I want to share with you one of the features that I included in the WordPress theme that I released yesterday, or at least my thinking behind it, because it is something that I thought about for a while before implementing. The features is tracking the user on certain pages to determine the type of links to offer.
When you include a previous, or next, post link in a template file you have the option of limiting the link to posts in the same category, and of limiting those categories to ensure that some are excluded from that.
The problem I have found with my themes is that hard coding this into the theme meant I was either limiting posts to categories when I didn’t want to, or I wasn’t limiting posts when I thought the user would probably expect it.
So, the user might select a category list and get an archive page. From that page they select a single post to view. If the user then chooses a newer or older post do they expect it to be restricted, or not? I thought so.
My solution was to offer a choice, but only under certain circumstances.
When a user visits a category page, the ID of that category is saved into a session variable. If they next visit a single page that is in that category, the category is retained; otherwise it is discarded.
If a user is viewing a single page and their session variable contains a category ID they are presented with a choice. Select a older or newer post from that category, or select an older or newer post from the blog as a whole.
If they do not have the session variable then they do not get the choice, they are automatically taken to the newer, or older, post from the blog as a whole.
I think this is a good way of meeting the users needs unobtrusively.
Back in February I started a series of posts based around designing my first, intended for release, wordPress Theme. These posts explored the process I went through and culminated with a semi-complete design. I now have a version of that theme available for download.
Since those posts a number of things have happened to delay the theme. I have amended a few plugins, been ill, been away, and failed to find inspiration. I have also redesigned parts of the theme and found areas where things just didn’t work as intended.
So does that mean the theme is complete? Well not really. There are still things that I am not happy with, but I have decided to offer it up now to save me tinkering with it forever. There are some compatibility problems with IE6 that I intend to solve with Javascript. For now though just be aware that they exist.
You can get more details on the Fun with Minimalism Wordpress Theme page as well as my first ever tutorial videos that explain how some of the features work. There is a fair bit of processing involved in some of the aspects so I am interested to hear your opinions.
I am using the theme on my other blog already. You can check out http://www.arickmann.co.uk for a live demo. Just be aware that the photography category switches to the iThemes Photo Gallery Theme.
The is the second of my reviews of the iThemes premium themes, and I need to start with a confession: I never really ‘got’ premium themes before now. My experience setting up a new site using the iThemes Essence Theme has changed my view.
My opinion, tempered as it was by the knowledge of hundreds or even thousands of free themes, none of which I had used, was that premium themes would somehow be the ultimate pinnacle of themery. I imagined themes in which the source code would never be touched by human hands because any possible setup options would be available in a handy to use admin page. This is not the case.
This isn’t to say that premium themes are nothing more than ordinary themes; for that I suppose it depends on the theme, and the author, just that you do actually get what you pay for on the whole, and even the most expensive premium themes are pretty cheap compared to the cost of the design work were it bespoke.
So what do I think is the point of premium themes now? What is it that you pay for if buy a premium theme?
I think the main difference is really just the cost. By paying for it you support the author meaning they have more time, and perhaps greater incentive, to put into producing a theme that is likely to meet the needs of the person that buy it.
I also expect a modicum of professionalism should things go pear shaped. Note that professionalism is not an alternative way of suggesting unlimited support; it just means that should you get into bother someone would be available within a reasonable period to either point you in the right direction or listen to your concerns. I haven’t really had the need to test this idea but the little communication I have had with Cory from iThemes leads me to believe that they wouldn’t disappoint.
What I find particularly useful about the iThemes themes is their Video tutorials on how aspects of the themes work. These can save a great deal of time and I would encourage anyone that isn’t doing it yet to start.
Once I actually installed the Essence theme and was ready to start playing with it I noticed that the home page was hard coded with text. I don’t mind coding so I set about rewriting it to display a post on the front page. I am a natural hacker at heart so didn’t stop to think that perhaps, being a premium theme, this desire would have been catered for already. It was.
Once I stopped changing things and took a look around I noticed a number of page templates one of which was intended to do exactly what I wanted, so I set up my about page using the home page template, and set that about page to act as my home page using the WordPress settings. This did exactly what I wanted without the need for me to change a thing. There are actually 13 different page templates with this theme so there is a lot of scope for getting things the way you want them.
The next major thing I needed to change was the header. Changing the header image was very easy as the theme provides options, not only to upload a new image, but also to crop it to size once you have.
I chose to remove all the header text and rely on the image; however, before doing that I did notice that the admin panel promised the ability to alter the colours used for the header but I couldn’t find this functionality.
This theme also features contact information as part of the header that can be changed within the admin theme. You won’t notice them on the site I have set up as I removed them, but check out the demo site.
I also needed to change the image that is displayed on the home page. This image feels as though it should work from a custom field (if the home page shows posts) or be alterable from within the admin area, but it isn’t. The default image, however, makes it clear what the dimensions are so it was a simple matter to upload a replacement image.
I almost forgot to mention the page footer.
Aside from the usual copyright notices the page footer is made up of three WordPress Widget Sidebars, so changing the text in any of these, or adding additional components is as simple as you would expect.
Overall I think Essence is a really good looking theme that was very easy to setup. I found myself undoing changes I had made as I learned more about the theme and what was possible and so the site I have set up is still pretty much how the theme comes out of the box. The variety of page templates available gives plenty of different options and the colours options mean there should be a version that suits you.
Unfortunately I liked the standard colours so much that I have used those. