared Atchison, Josh Byers, Lauren Mancke, Nathan Rice, Nick Croft, Pat Ramsey, Rafal Tomal, Ron Rennick, Travis Smith and many others.

Click for more details on Genesis Connect.
6 Stunning Genesis-Powered Websites

Posted: February 16, 2012, 5:07 pm by Brian Gardner

The team here at StudioPress works hard to constantly create the very best premium WordPress child themes on the market.

However, we often pause to marvel at what others are accomplishing through their creative uses of the Genesis Framework for WordPress.

We take our hats off to some of our favorite designs currently out there on the web that utilize the power and flexibility of the Genesis Framework and our themes.

Here are six of those amazing sites, in no particular order …
Creativity Included

With a simple, colorful site design that truly pops, Creativity Included introduces an inventive set of products and services aimed squarely at making life easier for those who aspire to customize or design great child themes for the Genesis Framework.

Creativity Included makes good on their name and offers memorable graphics and easy to navigate categories that make learning design tips and tricks a snap for anyone interested in effectively harnessing the power of the web. They also sell their own StudioPress themes.

They don’t sugar coat their ebooks, video tutorials or content-loaded classroom experiences because they know that to get the most out of Genesis, some perspiration is required. They also understand that with Genesis there are “…no limitations but your imagination.” Go ahead, dream big.

Designed by: Chris Ford
Eat Life Whole

Eat Life Whole really takes the power of Genesis to new heights with their enlightened take on a nutrition and lifestyle website that offers “nutritious solutions for body, heart and mind”.

The clean, uncluttered look of the site offers a rich reader experience that utilizes the flexibility of Genesis by offering lots of content with image-rich design.

Multiple product and consulting offerings are easy to navigate and the blog is filled with an array of helpful categories for healthful living advice. With their utilization of savvy email signups and social media widgets Eat Life Whole has a spacious feel and overall enriching design, which matches their philosophy perfectly.

Designed by: Bill Erickson
Red to Gray Creative

Red to Gray Creative proves that a minimalist design with some innovative customization can do a lot more … with less. Their site shows that the flexibility of the Genesis Framework can truly work with any unique website, especially those designed for expressing a strong point of view.

Every pertinent detail about their services and creative processes are reduced to simple, easy-on-the-eye graphics that show off their distinct style. And the clever placement of social media widgets blends seamlessly with the overall design.

Even though the team at Red to Gray Creative wear a lot of hats, the elegant and uncluttered look and feel of their site frame their services brilliantly. Kudos to them for showing us all how it’s done.

Designed by: Lauren Mancke
Seward Helicopter Tours

Choose your own an Alaskan adventure with the bright, refreshing website design of Seward Helicopter Tours. They use a portfolio-style homepage and photo slider to tell their breath-taking story.

By offering a content rich site that utilizes both photo and video galleries and multiple topics to highlight their helicopter and dog sled tour services, they present the great outdoors with adventurous and passionate design.

Genesis and Alaska have never looked more appealing together than with the website’s wide-open feel and airy color palette. The smart use of footer widgets, social media links and testimonials truly enhance the client and reader experience. “Book Your Adventure”!

Designed by: Sundog Media
Spyr Media

With a sleek, modern portfolio-style design, the designers at Spyr Media have taken Genesis a step beyond by keeping it simple, yet showcasing their talents with some great tongue-in-cheek humor. Their credo is “We don’t just do it. We live it.” And they have photos to prove it.

Not ones to take themselves too seriously, they have wisely placed an emphasis on building email opt-ins and word-of-mouth business for their inspired work. The image heavy site is simple, savvy, and easy to navigate with a layout that focuses on communication and contacts.

Less hype means more personality for these designers and it comes across with the use of footer widgets for encouraging direct conversation about Spyr’s services.

Designed by: Spyr Media
The TomKat Studio

The TomKat Studio offers up some eye-popping sweetness with their incredibly useable Tumblog style site, that offers decorating and party ideas with a host of related Etsy products and services you can use for any celebration.

The bright and crafty design of TomKat Studio enlists some innovative sidebar widgets that give readers and clients easy access to more of the wonderful confections this team of designers have to offer and recommend.

The site’s 10-post homepage harnesses the power of Genesis by encouraging easy exploration of a multitude of categories and opens up the discussion with a great comment functionality. And you can “Pin” all of your favorite ideas easily with the utilization of the Pinterest widget. Very smart.

Designed by: Lindsey Riel
What have you done with Genesis lately?
Have you done some great work with your Genesis website? Have seen some great Genesis-based sites out in the wild?

Let us know in the comments below, we’re always looking for ways our customers are taking WordPress further with Genesis.

And, pop over and say hi to the people above when you get a chance.
Balance 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: February 13, 2012, 5:14 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Balance 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Mobile Responsive Design
The Balance theme is the third theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. The first two themes built with mobile responsive design are Generate and eleven40.

Click here to see how the Balance theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The Balance theme includes the following features: 3 layout options, 5 theme colors (blue, green, pink, red and turquoise), custom background, featured images, footer widgets, landing page template, mobile responsive design, portfolio page template and threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Balance Theme
Cre8tive Burst 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: February 6, 2012, 6:32 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Cre8tive Burst 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Cre8tive Burst was developed by Shannon Dow of EightCrazy Designs, and can be found in the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these are quality themes from our community and not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of them are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Cre8tive Burst child theme includes the following features: 4 color styles, 3 layout options, custom background, custom menus, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Cre8tive Burst Theme
eleven40 Child Theme Available

Posted: January 26, 2012, 6:43 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the eleven40 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Mobile Responsive Design
The eleven40 theme is the second child theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design. It’s also the first theme we’ve developed that extends 1140px wide vs. our current themes which are 960px.

Click here to see how the eleven40 theme looks across mobile devices.
Theme Features
The eleven40 theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, 4 theme colors (blue, green, orange, red), custom background, featured images, footer widgets, mobile responsive design and threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the eleven40 Theme
Genesis v1.8 Beta Now Available

Posted: January 9, 2012, 10:51 pm by Brian Gardner
We are very pleased to announce that Genesis 1.8 Beta is now available for users to test. Please remember that with all beta versions, we suggest that you do not use it on production sites. This update isn’t packed with features, but does have a few cool things to mention. (read the full list)

New Look for Genesis
As you can see, the default look for Genesis has been updated. We’ve also added 2 media queries to the style sheet, which makes it mobile responsive for devices such as the iPad and iPhone.

Click to view the updated Genesis demo.

We’ve also consolidated some of the CSS required for menus, which you can read about here.
New Features with Genesis 1.8
Check out the Genesis 1.8 changelog and you’ll see that a number of things were fixed, added and modified. One of the biggest features that we’ve added is the Color Styles function.

Many of our child themes have color styles, which are currently being made available by code that’s included in the child theme’s function file as well as an additional file found within a ‘lib’ folder.

The new code that is required in the child themes would look like this:
```
/** Create additional color style options */
add_theme_support( 'genesis-style-selector', array( 'agentpress-gray' => 'Gray', 'agentpress-green' => 'Green', 'agentpress-red' => 'Red', 'agentpress-tan' => 'Tan' ) );
```
As with all functions that end up being placed into a number of child themes (custom header, footer widgets, etc) we’ve extracted that code out of them and placed it in to Genesis core.
How to Upgrade to Genesis 1.8 Beta
One of the very cool features that we’ve included in Genesis 1.8 is the ability to automatically update to Beta versions of Genesis. This is similar to the WordPress Beta Tester plugin that exists – the only difference is that users won’t have access to the bleeding version of Genesis.

Because the Genesis Beta Tester plugin relies on code that’s in Genesis 1.8, users will have to force the auto update script by replacing code. (This will only be required this time around.)

Inside the lib/functions/upgrade.php file, on line 29 you’ll see this:
```
'genesis_version' => PARENT_THEME_VERSION,
```
Replace that with this:
```
'genesis_version' => '0.1.3.3.7',
```
Once you have that uploaded the file to your server, click on the Appearance link in your WordPress dashboard, then head to the Dashboard main page and you should see a notification to update to Genesis 1.8 Beta.

Moving forward, once users have Genesis 1.8 any beta versions that are released will prompt an auto update notice for those who have the Genesis Beta Tester plugin active.
Reporting Bugs with Genesis 1.8 Beta
If you are testing Genesis 1.8 Beta and would like to report a bug, please reply to this thread on our forums. Please do not use that for feature requests, as we are done adding those into Genesis 1.8.
Special Thanks to Our Community
We’d like to thank the following developers for their contributions with the update to Genesis v1.8: Jared Atchison, Charles Clarkson, Chris Cochran, Nick Croft, David Decker, Remkus de Vries, Bill Erickson, Gary Jones, Travis Smith and Ade Walker.
15 Delicious Coffee-Inspired Color Palettes

Posted: January 2, 2012, 5:19 pm by Brian Gardner

Click image to see hexcode values for each color palette. (view entire gallery)
1. Chocolate Sprinkles
2. Cup of Green
3. Friendship
4. Fuchsia
5. Harmony
6. Mosaic
7. Patience
8. Peaches and Cream
9. Simply Mine
10. Slice
11. Sorbet
12. Steamed
13. Swirlicious
14. Terra Cotta
15. Windblown
Pure Elegance 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: December 28, 2011, 7:17 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Pure Elegance 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Pure Elegance was developed by Auxano Creative, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Pure Elegance child theme includes the following features: 3 color styles, 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Pure Elegance Theme
Download the Genesis Guide for Absolute Beginners (Free PDF)

Posted: December 19, 2011, 5:18 pm by Brian Gardner
The team here at StudioPress has put together a basic guide for you on how to navigate Genesis (as well as a good bit of WordPress), and get your site going right out of the box.

Whether you’re just starting out with the Genesis Framework for WordPress, or you’ve been enjoying its power and flexibility for a while, this download should prove very helpful.

The guide is packed with 44 pages of useful and specific instructions on getting started with Genesis, including:
- Ever wonder what a functions file is? … Check page 6
- Need a quick tutorial on getting those widgets going? … Head over to page 26
- Wondering what the heck all those SEO settings mean? … Find out on page 19
- Want to install Genesis from inside WordPress? … We’ve got you covered on page 8
This is also a living document, so be sure to check back often for updates and improvements as Genesis itself evolves with the future web.

Click here to download The Genesis Guide for Absolute Beginners (PDF) 1.4 MB
Generate 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: December 15, 2011, 5:26 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Generate 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Mobile Responsive Design
The Generate theme is the first child theme released here at StudioPress which has been developed to be mobile responsive in design.
Theme Features
The Generate theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, 4 theme colors (blue, green, orange, red), custom background, featured images, footer widgets, mobile responsive and threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Generate Theme
WordPress 3.3 Has (finally) Arrived!

Posted: December 13, 2011, 5:03 pm by Brian Gardner

As many of you know, WordPress 3.3 was officially released. We wanted to let you know that we’ve updated the StudioPress site and all of the Genesis child theme demo sites — and all is well.

This is our way of saying “Go for it, you should safely be able to update to WordPress 3.3!”
What’s New in WordPress 3.3
Experienced users will appreciate the new drag-and-drop uploader, hover menus for the navigation, the new toolbar, improved co-editing support, and the new Tumblr importer. They’ve also been thinking a ton about what the WordPress experience is like for new users.

Version 3.3 has significant improvements there with pointer tips for new features, a friendly welcome message for first-time users, and revamped help tabs throughout the interface. They’ve improved the dashboard experience on the iPad and other tablets with better touch support.

There is a ton of candy for developers as well. I’d recommend starting your exploration with the new editor API, new jQuery version, better ways to hook into the help screens, more performant post-slug-only permalinks, and of course the entire list of improvements on the Codex and in Trac.
Updating WordPress for Genesis Users

The development team here at StudioPress is always working with the bleeding version of WordPress. As a result, we can confidently say that there aren’t any known issues with WordPress 3.3 and Genesis 1.7.1.

We cannot promise that all of your plugins are compatible, so make sure you check those for compatibility before updating.

Now that WordPress 3.3 has been released, we’ll be working hard over the next week or two to prepare Genesis 1.8 for release. Until then, Happy Updating!
15 Amazing Winter-Inspired Color Palettes

Posted: November 28, 2011, 5:01 pm by Brian Gardner

Click image to see hexcode values for each color palette. (view entire gallery)
1. Bells of Blue
2. Childhood
3. Christmas Eve
4. Colorado Skies
5. Evergreen
6. Fireplace
7. Gingerbread
8. Hot Chocolate
9. Icicles
10. Joy to the World
11. Ornamental
12. Preparation
13. Silver Mist
14. Solitude
15. Winter Cider
The 25% Off Thanksgiving Sale for StudioPress

Posted: November 22, 2011, 4:21 pm by Brian Gardner
Have you been wanting to buy the Pro Plus All-Theme Package? Have you been looking for a new design for your WordPress site? Do you want to save some serious holiday cash?
Woot, Now’s Your Chance to Save!
Using the code THANKS at checkout (don’t forget that), you can save 25% off of anything you’d like here at StudioPress. And now that we’re making every theme mobile-responsive, forum-friendly, and e-commerce-ready, you’ll get those benefits when they arrive thanks to our unlimited upgrade policy.
- Get the Genesis Framework for only $45.
- Pick up a Genesis child theme design for less than $20.
- Snag a Genesis / design combo and save close to $20 (or more).
- Wipe our entire shop clean by getting our Pro Pack All-Theme Package. Get Genesis plus all 43 current designs, plus every design we make in the future, and save over $74 off the regular price (and over $875 off the retail price of just the existing 43 designs)!
This deal ends promptly at 5:00 pm Pacific time on Monday, November 28, 2011.

So if you love to get a deal, now’s the time to get it. Just don’t forget the promo code THANKS, because that’s how the deal happens at checkout. But you got that, right?

Start Shopping for Themes Now!
But Wait, There’s More!
We’ve just released version 1.2 of our Premise landing page software for WordPress, and it includes lots of cool new features and refinements. Coolest of all is the introduction of an innovative 8th landing page type — the social sharing page.

Learn How to Get Premise Ultimate for only $95!
3 (More) Reasons to be Thankful for StudioPress

Posted: November 21, 2011, 5:10 pm by Brian Gardner

A few days ago I shared a link that shed some insight into the direction that we are heading here at StudioPress. There are 3 things that we’re very excited to share, so watch the video:

1. Responsive/Mobile
As we’ve already announced, StudioPress themes will be updated for responsive design which will make them mobile-friendly. Devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Android and others will be optimized for a better viewing experience without disrupting the integrity of the design you have on your site.
2. bbPress integration
With the release of the bbPress 2.0, we’ve decided that it was important to provide styling for our themes which visually allow seamless integration with our themes. Now that bbPress is using custom post types to build forum functionality, this integration has never been easier.

Click to see sample bbPress integration
3. WooCommerce integration
It’s no secret that there’s a growing number of sites that wish to incorporate a storefront. We’ve worked with the WooThemes development team to ensure integration with the WooCommerce plugin. Soon you will be able to transform your WordPress website into an online store.

Click to see sample WooCommerce integration
Schedule of Theme Updates
I’m sure the next thing you want to know is when these awesome features are going to be integrated, right? We’re hoping to include all of these features into the upcoming Agency theme update and from there we’ll be doing one theme at a time.
Special Announcement
As Thanksgiving draws near, be sure to stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog post here as it’ll be packed full of more reasons to be thankful!
Copyblogger: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: November 17, 2011, 5:07 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the Copyblogger theme for the Genesis Framework. Copyblogger will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

Copyblogger is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 3 color styles, 6 page layouts, custom menus, footer widgets, responsive layout, threaded comments. (click to see demo)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Copyblogger Child Theme
Responsive Design for Genesis Child Themes

Posted: November 11, 2011, 5:18 pm by Brian Gardner

With the exponential increase of mobile device and tablet users, the concept of responsive web design is becoming more relevant to what we do here at StudioPress. While there are some plugins that exist which make a theme “mobile”, we decided to take matters into our own hands.

While I was in San Francisco this summer for WordCamp, I had the pleasure of attending a session called Responsive Web Design given by Sara Cannon. (Follow her at @saracannon.)

There’s no denying the longterm effects that mobile devices will have on web design. Sara happens to think so as well:

Your site is about your content. With mobile devices, iPads, phones, gaming consoles, etc: people can access your content many different ways and formats. How can we maintain some control over the display of our content and keep our brand consistent? How can we try to provide the best user experience on any platform?
Moving Towards Responsive Design
That being said, we will be moving towards a responsive design approach with Genesis and our child themes. When Genesis 1.8 is released, the default parent theme will already have it. If you want to check it out, you can visit the Sample theme demo to see how it looks on mobile devices as well as reduced screen resolutions.

If you’re looking for immediate gratification, you can check out the Driskill theme developed by Bill Erickson – which is the first responsive theme made available on the Marketplace.

Over the course of time, we’ll be updating our existing themes to take advantage of this feature. With the release of our new themes, we’ll also be incorporating responsive design into them. You can see a sample of how the updated Agency theme will look with responsive design.
Sample Shots from the iPhone
Sample Shots from the iPad
Clip Cart 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: November 10, 2011, 9:35 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Clip Cart 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Clip Cart was developed by the Themedy, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Clip Cart child theme includes the following features: Cart66 e-commerce integration, 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Clip Cart Theme
24k: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: November 7, 2011, 5:30 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the 24k child theme for the Genesis Framework. 24k will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

24k is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 6 page layouts, custom background, custom header, custom menus, footer widgets, threaded comments. (click to see demo)

The 24k child theme was designed by Josh Byers, creative contributor of Copyblogger Media.
Here’s a Screenshot of the 24k Child Theme
Politica 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: November 2, 2011, 5:02 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Politica 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Politica was developed by the Genesis Ninja, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Politica child theme includes the following features: 5 color styles (brown, charcoal, green, red and teal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Politica Theme
Backcountry 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: October 26, 2011, 5:10 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Backcountry 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Original Design
The design for the Backcountry theme was taken from the Viewport Magazine Site Template originally done by Orman Clark, and is being reused with permission.
Theme Features
The Backcountry child theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, 4 theme colors (blue, gray, green, red), custom background, custom header, featured images, footer widgets and threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Backcountry Theme
Managed WordPress Hosting (Genesis Users Only)

Posted: October 19, 2011, 4:56 pm by Brian Gardner
I am very pleased to announce our launch of Synthesis – managed WordPress hosting exclusively for our StudioPress customers.

With a user base of more than 58,000 people, we’re frequently asked for recommendations on high quality web hosting. Since we took the hosting for Copyblogger Media in-house earlier this year, we can’t really recommend something we don’t use.

So we’re offering you the exact hosting services that we use for our own high-traffic sites.
Here Are 3 Reasons Why You Should Choose Synthesis
1. Performance
  Serious online publishers require impeccable uptime, incredibly fast page load times, and the ability to withstand any traffic onslaught that comes along.
2. Security
  Hackers, malware, and other malicious nastiness are facts of doing business online. We protect your sites smartly, effectively, and without sacrificing performance.
3. Expertise
  We run mission critical websites that power our businesses. If you’re marketing and publishing online, so do you. We treat your sites like they’re our own.
Here’s a more detailed explanation of why you should choose Synthesis.
Why We Built Synthesis
Struggling to keep your site up during traffic success is a distraction from the real business of any company, plain and simple.

The Internet is littered with sites that are hacked, sites that get taken down from a major link, sites that crumbled from a single tweet. Clearly, this is sad … and yet completely avoidable.

We began optimizing a custom hosting stack which allowed further enhancements of performance and security to our own sites that were otherwise not possible. And we’re getting incredible results.

If you want to read more, check out the backstory on Synthesis and why we decided to offer it only to Genesis users.
Special Introductory Offer
Anyway, we’ve got a site with all the details for you to check out. And we’ve also got a special introductory offer.

Simply use the code GENESIS at checkout, and you’ll save 20% — forever — off the price of your hosting account with us.

This initial deal is good until October 28, 2011, so you’ve got time to check everything out and make sure we’re a good fit for you.

But head over there now to take a look – we’re not for everyone, but we’re just right for Genesis users who have websites that can’t afford to crash or get hacked.

Click here to get started with Synthesis Managed WordPress Hosting.
Curtail 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: October 13, 2011, 6:51 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Curtail 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Curtail was developed by Thomas Griffin, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Curtail child theme includes the following features: 8 color styles, 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, social media integration, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Curtail Theme
Luscious 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: October 11, 2011, 5:44 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Luscious 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Theme Features
The Luscious child theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, footer widgets, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Luscious Theme
StudioPress Welcomes Josh Byers to the Family

Posted: October 10, 2011, 9:05 pm by Brian Gardner

On behalf of Copyblogger Media, I am very excited to announce that we’ve officially added Josh Byers to team here at StudioPress. Josh has been around our community for many years, and I’m thrilled to announce that we’ve hired him.

You might recognize Josh from our Genesis Developers page, as he was highly recommended by us for his work at Red Letters Studio. In his portfolio is a blog that he designed for Hollywood actress Rachel McAdams called Green is Sexy.

He’s also the designer behind the Going Green theme, as well as our upcoming Mission theme, and a free child theme called 24K that should be released very soon.
Theme Development and Special Projects
One of the reasons I’m personally excited about Josh being a part of the team is that he will work alongside me over here at StudioPress in a number of capacities. These include child theme development, blog posting, tutorial writing and other projects that he’s more than qualified for.

As Chief Product Officer of Copyblogger Media, my responsibilities are to oversee the development of not only Genesis and our child themes, but also Scribe SEO, Premise Landing Pages and a few other things we’re currently working on. It’s hard to manage all of our lines of business as well as have my hands in a lot of the work behind that goes on behind the scenes.

In other words, Josh has been hired to alleviate me from some of the things I’ve been knee-deep in over the past year. All in all, this is a huge win for Copyblogger Media – and especially for the StudioPress family and Genesis development community.
Call to Action Banners for AgentPress

Posted: October 6, 2011, 5:28 pm by Brian Gardner
I am very happy to announce the release of Call to Action Banners by StudioPress. This set is one of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The download file includes both PSD and JPG files and match all 5 of the color styles that are available in the AgentPress theme.

Now that you’ve downloaded the file, learn how to display the call to action banner for AgentPress. You can preview view the banner on our demo site to see how it can be used.

The call to action banners were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Build a Landing Page for Better Conversion
If you use the call to action banner, we highly recommend building a landing page with Premise to optimize your conversion. Here are a few good reads on landing pages:
News 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: October 4, 2011, 5:01 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the News 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Updating to News v2.0
This version underwent a major code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

The first part of the update was a complete rewrite of CSS which is based on the updated Genesis sample child theme. This will allow for more efficient coding and easier customization. In addition to that, we rewrote the home.php file so upon theme activation, the standard loop loads until the home widgets are placed into their appropriate areas.
Theme Features
The News child theme includes the following features: 7 color styles (blue, green, orange, pink, purple, red and teal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.
Genesis Tabs Plugin
You might notice is that the News theme demo is now running the Genesis Tabs plugin. This functionality was extracted out of the News 1.0 child theme and made into a standalone plugin.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the News Theme
Custom Alert Boxes

Posted: September 29, 2011, 10:38 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Custom Alert Boxes by StudioPress. This is one many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The custom alert boxes come in four different colors – gray, green, red and yellow. The download file includes a PSD file and is a great resource if you plan to use custom graphics for your website.

The custom alert boxes was designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
AgentPress 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 26, 2011, 5:23 pm by Brian Gardner
We are very happy to announce that the AgentPress 2.0 child theme is now available. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

Take it for a test drive…
AgentPress Has 5 Color Styles
The updated version of the theme now has 5 color styles – you can check out the following color styles: blue, gray, green, red and tan.
Homepage Options
The AgentPress homepage has been coded to load as a blog upon activation. However, if you wish to use a slider, property search box, display featured listings, community pages, recent blog post or more – you can! Just check out the AgentPress sample homepage to see what it can do.
IDX Integration
We are working with Diverse Solutions and IDX Broker to provide integration with their WordPress IDX plugins. Here’s a sample search results page and a sample property listing page from the dsIDXpress plugin by Diverse Solutions.
Listings Custom Post Type
In order to use feature which allows you to manually enter real estate listings, you’ll need to download the AgentPress Listings plugin. After you activate it, you’ll see “Listings” menu in the sidebar of your dashboard – that’s where all the magic occurs!
Special Thanks to Agent Evolution
On behalf of the StudioPress development team, I’d like to extend an enormous amount of gratification to the folks over at Agent Evolution.

Led by Reggie Nicolay, Nicole Nicolay and Chad Johnson, they’ve been an integral part of the development of AgentPress, and exclusively use it to build their client sites. If you are looking for a custom site with IDX integration, you can check out their WordPress Website Package details.
Tutorials to Get You Started with AgentPress
Here are a few tutorials that we’ve written for AgentPress 2.0:
Sample: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: September 20, 2011, 5:44 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the Sample child theme for the Genesis Framework. Sample will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

The Sample child theme is the updated default design that the Genesis Framework will have once version 1.8 is released – which will probably be synced with the release of WordPress 3.3. This child theme also serves as a great foundation for building custom themes.

The Sample child theme is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 6 page layouts, custom background, custom header, custom menus, footer widgets, threaded comments. (view demo)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Sample Child Theme
AgentPress 2.0 Beta 2 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 19, 2011, 5:58 pm by Brian Gardner
We are very happy to announce that the AgentPress 2.0 Beta 2 child theme is now available for testing. If you are a Pro Plus member go ahead and download the theme and give it a test drive. If you are curious, you can read about what’s new with AgentPress 2.0.
AgentPress Now Has 5 Color Styles
The updated version of the theme now has 5 color styles – you can check out the following color styles: blue, gray, green, red and tan.
Updated AgentPress Listings Plugin
We found a few bugs and needed to add a few things, so if you’re testing, please make sure you update to version 0.9.1 of the AgentPress Listings plugin.
Tutorials to Get You Started with AgentPress
Here are a few tutorials that we’ve written for AgentPress 2.0:
During the beta period of AgentPress, if you notice any bugs or want features added, please provide feedback in the AgentPress 2.0 support forum.
Driskill 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 15, 2011, 5:41 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Driskill 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Driskill was developed by Bill Erickson, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Driskill child theme is the first responsive child theme in the Marketplace and includes the following features: 2 color styles, 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Driskill Theme
How to Create a Property Listing

Posted: September 14, 2011, 6:28 pm by Brian Gardner
Now that you’ve read Getting Started with AgentPress, it’s time to create a property listing.
Create a Property Listing
Since you’ve already setup your listing taxonomies and terms, click the Add New link that is under the Listings menu in the sidebar of your WordPress dashboard. You’ll see a screen that is similar to the Add Post or Add Page screens.

Once you are there, it’s time to give your listing a title and start entering content. Typically you’d want your listing title to be the address of the property since that is what will be indexed by search engines. An example of this might be 1333 North Park Avenue.
Upload Property Photos
As you can see from the sample property, there is a photo of the house at the top of the content. You can simply upload a photo through the WordPress Upload/Insert feature just above the text editor. After you upload your photo, you’re given the option to add the photo to the listing.

If you want to add the code manually to your listing, you can use code similar to this:
```
<img src="http://yourdomain.com/wp-content/uploads/1333-north-park-avenue.jpg" alt="1333 North Park Avenue" />
```
Fill out the Property Details
Just below the text editor on the edit listing screen you will see a box called Property Details. Fill out the information in the box, and then you can click “send to text editor” button and it will insert a shortcode into your listing content.

To manually add the shortcode into your listing, simply copy and paste [property_details] and place it wherever you want the property details box to appear on your listing.

Here’s an example of how the Property Details box looks like on a listing:

Show Maps and Videos
You will also notice inside the Property Details box that you have the option to place map code and video code. This gives you the ability to show a map of your property listing as well as a video if you’d like. Fill out the boxes in the same way as you did the property details above.

To manually add the property map shortcode into your listing, simply copy and paste [property_map] and place it wherever you want the property details box to appear on your listing. You can use [property_video] for the shortcode to display the property video.
Additional Photos
If you want to have a place on your property listing for a gallery of photos, you can easily do that by uploading all of the photos in the same way you did the photo of the house as mentioned above.

Once you have uploaded the photos, you have the option to “Insert Gallery” which will automatically generate and place the shortcode into the text editor. To manually add the property map shortcode into your listing, simply copy and paste [gallery columns="5" size="featured" link="file"] and place it wherever you want the additional photos to appear.

Here’s an example of how the Additional Photos looks like on a listing:
Getting Started with AgentPress

Posted: September 13, 2011, 5:17 pm by Brian Gardner

Now that you’re ready to build your website with AgentPress 2.0, here’s how to get started:
Activating the Theme
The first step is to upload the AgentPress child theme folder via FTP to your server. Make sure you also upload the Genesis parent theme as well. Alternatively, you can also upload these via the wordPress dashboard under the Appearance > Install Themes page in your dashboard.

Once you have these uploaded, simply activate the AgentPress child theme.
Download the Plugin
The next thing you need to do is get the AgentPress Listings plugin activated on your site. You can either grab it from the WordPress plugin repository and upload it yourself or you can automatically install it from within your dashboard on the Plugins > Add New screen.

Once you have the AgentPress Listings plugin activated, you should see a link called “Listings” in the sidebar of your WordPress dashboard. This is where you will be able to manage your listings.
Create Listing Taxonomies
Now you’ll want to setup your property “categories” by clicking the Register Taxonomies link. On the AgentPress demo examples of these would include Property Status, Property Type, Property Price, Property Location and Property Bedrooms. After you create each listing taxonomy, it will show up as a link in the Listings menu in the sidebar.

Here’s an example of the AgentPress Demo taxonomies screen:

Create Listing Terms
Once you have your taxonomies setup, you should create the “terms” for each taxonomy. Click on the taxonomy link in your sidebar to add your terms. Examples of these would be For Sale, Sold Properties and Under Contract which would fall under the Property Status taxonomy.

Here’s an example of the AgentPress Demo terms screen:

Now that you have your taxonomies and terms setup, it’s time to create your listings. Stay tuned for the next tutorial on How to Create a Property Listing.
AgentPress 2.0 Beta Child Theme Available

Posted: September 12, 2011, 5:37 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very happy to announce that the AgentPress 2.0 Beta child theme is now available for testing. If you are a Pro Plus member go ahead and download the theme and give it a test drive. If you are curious, you can read about what’s new with AgentPress 2.0.

Color Styles
The theme has been designed with two color styles – you can check out the blue/green style as well as the gray/red style. We’re hoping to have anywhere between 3-5 color styles that will be included in the final version. More to come with color styles…
Homepage Options
The AgentPress homepage has been coded to load as a blog upon activation. However, if you wish to use a slider, property search box, display featured listings, community pages, recent blog post or more – you can! Just check out the AgentPress sample homepage to see what it can do.
IDX Integration
We are working with Diverse Solutions and IDX Broker to provide integration with their WordPress IDX plugins. Here’s a sample search results page and a sample property listing page from the dsIDXpress plugin by Diverse Solutions.
Listings Custom Post Type
In order to use feature which allows you to manually enter real estate listings, you’ll need to download the AgentPress Listings plugin. After you activate it, you’ll see “Listings” menu in the sidebar of your dashboard – that’s where all the magic occurs!
Tutorials Coming This Week
We’re calling this week “AgentPress 2.0 Beta” week, where we have released the preliminary version of the theme and also use our blog to provide tutorials on how each feature can be used. In the meantime, please provide feedback and report bugs in the AgentPress 2.0 support forum.
Modern Blogger 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 8, 2011, 5:08 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Modern Blogger 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Modern Blogger was developed by Lindsey Riel of Pretty Darn Cute Design, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Modern Blogger child theme includes the following features: 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Modern Blogger Theme
Genesis Tabs 0.9 Beta Plugin Now Available

Posted: September 7, 2011, 4:56 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very proud to announce that the Genesis Tabs plugin we’ve built is now available.

A few of our child themes, such as Magazine and News, were using the tabs feature, which is loaded via the child theme (and makes universal updating quite difficult.) The updated Magazine theme no longer has this built in, and is ready to go with Genesis Tabs. The News theme will be updated soon.
Genesis Tabs and Portability
We’ve been asked many times how to take the tabs from one of those themes and place it into another theme – which was somewhat tedious because of the steps involved. So we decided to create a plugin that can be used easily across any theme, and would have auto-updates enabled since we’re hosting it at WordPress.org.

The Genesis Tabs plugin is easily added to any theme because it is now added via a widget. This means you can place it at the top of the Lifestyle theme where the welcome text is, for example.

We’re releasing the plugin in beta right now, so that folks can do some initial testing, and provide feedback on usability and feature requests.
Example of the Genesis Tabs in the New Magazine Theme
Magazine 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 6, 2011, 5:26 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Magazine 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Updating to Magazine v2.0
This version underwent a major code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

The first part of the update was a complete rewrite of CSS which is based on the updated Genesis sample child theme. This will allow for more efficient coding and easier customization. In addition to that, we rewrote the home.php file so upon theme activation, the standard loop loads until the home widgets are placed into their appropriate areas.
Theme Features
The Magazine child theme includes the following features: 7 color styles (blue, green, lavender, orange, pink, red and teal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.
Genesis Tabs Coming Soon
You might notice is that the Magazine theme demo is now running the Genesis Slider plugin. The Slider, as you know, was extracted out of child themes and made into a standalone plugin. We will be doing the same thing with the tabs (coming soon), which the Magazine theme is already styled for.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Magazine Theme
Scribble 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: September 2, 2011, 4:59 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Scribble 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Theme Features
The Scribble child theme includes the following features: 7 color styles (blue, green, lavender, orange, pink, red and teal), 3 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Scribble Theme
AgentPress 2.0: Coming Soon & What’s New

Posted: September 1, 2011, 5:24 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very pleased to announce that we’re closing in on the release of AgentPress 2.0 – the updated version to our most popular child theme for Genesis. While I admit that this update is overdue, we’re excited to reveal why it’s taken so long.
Updated Design
AgentPress 2.0 will include a brand new design as the “default” look. Here’s a screenshot that shows you one of the color styles that will be included:

Custom Post Types
With the release of WordPress 3.0 a feature called Custom Post Types was introduced. When this took place, we decided that AgentPress 2.0 should have a “Listings” post type in it. This would separate posts from listings, and make it much more user-friendly in our opinion.

We won’t go into all of the details now, but here’s what part of the Listing post type screen looks like:

AgentPress Listings Plugin
Not only is AgentPress 2.0 going to be different with custom post types, we’ve also decided to pull that functionality out and place it into a plugin, which will be available on the WordPress repository. This gives us a way to update the plugin with new features and bug fixes, and to allow users a seamless (and one-click) way to obtain the new version.

Aside from that, the Agentpress Listings plugin can be integrated in any of the Genesis child themes with a few steps (tutorials coming soon). That is something we’re very excited about.
AgentPress IDX Integration
While we have no intentions (and never will) of creating our own IDX solution, we plan on making the AgentPress 2.0 theme compatible for the most popular IDX solutions around. First and foremost will be integration with the Diverse Solutions’ dsIDXpress plugin. You’ll see how that looks very soon.
AgentPress 2.0 Demo Site
We figured this question would be asked, so we’re rewarding those who took the time to read this entire post. Go on, you can now check out the AgentPress 2.0 demo to see what it looks like. Please keep in mind that this is a staging environment, and what you see now might change. We are still working on the design and functionality of various things, so don’t hold us to anything here.
AgentPress 2.0 Release Timeline
Last, but certainly not least, you’re probably dying to know when it’s coming…

We’re doing our best to wrap things up, and we know the danger of 1.0 being the Loneliest Number. (or in this case 2.0) Considering that we’ve published this post, you can assume it will be soon.

Ultimately our plan is to release the AgentPress Listing plugin as well as the AgentPress 2.0 child theme in beta to our Pro Plus members before it’s officially released. A lot of hard work has gone into the development of these, and we want to make sure we have a chance to thoroughly test it.

What does this really mean? It means possibly next week you can get your hands on them…
PSD (or your site) to Genesis in 5 Days, for $1500

Posted: August 31, 2011, 5:06 pm by Brian Gardner
Have you been looking to move your website to the Genesis Framework but are afraid to take the step? Perhaps it’s the fear of high costs or the amount of work you think it would take?

Well thanks to one of our recommended Genesis Developers Bill Erickson, this becomes a whole lot easier – and cheaper than you probably think.
Full Disclosure on this Special
First off, this is not a StudioPress service that we are advertising. Bill Erickson is a valued member of our community who contributes code, attends events such as Genesis Connect to show his loyalty and simply evangelizes the framework whenever he has the opportunity.

Second, we are not being compensated in any way to publish this post. We are promoting Bill because we want to give the Genesis community a chance to benefit from such a great deal, and we feel this is a huge value to users. (Not to mention he’s a stand-up guy.)
What’s Included in the Price
Here’s what you can expect to receive if you hire Bill to convert your design or website to Genesis:
1. Design: A website that matches your design exactly, but is as easy to edit as a Word document.
2. Power: The power, speed, and security of the Genesis framework
3. Flexibility: Two layouts (typically home and inner page), in addition to all the built-in Genesis Layout Options (one-, two-, and three-columns, selectable on a per-page basis)
4. Code: Clean, well-documented code in your child theme, which gives you the freedom to hire any developer to customize your site in the future.
5. Training: You’ll have access to the WP101 video training tutorials, which will walk you through every aspect of the WordPress interface. He’ll also include instructions on managing anything he builds specifically for your website.
Bill will start on Monday and deliver the initial version for review on Friday. Then you can then spend as long as needed tweaking it to your specifications as you add content, and once you’re ready he’ll migrate it to your server. If you are already sold, head on over to Bill’s site to get started.
Want More? Not a Problem
1. Custom Plugin Development: Bill loves building simple solutions to your complex problems. Take a look at the premium examples on his site to see how he’s helped my clients. He can also generalize your plugin and release it publicly, so you’ll enjoy ongoing improvements and code enhancements.
2. SEO: Once you have a great looking site that’s easy to manage, you’ll want it to be found in search engines. Bill recommends Scribe SEO, a tool that helps you write content that will get noticed.
3. Design: Don’t have a design? Bill can connect you with one of his recommended designers who will create something great just for you.
4. Data Entry: If you have your content written outside of WordPress (whether on an existing site or Word document), Bill has a partner that can transcribe it. She’s quick, meticulous, and much cheaper than hiring him to do it.
5. Hosting: Bill highly recommends you host your website with Bluehost. They’re fast and affordable.
Fashionista 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: August 30, 2011, 5:19 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Fashionista 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Fashionista was developed by the Genesis Ninja, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Fashionista child theme includes the following features: 5 color styles (blue, charcoal, pink, red and teal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Fashionista Theme
Legacy 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: August 22, 2011, 5:05 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Legacy 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can purchased here.

Legacy was developed by Wes Straham, and can be found on the StudioPress Marketplace. As a reminder, these themes are not included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch.
Theme Features
The Legacy child theme includes the following features: 7 color styles (black, blue, green, orange, purple, red and silver), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments. Legacy also uses the Genesis Slider plugin.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Legacy Theme
Nitrous 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: August 18, 2011, 8:42 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Nitrous 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Theme Features
The Nitrous child theme includes the following features: 10 color styles (blue, brown, green, olive, orange, pink, purple, red, silver and teal), 6 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, theme options, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Nitrous Theme
Custom Ribbon Header

Posted: August 18, 2011, 4:34 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Custom Ribbon Header by StudioPress. This is one many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The custom ribbon header is 960px by 150px and comes with seven different ribbon colors – blue, dark gray, green, light blue, orange, red and turquoise.

The download file includes both PSD and PNG files and are a great resource if you plan to use the Custom Header feature that’s available in most of the Genesis child themes.

The custom ribbon header was designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Dark Background Patterns

Posted: August 12, 2011, 2:15 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Dark Background Patterns by StudioPress. This set is one many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The dark background patterns come in five different styles and eight different colors – black, blue, green, gray, pink, purple, turquoise and red.

The download file includes both PSD and PNG files and are a great resource if you plan to use the Custom Background feature that’s available in most of the Genesis child themes.

The dark background patterns were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Introducing the StudioPress Marketplace

Posted: August 11, 2011, 4:21 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very pleased to announce the launch of the StudioPress Marketplace – where developers from around the community can sell their work.

It’s no secret that the Genesis Framework is used by a lot of people – we have 39 child themes, 54,000 customers and our records indicate that Genesis is used on more than 300,000 sites.

It’s also no secret that there is an incredible amount of talented developers in the WordPress community who build their client sites with Genesis.

So we’ve decided to team up with them to make your experience the very best it can be.
What is the StudioPress Marketplace?
We’ve created a single place for you to buy StudioPress-approved child themes from third-party designers – it’s called the StudioPress Marketplace. Here you will be able to find a simple solution to the ongoing problem of finding a variety of well-built designs powered by Genesis.

We’re going to stay on top of state-of-the-art for you. We’re going to review every theme for you. And most importantly, we’re going to find amazing designers and new themes for you.

These themes will not be included in the Pro Plus All-Themes package, but we assure you that the design and coding of the themes are top-notch. They will also be documented and supported by the developers over on the StudioPress Support Forum.
More Details to Come About the Marketplace
We’re sure you want to know all of the details regarding the StudioPress Marketplace and we’ll be telling you how you can submit your themes very soon.

We’re doing a soft launch with some hand picked developers for the time being, but we have intentions of opening the doors for anyone to submit their Genesis-powered theme.

Please welcome the first four (of many) excellent themes to the Marketplace:
Blingless Child Theme

For the micro-blogger, speed is everything. You want to keep screen alive with new color, text, and image. Near-constant movement. The Blingless theme gets out of your way, so you can get on to what’s next. Blingless was designed by Dre Armeda of CubicTwo.
Elle Child Theme

You’re in the city. You’re in the country. You’ve got stories and pictures and ideas that can’t be contained by mere … stereotypes. Let the Elle theme frame your life or business the way you want it framed. Elle was designed by Lauren Mancke of Northbound Design.
Maximum Child Theme

Utmost impact. Lavish readability. Maximum … awesome. The Maximum theme delivers — in a big way — whether you’re building your company, or creating your personal brand. Maximum was designed by Brad Potter of Theme Craft.
Vintage Child Theme

Somehow, it’s old and new. The best vintage pieces point back in history, and look forward, defining the future. The Vintage theme allows you to wrap your photos, your words, your audio in the feel of another time. Vintage was designed by Lauren Gaige of Restored 316 Designs.
Corporate 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: August 9, 2011, 5:17 pm by Brian Gardner

We are happy to announce the release of the Corporate 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Google Fonts
One of the changes to the style of the Corporate theme was the addition of Google Fonts. We added the use of Droid Sans to the navigation, headlines and various input boxes and submit buttons.
Updating to Corporate v2.0
This version underwent a major code update which means there’s not an easy update path. If you’re happy with your site built on a previous version of the theme, there’s no need to update.

The first part of the update was a complete rewrite of CSS which is based on the updated Genesis sample child theme. This will allow for more efficient coding and easier customization.

In addition to that, we rewrote the home.php file so upon theme activation, the standard loop loads until the home widgets are placed into their appropriate areas.
Screenshot of the Corporate Theme
Meet the Genesis Developers: Part Three

Posted: August 3, 2011, 5:34 pm by Brian Gardner

Are you looking to have your site built on the Genesis Framework? Have you had a chance to see all of the amazing sites built with it? If not, take some time to check out the Theme Showcase, and you’ll see just how powerful Genesis can be.

At StudioPress, we believe in giving credit where it’s due. Genesis serves as the foundation of more than 250,000 sites, and we’d like to show you who’s behind some of the best designed sites on the internet. Below you will meet 3 very talented people – whom we consider friends and are among the Genesis Developers we recommend that are available for hire. Jennifer Baumann, Dream Whisper Designs I am a longtime StudioPress addict and founder of Dream Whisper Designs, based in northeast Pennsylvania. I am also an avid horseback rider and creature mom, and I love creating beautiful, yet functional websites. Always a creative type, I initially failed to follow my heart and instincts. Fortunately, my now dusty Master’s Degree has been supplanted by an undying passion for creative websites and blogs built on the Genesis Framework for WordPress. I’ve been around since the days of the Revolution theme.

I’m thrilled to be a part of the StudioPress community and even more thrilled to be able to offer my clients designs that reflect their vision built on the best framework around.

Website: Dream Whisper Designs · Twitter: @dreamwhisper · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Jesse Petersen, Petersen Media Group Customer service. Customer experience. Long-term client/designer relationships. These are the things that I wanted to bring to the industry when I formed Petersen Media Group in 2009 after seeing hundreds of people struggling to make their site something to be proud of, even though they were using premium themes. I consider my work a craft and my clients as friends whom I get to know in order to best serve them and their customers. I work mostly with well-known experts in their fields due to word-of-mouth referrals.

However, I feel that no one is too small to have my full attention – it’s what everyone deserves. I don’t farm out work to others because that loses the personal touch that is expected when someone chooses to work with me.

Website: Jesse Petersen · Twitter: @jpetersen · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites
Lauren Mancke, Northbound Design I am a Creative Professional living and working in Columbia, South Carolina. Having worked with Brian Gardner for many years now and having been involved with many StudioPress themes, I build everything I can on the Genesis Framework. Its flexibility, along with the collaborative nature of the community allows us to give our clients exactly what they need. Working with my husband and the rest of our talented team couldn’t be more enjoyable and I look forward to taking on more work.

Since founding Northbound Design, a full service media company that specializes in design and development as well as WordPress themes and consulting, I have clients located all over the world. I just love to create.

Website: Northbound Design · Twitter: @northboundesign · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Ok, Now it’s Time to Say Hello!
If you’ve worked with any of these developers, or want to comment on their work, go ahead and leave them a comment below. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you!
Serenity 1.0.2 Child Theme Available

Posted: August 2, 2011, 6:45 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Serenity 1.0.2 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

Serenity Slider Issues
Older versions of the Serenity child theme were experiencing an issue with the Slider that was loaded via the child theme. The updated version simply replaces that code with a widget area now using the Genesis Slider plugin that we’ve built.

For members who have customized their Serenity child theme, there are instructions on how you can manually update your files as needed.
Light Background Patterns

Posted: July 29, 2011, 5:01 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Light Background Patterns by StudioPress. This set is one of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The light background patterns come in three different styles and six different colors – beige, blue, gray, green, tan and teal.

The download file includes both PSD and PNG files and are a great resource if you plan to use the Custom Background feature that’s available in most of the Genesis child themes.

The light background patterns were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Associate 1.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: July 28, 2011, 6:22 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Associate 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Genesis Slider
The Associate child theme uses the new Genesis Slider plugin that we’ve built. You can easily add it to your site with a widget, and can choose to show posts or pages.
Theme Features
The Associate child theme includes the following features: 4 color styles (blue, gray, green, red), 3 layout options, custom background, custom header, featured images, fixed width, footer widgets, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…
Screenshot of the Associate Theme
Genesis Slider 0.9 Beta Plugin Now Available

Posted: July 22, 2011, 8:11 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very proud to announce that the Genesis Slider plugin we’ve built is now available. You can see the Genesis Slider in action on the upcoming Associate child theme.

A few of our child themes, such as Serenity and AgentPress, currently use a similar slider, which is loaded via the child theme (and makes universal updating quite difficult.)

We’ve been asked many times how to take the slider from one of those themes and place it into another theme – which was somewhat tedious because of the steps involved. So we decided to create a plugin that can be used easily across any theme, and would have auto-updates enabled since we’re hosting it at WordPress.org.

The Genesis Slider plugin is easily added to any theme because it is now added via a widget. This means you can place it at the top of the Minimum theme where the welcome text is, for example.

We’re releasing the plugin in beta right now, so that folks can do some initial testing, and provide feedback on usability and feature requests.
Here’s a Screenshot of the Genesis Slider Settings
Real Estate Icons

Posted: July 19, 2011, 5:30 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Real Estate Icons by StudioPress. This set is one of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
The real estate icons are available in multi-color and black/white color schemes. The download file includes both PSD and PNG files and are a great resource if you’re using the AgentPress theme.

The post format icons were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Genesis Connect at WordCamp San Francisco

Posted: July 18, 2011, 9:36 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very proud to announce the very first Genesis Connect event, which will be held during WordCamp San Francisco. Genesis Connect is an unofficial meetup open to anyone who uses or develops with the Genesis Framework.

If you are interested in learning more or want to meet others who make their living with it, here’s your chance. Join folks such as Bill Erickson, Brad Williams and the WebDevStudios crew, Brian Gardner, Chris Ford, Dre Armeda, Jared Atchison, Josh Byers, Lauren Mancke, Nathan Rice and more.
Enterprise 1.1 Child Theme Available

Posted: July 14, 2011, 6:44 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Enterprise 1.1 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Google Fonts
One of the changes to the style of the Enterprise theme was the addition of Google Fonts. We added the use of Droid Sans to the navigation, headlines and various input boxes and submit buttons.
Footer Widgets
The previous version of the Enterprise child theme did not include support for footer widgets, so we’ve added them to the updated version. Thanks to Genesis, which does the heavy lifting, you can register footer widgets with a single line of code.

To learn how to add footer widgets without updating the entire theme and losing customizations, registered users should view this tutorial. Also note that the footer widgets have replaced the home bottom widgets from the previous version.
Screenshot of the Enterprise Theme
Updating Isn’t Necessary
If you are currently using an earlier version of Enterprise, you don’t have to update to the v1.1. While much of the theme code was rewritten, additional functionality being added was at a minimum.

How to Use the Navigation Bars

Posted: July 11, 2011, 5:51 pm by Brian Gardner

As part of our free web graphics section of the blog, we recently released the Navigation Bars. In the comments of that post, folks asked us if we’d explain how to use them into a theme.

Easy to Implement with the Genesis Framework

If you are running any of your sites on the Genesis Framework, using the icon set for bloggers is quite simple – and only requires a few steps.

Every child theme has a primary and secondary navigation, which are defined in the style.css by #nav and #subnav respectively. For this example, I’m going to use the primary navigation and blue navigation bar.

Upload Navigation Bar Images to Your Server

The first thing you should do is download a fresh copy of the navigation bars. Inside the zip file you’ll see the PSD file for the navigation bars, but also 3 folders – blue, green and black.

Open up the blue folder, and copy all 4 image files you see: nav-blue-hover.png, nav-blue-line.png, nav-blue.png and nav.home. You will now need to upload those images into your child theme’s images folder.

Add CSS to Style Your Navigation Bar

After you’ve uploaded the images, you’ll need to open up your child theme’s style.css file and look for the primary navigation elements. That will begin here:

/* Primary Navigation
------------------------------------------------------------ */

Immediately after that you will see a number of CSS definitions for the #nav and it’s related selectors. You can delete allow of that up until you get to this:

/* Primary Navigation Extras
------------------------------------------------------------ */

And replace it with this:

#nav {
	background: url(images/nav-blue.png);
	clear: both;
	color: #fff;
	margin: 0 auto;
	overflow: hidden;
	text-transform: uppercase;
	width: 960px;
}

#nav ul {
	float: left;
	padding: 0 0 0 10px;
	width: 950px;
}

#nav ul ul {
	padding: 0;
}

#nav li {
	background: url(images/nav-blue-line.png) no-repeat top right;
	float: left;
	list-style-type: none;
	padding: 0 2px 0 0;
}

#nav li.right,
#nav li li {
	background: none;
	padding: 0;
}

#nav li.home a,
#nav li.home a:hover {
	background: url(images/nav-home.png);
	height: 50px;
	padding: 0;
	text-indent: -9999px;
	width: 50px;
}

#nav li li {
	background: none;
	padding: 0;
}

#nav li a {
	color: #fff;
	display: block;
	font-size: 13px;
	padding: 14px 15px;
	position: relative;
	text-decoration: none;
}

#nav li a:hover,
#nav li a:active,
#nav .current_page_item a,
#nav .current-cat a,
#nav .current-menu-item a {
	background: url(images/nav-blue-hover.png);
	color: #fff;
}

#nav li a.sf-with-ul {
	padding-right: 25px;
}

#nav li a .sf-sub-indicator {
	background: url(images/arrow-down.png) no-repeat;
	height: 10px;
	position: absolute;
	right: 10px;
	text-indent: -9999px;
	top: 20px;
	width: 10px;
}

#nav li li a,
#nav li li a:link,
#nav li li a:visited {
	background-color: #1790d1;
	border: 1px solid #0274be;
	border-top-width: 0;
	color: #fff;
	font-size: 12px;
	padding: 5px 10px;
	position: relative;
	text-transform: none;
	width: 138px;
}

#nav li li a:hover,
#nav li li a:active {
	background: none;
	background-color: #0274be;
}


#nav li li a .sf-sub-indicator {
	background: url(images/arrow-right.png) no-repeat;
	top: 10px;
}

#nav li ul {
	height: auto;
	left: -9999px;
	margin: -3px 0 0;
	position: absolute;
	width: 160px;
	z-index: 9999;
}

#nav li ul a {
	width: 140px;
}

#nav li ul ul {
	margin: -33px 0 0 159px;
}

#nav li:hover>ul,
#nav li.sfHover ul {
	left: auto;
}

li:hover ul ul,
li.sfHover ul ul {
	left: -9999px;
}

li:hover,
li.sfHover { 
	position: static;
}

Setting up the Home Icon for the Home Link

If you want to use the icon as seen in the example of the Navigation Bars, it’s quite simple. Inside your custom menu screen, open up your Home link box and look for the CSS Classes (optional) option and enter home as the value. You can see what that looks like here:

Home Link for Navigation Bars

If you don’t see the CSS Classes (optional) box, you can enable it by opening up the Screen Options menu in the upper right hand corner of your dashboard (next to the Help tab) and clicking on the CSS Classes option.

Genesis Framework v1.7 Now Available

Posted: July 6, 2011, 9:04 pm by Brian Gardner

With the release of WordPress 3.2, we’re happy to announce the follow-up release of Genesis v1.7. This update isn’t packed with features, but does have a few cool things to mention. (read the full list)

Genesis v1.7 requires WordPress 3.2, so anyone running an older version of WordPress will not receive the automatic update notice in their dashboard.
Updated Theme/SEO Settings
It’s no secret that one of the biggest changes in WordPress 3.2 is the design of the UI. It’s also no coincidence that the biggest change in Genesis v1.7 is the same thing – the design of the UI. In our case, we’ve updated the Theme/SEO Settings pages to match the new styling of WordPress.

Here’s an example of the new design style for the Genesis Theme Settings page, which integrates seamlessly with the default admin UI styles of WordPress:

(click image for full view)

Updated Security Audit
Aside from a few other bug fixes here and there is the other “big” thing to mention regarding Genesis v.1.7 – WordPress Lead Developer Mark Jaquith has performed a full review of code for security as he’s done in the past.

From Mark Jaquith, WordPress Lead Developer:

StudioPress reached out to me to do a security review before Genesis was even released, and I did another review for Genesis 1.7. They were very responsive to my suggestions, and the result is a framework that follows all the WordPress security best practices. It’s clear StudioPress made security a priority when developing Genesis and from a security standpoint, Genesis 1.7 is at the top of its class.
What’s to Come in Genesis v1.8
With all that we’ve done with the Genesis Framework to date, there’s not a ton left that we plan to do. Our focus will be on extending Genesis by way of child themes and plugins.

One thing that will probably take place in Genesis v1.8 is a slight redesign of the parent style sheet. This will include the use of Google Fonts to update the look, but primarily serve as a way to show developers how to implement them.

We have a few other “treats” that we plan to add as well… so for now, enjoy the lovely new UI of the Genesis Theme/SEO Settings pages, and let us know what you think!
Special Thanks to Our Community
We’d like to thank the following developers for their contributions with the update to Genesis v1.7: Gary Jones, Ron Rennick, Bill Erickson, Mark Jaquith and Charles Clarkson.
Navigation Bars

Posted: July 1, 2011, 6:18 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Navigation Bars by StudioPress. This set is the fourth of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Navigation Bars available in 3 different color schemes: Blue, Green and Black. Each color scheme includes the button, active and hover states and can be customized as needed.

The navigation bars were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
How to Make Money With WordPress (and Genesis)

Posted: June 30, 2011, 5:09 pm by Brian Gardner

As WordPress continues to grow and extend it’s user base, many folks are actively looking to exit their day jobs and figure out how to make money with WordPress. Mashable recently published a great article called 7 Ways to Build a Business Around WordPress, and we’d like to take this a step further.

We’d like to show you not only how to make money with WordPress, but also how to make money with the Genesis Framework. What do you say, are you interested?
Become a Developer and Build Client Sites
It’s no secret that a lot of folks are running on Genesis – in fact, our latest statistics show that well over a quarter million sites have the framework as the foundation of their web presence.

The interest folks have with running their site on Genesis is huge – and the opportunity for you to make money with WordPress by developing and building custom sites for clients is the same. In fact, StudioPress will promote you – as we do with many Genesis Developers.
Develop and Sell Genesis Child Themes
When we launched the Genesis Framework, we knew that there would be a lot interest in working with it. Genesis carries the GNU General Public License v2.0, which means that you have been given the opportunity to extend it by way of child themes.

There are a lot of talented designers and developers who are building and selling child themes. Places such as Themedy and Theme Forest are developing some pretty amazing Genesis child themes.
Identify and Own a Niche with Genesis
Working in the “general” WordPress space can sometimes be very difficult because of competition. A way around that is to identify a niche that WordPress and Genesis can cater to, and go after it.

A great example of this is our friends over at Agent Evolution who dominate in the custom real estate website market. They use a combination of AgentPress and IDX integration to own that space.

Another example is the political arena, where our friends Wes and Lauren at Win With WordPress exclusively build their themes and custom sites with Genesis.
Become an Affiliate and Market Genesis
Affiliate programs have been around for years now, and StudioPress offers 35% commission for all sales generated by affiliate leads. Whether you do child theme reviews or simply place advertising on your site like Chris Brogan and Darren Rowse do, you have the chance to make a lot of money.

Want to be like our top affiliates who earn $xx,xxx? Join our affiliate program now…
Develop and Sell Add-Ons for Genesis
Long time StudioPress friends Ron and Andrea Rennick saw an opportunity at hand when they were contacted by many people regarding the integration of BuddyPress and Genesis. Not too much time passed before they realized the chance to make money was there.

Ron developed the Genesis Connect plugin, which allows users to build a social network for your company, school, sports team or niche community all based on the power and flexibility of the Genesis Framework and WordPress.
Create a Membership Site for Genesis Training
We offer an extensive site for Genesis Development, which includes an array of resources from general tutorials to teaching the basics of building child themes.

While there is an incredible amount of documentation there, there’s also a void for niche specific and detailed information that some users are looking for. This is a great opportunity to carve out your own place in the market, and do something like our friend Kim is doing with her Diving Into Genesis series.
Making Money With WordPress AND Genesis
In the same way Matt Mullenweg encourages people to build business and make money with WordPress, we do the same with Genesis. We love the ecosystem that has been created out of the development of the Genesis Framework, and actively promote (through the StudioPress blog as well as Twitter) people who do great things with it.

There’s plenty of opportunity as we’ve pointed out to establish a viable business by combining the power of WordPress and extensibility of Genesis. We will continue to find ways to expose the talented designers and developers in our community.

And that’s a promise.
Fabric 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: June 29, 2011, 5:11 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Fabric 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you will need to purchase the Fabric + Genesis Theme package.

The Fabric child theme includes the following features: 3 color styles, 3 layout options, featured images, fixed width, footer widgets, threaded comments.

Take it for a test drive…

Here’s a screenshot of the Fabric Child Theme:
Fairway: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: June 28, 2011, 11:20 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the Fairway child theme for the Genesis Framework. Fairway will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

Fairway is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 6 page layouts, custom background, custom header, custom menus, footer widgets, threaded comments. (click to see demo)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Fairway Child Theme
Using Google Web Fonts With Your Genesis Theme

Posted: June 27, 2011, 11:19 pm by Brian Gardner
There is a lot of buzz going on these days with web design and custom fonts – and more than likely you’ve seen some typography that you’d die to have on your site. Some of these are paid fonts, which you might want not want to spend money on.
Google Comes to the Rescue
Google Web Fonts lets you browse all the fonts available via the Google Web Fonts API. All fonts in the directory are available for use on your website under an open source license and are served by Google servers. And they are free. That’s great news, right?

Well yes it is – especially if you’re running the Genesis Framework on your website or blog. With a few simple steps, you can select any of the Google web fonts and implement them into your design.
How to Implement Google Web Fonts
The first thing you need to do is to identify which Google Web Font you’d like to use. You can do so by visiting the Google Web Fonts page, and browsing by various criteria. As soon as you find a font you like, go to the font page. (We’ll use Droid Serif as an example.)

Click the “Use this font” link and you’ll be taken to the Use this font on your webpages section.

Toward the bottom of the page, you’ll see the Developer’s Guide section – click on the link that says “Advanced techniques” which will display this:
```
@import url [fonts.googleapis.com] 
```
Adding to Your Child Theme’s Style Sheet
The first thing you need to do is add the following code to the top of your style sheet. You’ll want to do it immediately after the style sheet header (which has info such as Theme Name, Version, etc.)
```
/* Import Fonts
------------------------------------------------------------ */
@import url [fonts.googleapis.com] 
```
Make sure the code is placed above any of the child theme’s CSS definitions.

The last step is defining the font in places you want to use it. For example, if you want to use the Droid Serif font in the navigation, you would add it to your font stack below like you see below:
```
#nav {
	font-family: 'Droid Serif', arial, serif;
}
```
It’s that simple – using Google Web Fonts with your Genesis theme is that easy. Just follow the steps mentioned above, and you can add some wonderful typography to your website or blog.
Meet the Genesis Developers: Part Two

Posted: June 27, 2011, 5:11 pm by Brian Gardner

Are you looking to have your site built on the Genesis Framework? Have you had a chance to see all of the amazing sites built with it? If not, take some time to check out the Theme Showcase, and you’ll see just how powerful Genesis can be.

At StudioPress, we believe in giving credit where it’s due. Genesis serves as the foundation of more than 250,000 sites, and we’d like to show you who’s behind some of the best designed sites on the internet. Below you will meet 3 very talented people – whom we consider friends and are among the Genesis Developers we recommend that are available for hire. Darcy Milder, Graphically Designing Graphically Designing was born in 2007 from a casual love affair with design and typography. From trying to make my own blog beautiful, grew a network of blogs and websites on 5 continents and in several languages. I love beautiful things, and after about 2 years making the blogosphere beautiful, I began to focus on what makes a beautiful blog work. I poured myself into SEO, browser compatibility, learning best practices of CSS and began to tackle php.

The marriage of the Genesis Framework and my designs is no coincidence. I searched out the very best in theme frameworks and knew this is where I wanted my clients. From custom, one-of-a-kind spaces to beautiful designs, I can offer something beautiful for every blogger.

Website: Graphically Designing · Twitter: @GraphDesigning · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Jared Atchison, JaredAtchison.com I am truly passionate about two things: making websites and WordPress. Combining these obsessions, I create websites that are professional, effective, and super easy for clients to maintain. I’ve been using WordPress as a CMS for more than 4 years and have been developing on the Genesis Framework since early 2010. In working with WordPress, I specialize in the Genesis Framework and am an active member of the StudioPress community. I truly believe that Genesis is the best foundation for any WordPress site.

I work with clients of all sizes – from WordPress VIP customers to small businesses and individuals. When I’m not knee deep in code, my enthusiasm for WordPress continues. I regularly attend WordCamps around the country each year.

Website: Jared Atchison · Twitter: @jaredatch · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Shannon Dow, EightCrazy Designs My journey with design began in high school when a family friend lent me a computer for the summer that had some design software on it. I fussed and fiddled that summer and my love for graphic design was discovered. As years went by I taught myself and focused on print work in the communications field. Eventually it was starting my own blog that opened the door to web design. Once again I began self-teaching and along the way I have had a wonderful community of designers that encouraged me to grow.

EightCrazy Designs blossomed out of that growth and since beginning to work with WordPress I have found the Genesis Framework and Child Themes to be the most comprehensive tool.

Website: EightCrazy Designs · Twitter: @eightcrazy · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Ok, Now it’s Time to Say Hello!
If you’ve worked with any of these developers, or want to comment on their work, go ahead and leave them a comment below. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you!
How to Use the Icon Set for Bloggers

Posted: June 23, 2011, 5:26 pm by Brian Gardner
As part of our free web graphics section of the blog, we recently released an Icon Set for Bloggers. In the comments of that post, folks asked us if we’d explain how to use them into a theme.
Easy to Implement with the Genesis Framework
If you are running any of your sites on the Genesis Framework, using the icon set for bloggers is quite simple – and only requires a few steps.

First, let’s take a look at where the icon set for bloggers can even be used. There are two sections within the Genesis Framework where you can utilize these fine graphics – the post info section, and the post meta section.
The Post Info Section
Traditionally in all Genesis child themes the post info section can be found underneath the post title. Here’s an example taken from the Minimum child theme:

You’ll see that there is an icon immediately to the left of the date and also the comments. Both of those show up as a result of CSS that is defined in the Minimum child theme’s style.css file. Here’s what that looks like:
```
.time {
	background: url(images/icon-time.png) no-repeat;
	padding: 2px 0 2px 21px;
}

.post-comments {
	background: url(images/icon-comments.png) no-repeat;
	margin: 0 0 0 10px;
	padding: 2px 0 2px 22px;
}
```
The Post Meta Section
Similarly in all Genesis child themes the post info section can be found at the bottom of each post, mostly likely directly above the author box. Here’s an example taken from the Minimum child theme:

You’ll see that there is an icon immediately to the left of the categories and also the tags. Both of those show up as a result of CSS that is defined in the Minimum child theme’s style.css file. Here’s what that looks like:
```
.categories {
	background: url(images/icon-categories.png) no-repeat;
	padding: 2px 0 2px 22px;
}

.tags {
	background: url(images/icon-tags.png) no-repeat;
	margin: 0 0 0 10px;
	padding: 2px 0 2px 20px;
}
```
Implementing the New Icons
As you can see from the CSS above, each icon is saved as an image – icon-categories.png, icon-comments.png, icon-tags.png and icon-time.png. If you want to replace the icons shown in the examples above with ones from the icon set for bloggers, all you need to do is rename each of the new icons with the file name from the style.css file. (Alternatively, you could change the image file name in the style.css file to match that of the file name of each corresponding icon.)
Upload Files to Your Server
Once you have that sorted, all you need to do is simply upload each of the icon files to the child theme’s images folder on your server. You may need to overwrite the default files from the theme if you chose the method of renaming the icons from our pack to icon-categories.png, icon-comments.png, icon-tags.png and icon-time.png.

If you choose to change the image file name in the style.css file to match that of the file name of each corresponding icon, make sure you upload the style.css file to your child theme’s folder.

If you have have any questions with this, feel free to ask in the comments below.
Click Here Buttons

Posted: June 20, 2011, 5:23 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Click Here Buttons by StudioPress. This set is the third of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Click here buttons available in 3 different color schemes: Dark, Green and Orange. Each color scheme includes the button, active and hover states and can be customized as needed.

The click here buttons are great if you are building WordPress landing pages and want to optimize your conversion.

The click here buttons were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Minimum 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: June 16, 2011, 6:33 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Minimum 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you will need to purchase the Minimum + Genesis Theme package.

Take it for a test drive…

Here’s a screenshot of the Minimum Child Theme:
Meet the Genesis Developers: Part One

Posted: June 15, 2011, 5:06 pm by Brian Gardner

Are you looking to have your site built on the Genesis Framework? Have you had a chance to see all of the amazing sites built with it? If not, take some time to check out the Theme Showcase, and you’ll see just how powerful Genesis can be.

At StudioPress, we believe in giving credit where it’s due. Genesis serves as the foundation of more than 250,000 sites, and we’d like to show you who’s behind some of the best designed sites on the internet. Below you will meet 3 very talented people – whom we consider friends and are among the Genesis Developers we recommend that are available for hire. Josh Byers, Red Letters Studio I like to say that Red Letters Studio is a purveyor of gourmet pixels. Everything that is produced, from the design to the way you manage your content is scrutinized down to the finest detail to make sure its perfect for you. Usability and flexibility are the reasons I design and develop exclusively with WordPress and the Genesis Framework. You can bring any project to Red Letters Studio with confidence as I’ve created a wide variety of projects for a wide variety of clientele.

From a blog for a-list movie star Rachel McAdams to websites for churches in Iowa, you can be sure I’ll have a great solution for you. For the past 13 years, web sites, logos, and other media have left my computer and have made some really fun people happy.

Website: Red Letters Studio · Twitter: @joshbyers · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Lindsey Riel, Pretty Darn Cute Design Pretty Darn Cute Design is my absolutely necessary creative outlet. Without it I would explode. I have had a passion for design my entire life. I first indulged my passion by creating websites in Notepad then later discovered the magic of WordPress. Since then my continuing education has enabled me to build PDCD into a rapidly expanding graphic/web design consulting business. I’m a Military Wife and feel incredibly blessed to have a portable career that’s allowed me to work with amazing people from all over the world.

I love what I do and enjoy bringing my clients web and graphic design ideas to fruition. I work with everything from the whimsical and light hearted to the serious professional. Discovering Genesis was a turning point in my business.

Website: Pretty Darn Cute Design · Twitter: @lindseyriel · Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Bill Erickson, BillErickson.net I believe that a successful website doesn’t just look great; it should be simple to maintain. When possible, I build client sites using the Genesis Framework. This reduces the time and cost of developing the website, and I can build a custom child theme to your exact specifications. I use WordPress platform, an open-source Content Management System. It makes editing your website as easy as editing a Word document. I focus on building visually stunning websites that are easy to maintain, using WordPress as a CMS.

I’ve been a web developer for 8 years and a WordPress developer for 5, and work with all business types, from individuals to startups to large corporations and universities. I collaborate with talented designers and customize WordPress to your specific needs.

Website: Bill Erickson · Twitter: @billerickson· Portfolio: View Showcase Sites Ok, Now it’s Time to Say Hello!
If you’ve worked with any of these developers, or want to comment on their work, go ahead and leave them a comment below. I’m sure they’d love to hear from you!
Icon Set for Bloggers

Posted: June 14, 2011, 6:18 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Icon Set for Bloggers by StudioPress. This set is the second of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Minimalistic icon set for bloggers available in 8 different color schemes: Color, Gray, Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red, Turquoise. Each color scheme includes both big (32×32 pixels) and small (18×18 pixels) size versions.

The icon set for bloggers was designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Post Format Icons

Posted: June 2, 2011, 5:03 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of Post Format Icons by StudioPress. This set will be the first of many free web graphics that we plan to make available to the community.

Note: There is a file embedded within this post, please visit this post to download the file.
Post Formats is a new feature that was introduced in WordPress 3.1. The download file includes both PSD and PNG files. You can use these icons in your own WordPress theme to present the following post formats: aside, gallery, link, image, quote, status, video, audio, chat.

The post format icons were designed by Rafal Tomal, lead designer of Copyblogger Media.
Nomadic: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: May 31, 2011, 5:59 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the Nomadic child theme for the Genesis Framework. Nomadic will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

Nomadic is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 6 page layouts, custom background, custom header, custom menus, footer widgets, threaded comments. (click to see demo)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Nomadic Child Theme
Lifestyle 2.0 Child Theme Available

Posted: May 26, 2011, 6:40 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Lifestyle 2.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
What’s New In Lifestyle 2.0
It’s pretty clear that the most obvious difference in Lifestyle 2.0 is the styling of the theme. We’ve modified a number of CSS elements, and have introduced the use of Google Fonts in this update.

The Lifestyle 2.0 theme now includes 10 theme colors, which can easily be changed via the Theme Settings page. We have included a PSD file for the header graphic in case you want to customize it.

Head on over to the Lifestyle demo site and check it out!
The Retirement of the Church Theme
With the release of Lifestyle 2.0 and the inclusion of 10 theme colors, we have decided to retire the Church child theme. The layout of the previous Lifestyle theme and the Church theme were identical, so we decided to maintain one set of child theme code which offered all of the theme colors.

For those who purchased the Church theme, we will be sending out a download link to the Lifestyle 2.0 theme for you to use. We will continue (as we always do) to support our retired themes.
New Homepage Features
In previous versions of Lifestyle, we developed the home.php file to include static text boxes that represented each widget area. The Lifestyle 2.0 theme now includes a conditional home.php file, which will load the standard loop upon theme activation.

Don’t be alarmed when you see this, as the homepage widget areas exist, and will overwrite the standard loop once a Featured Post widget is moved into those widget areas.
Post Formats and Page Templates
Another major addition to the Lifestyle theme is the support of post formats, as well as the addition of the Landing Page and Portfolio Page templates.

We’re very pleased with all of the new features that have been added to the Lifestyle theme and look forward to updating other child themes as well. (Corporate will be the next to be updated)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Lifestyle Child Theme
Georgia: A Free Child Theme For Genesis

Posted: May 25, 2011, 3:06 pm by Brian Gardner

I am very happy to announce the release of the Georgia child theme for the Genesis Framework. Georgia will be one of many free child themes that we plan to make available for download.

Georgia is a “blog” theme, which includes features such as 6 page layouts, custom background, custom header, custom menus, footer widgets, threaded comments. (click to see demo)
Here’s a Screenshot of the Georgia Child Theme
Introducing the New StudioPress Design

Posted: May 24, 2011, 5:10 pm by Brian Gardner
If you don’t follow me on Twitter, you may have missed that a new coat of paint was applied here at StudioPress. We’ve very pleased with the outcome of the site, and are excited about some of the things we have to share.
The New StudioPress Design
It’s no secret that the signature StudioPress black/orange color scheme no longer exists here on the site – and that, of course, is by no accident. Every once in a while brands go through transitions which can certainly warrant a color change, and for StudioPress this was the perfect time.

It’s been nearly 9 months since StudioPress came together with a few others to form Copyblogger Media – a development company which provides a suite of tools to help publishers succeed online.

As we have slowly worked our development into the trinity of essential software products, we wanted the StudioPress brand to represent a vibrant and professional movement within WordPress – focused on design optimization alongside the Genesis Framework.

With the brilliance of our lead designer Rafal Tomal, the new StudioPress site has launched, and we can’t be any prouder to display the new branding.
Giving Back to the Community
Another reason we moved forward with a site redesign was to accomodate a number of things we wish to accomplish here at StudioPress.

Our community is extremely important to us – and we make every effort we can to exceed the expectations of our users with customer service and support. With a forum of over nearly 50,000 and a community who is running close to 250,000 sites on Genesis, that’s a challenge at times – but one we embrace with open arms.

As part of giving back to the community, I’m pleased to announce that in the coming weeks, we will be opening up a “Resources” section here at StudioPress which will include the following:
- Free Graphics for Designers and Bloggers
- Free StudioPress-developed Genesis Child Themes
- Directory of Third Party Genesis Child Themes for Sale
More Things to Come
Lastly, I wanted to mention what else is to come. First off, we will be refocusing some of our resources to our blog. Right now we are primarily using the blog to announce Theme Releases, but we plan on opening that up to include a few things such as WordPress Tips, Featured Sites built on Genesis and much more.

We’ll also be updating a number of our child themes such as Lifestyle, Corporate and a few more. (here’s the update Lifestyle design for example.) In addition to that, of course we’ll be releasing a number of new child themes.

All in all, we’re very excited about the future of StudioPress and what we have planned. Feel free to provide feedback about the new site design by leaving a comment below, or use it as an opportunity to request features in themes that you would like to see.

To stay connected, feel free to follow StudioPress on Twitter or Like us on Facebook.
Blissful 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: May 13, 2011, 6:59 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Blissful 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you will need to purchase the Blissful + Genesis Theme package.
Designed With Care by EightCrazy Designs
We’re also pleased to announce that the Blissful child theme was carefully crafted by Shannon Dow of EightCrazy Designs. She’s an incredibly talented designer and will be designing a number of themes which will be released here at StudioPress.

Take it for a test drive…

Here’s a screenshot of the Blissful Child Theme:
Help Us Make it to the Finals at Theme Madness

Posted: May 9, 2011, 11:02 pm by Brian Gardner
For those of you who don’t stay in touch with what’s going on in the WordPress community over at WP Candy, they are hosting a virtual event called Theme Madness 2011. While we haven’t made any effort to “compete”, I figured it was time to step up and have a little fun.

If you want to support StudioPress and help us get to the Finals of Theme Madness, you can do that 3 ways – feel free to do all of them if you *really* like us.
- Head on over to the WP Candy blog post and vote for us
- Leave a comment on this blog post and share your support
- Tweet your vote using the #wpmadness hashtag and mention @StudioPress
Midnight 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: May 5, 2011, 6:07 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Midnight 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you will need to purchase the Midnight + Genesis Theme package.

Take it for a test drive…

Here’s a screenshot of the Midnight Child Theme:
Help Us Make it to the Final Four at Theme Madness

Posted: May 3, 2011, 4:04 pm by Brian Gardner
For those of you who don’t stay in touch with what’s going on in the WordPress community over at WP Candy, they are hosting a virtual event called Theme Madness 2011. While we haven’t made any effort to “compete”, I figured it was time to step up and have a little fun.

If you want to support StudioPress and help us get to the Final Four of Theme Madness, you can do that 3 ways – feel free to do all of them if you *really* like us.
- Head on over to the WP Candy blog post and vote for us
- Leave a comment on this blog post and share your support
- Tweet your vote using the #wpmadness hashtag and mention @StudioPress
Focus 1.0.2 Child Theme Available

Posted: April 28, 2011, 11:06 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Focus 1.0.2 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.
Custom Header Function
With the release this week of Genesis v1.6, we’ve easily been able to update the Focus child theme to take advantage of the new custom header function that is now a part of Genesis.

Here’s a screenshot to see what the custom header screen looks like:

(click to view full size image)
Footer Widgets
While the original Focus child theme included support for footer widgets, we’ve replaced the method in which the footer widgets are registered. Prior to Genesis v1.6, we had to include the footer widgets with a lot more code than is required now. Thanks to Genesis, which does the heavy lifting, you can register footer widgets with a single line of code.
Updating Isn’t Necessary
If you are currently using an earlier version of Focus, you don’t have to update to the v1.0.2. If you already have a logo header then there really isn’t a need to include custom header to your site. The footer widgets code was simply consolidating code which you already have, so there isn’t any additional benefits to updating.

If you are a registered user on our support forum, you can see a detailed changelog for reference.
Genesis Framework v1.6 Now Available

Posted: April 26, 2011, 6:04 pm by Brian Gardner

We’ve been working on Genesis 1.6 for a over two months now, and we had it in beta for 3 weeks. This version includes a number of features that integrate seamlessly with WordPress and also fixes some bugs. Below you’ll see what’s been included…
Footer Widgets
Recent themes, like Venture, Focus, and even Prose, have been using this feature for a long time now. But unfortunately, they had to do things the old way, the hard way. With Genesis 1.6, this gets SO much easier. Now, all you need is 1 line of code in the theme’s functions.php file, and a little CSS (which we’ll be happy to build into many of our themes).

Learn how to add footer widgets with Genesis v1.6.
Custom Header Image
The easiest way to customize Genesis is to utilize the custom header and custom background functions that are native to WordPress and select child themes.

With custom header, this feature can be as simple, or as rich, as you need it to be. The array you pass for it it can handle a number of arguments like text color, default header fallback, and custom callback functions for the admin and front end CSS output.

Learn how to setup custom header with Genesis v1.6.
100% Custom Menu Support
When WordPress 3.0 was released, one of the biggest features added was custom menus. Immediately upon that release, Genesis was updated to include support of custom menus in addition to the Genesis option of list pages/list categories for your primary and secondary navigation. In Genesis v1.6, we’re removing the list pages/list categories options, and relying on WordPress custom menus.

During the upgrade process to v1.6, Genesis will take your old menu options (Page and Category IDs, depth options, etc.) and move them to a safe place where they can be accessed for as long as you need them. Behind the scenes, Genesis will recognize that you’re not quite ready to move to a custom navigation system just yet, and continue to display your old menus.

Learn how to setup navigation with Genesis v1.6.
Tapestry 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: March 22, 2011, 4:28 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Tapestry 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you need the Tapestry + Genesis Theme package.

We’re also pleased to announce that this is the first of what will be many Tumblog-style child themes for Genesis. With the release of WordPress 3.1 which includes post formats, we want to take full advantage of the awesomeness that WordPress provides.

Take it for a test drive…

Here’s a screenshot of the Tapestry Child Theme:
Focus 1.0 Child Theme Released

Posted: March 10, 2011, 5:05 pm by Brian Gardner

StudioPress is happy to announce the release of the Focus 1.0 child theme. This WordPress theme works on the Genesis Framework and can be downloaded by Pro Plus members in the support forum. All others can purchase the package here.

If you have already purchased the Genesis Framework and any other child theme previously, you can simply purchase the child package by itself, otherwise you need the Focus + Genesis Theme package.

What are you waiting for? Check out the Focus demo…
Utilizing the Genesis Grid Loop
The Focus child theme is the second of many themes that will utilize the Genesis Grid Loop that was included as part of Genesis v1.5. The Grid Loop was a custom function that was written to display featured posts on the top of a homepage, and then display a grid-like area of post excerpts at the bottom. You can also view an advanced tutorial on the Grid Loop written by Gary Jones.
3 Color Style Options
Pretty Young Thing Now Available on WordPress.com

Posted: March 2, 2011, 6:05 pm by Brian Gardner

We are very proud to announce that the very first Genesis + Child Theme combo is now available for WordPress.com users. As of this morning, the Pretty Young Thing child theme can now be purchased and deployed across their network of sites.

A month ago WordPress gave users a chance to stand out from the crowd by using a premium theme. We’re excited that StudioPress was asked to join the party, and are thrilled that the Pretty Young Thing is the first theme there.

This is something we’ve been hoping for quite some time – as we’ve been asked on a number of occasions if Genesis can be used on WP.com. As of this morning, we’re finally able to say YES!

Check out the Pretty Young Thing demo on WordPress.com… and here’s a reminder of what makes the Pretty Young Theme so cool:
The Genesis Grid Loop
The Pretty Young Thing child theme is the first of many themes that will utilize the Genesis Grid Loop that was include as part of Genesis v1.5. The Grid Loop was a custom function that was written to display featured posts on the top of a homepage, and then display a grid-like area of post excerpts at the bottom. The WordPress.com version of the Pretty Young Thing theme will support this.
3 Beautiful Color Style Options
Introducing Gary Jones – Genesis Developer

Posted: March 1, 2011, 6:00 pm by Brian Gardner
Tweet
Recently we celebrated the anniversary of the launch of the Genesis Framework – and wanted to spend the next year focusing on the Genesis development community. After all, without all of their hard work and contributions, Genesis wouldn’t be where it’s at.

With that being said, we plan on introducing you to the developers who’ve made a difference…
Meet Gary Jones
Website: Gary Jones · Twitter: @GaryJ

I’m a multi-discipline web developer from the UK and although I have worked for myself since October 2008, I’ve been coding for the web since 1999. My day-to-day tasks can see me writing everything from JavaScript (mostly jQuery), CSS and XHTML on the front end, to PHP and SQL on the back-end. Previous roles have also seen me deep in Classic ASP and server setup and optimization.

I’ve been using Genesis since June 2010, and before that I was involved with another premium theme framework community, though to a far lesser extent. Straight up, my number one reason for being part of the Genesis community, is that I feel like I can contribute towards it, in the way I want, and know that it will be appreciated and valued. I’m currently a volunteer senior moderator on the support boards, and although most of the other moderators answer far more posts than me, I like to think I contribute in other ways.
Helping Others
Before I became a web developer (and my 9 months out of the rat race living in Malaysia) I was a Math and IT teacher, both in secondary schools and in prisons (for the record, the murderers, drug addicts and sex offenders are far easier to teach than the teenagers). While I’ll be the first to put myself in the geek category, the skills developed from teaching, and the keenness to help people learn means I’m usually too eager to help others understand how Genesis works. I’ve written several tutorials for doing just that, and I pride myself on giving additional information both within the code and outside of it to cater for all learning preferences. Certainly it’s more visible on there than on my own Code Gallery site.

I enjoy working with code more than talking about it though. Over the last 6 months, I’ve found that I’m getting really picky about even the smallest aspects of code quality. I’m on the boards nagging Nathan to follow the WordPress PHP coding standards for Genesis core code, or suggesting to Brian that the CSS would be better a different way because of x, y, z, or asking Daisy to update someone else’s tutorial so that it includes a docblock as all code should be properly documented. Boy, I must be annoying But you know what? That’s fine – it all leads to everyone doing things The Right Way, which means easier code maintenance, better looking sites, and clearer learning resources.
Code Contributions
Perhaps my biggest contribution in terms of bulk code is for the Prose theme. I was asked by StudioPress to implement their ideas for a new theme that allowed users to easily change some aspects of the visual design. As well as including an import / export feature for the settings before Genesis itself did, the theme can also minify the CSS for performance benefits. The code for the theme itself is comprehensively structured, and has 24 action hooks and 18 filters in there (for comparison, Genesis 1.5 has 60 action hooks and 95 filters), and I’m using some of these to create a Prose-specific plugin, called Prose Google Fonts (screencast) which will be released shortly.

Back to the “contributions being valued” point, I also wrote the bulk of the rewritten breadcrumbs feature in Genesis 1.5. Nathan loved it and tweaked it, Nick fixed it to be compatible with WordPress 3.0, and it was committed to the core code. I wrote it because I had a client that was using custom post types, and the breadcrumbs in previous versions of Genesis had no support for them. It solved a need for everyone, and Nathan and Brian were happy to accept it.
Summing Up
And that’s why I love Genesis – of course I love the features of the product itself, and the ease with which new sites can be instantly set up, but you won’t see me knocking out lots of great looking websites to add to a portfolio like some of the other designers and developers; I’m most interested in the code that powers Genesis and the community that uses it, and what I can give back to both of them. The people who follow me on Twitter will know that most of my tweets seem to be related to Genesis in one way or another.
Final Facts
- If I wasn’t using WordPress, I’d love to have a real understanding of the Zend Framework. I’ve got a few ideas of sites and applications I could build with it.
- I’m hopefully going to attend my first two WordCamps this year – WordCamp Portsmouth UK, and WordCamp Chicago (if it runs).
- I’m a PADI advanced open water scuba diver, and have dived with 3.8m-long gray nurse sharks. I want to dive with more sharks.
- My (now rusty due to under use) party piece is to juggle and spin fire poi. I’ve only burnt myself once.
- I learnt up to level 2 of British Sign Language. I don’t use it regularly, so it’s been largely forgotten.
- As a Brit, I drink lots of tea. I don’t like coffee, which means I see little point in Starbucks existing…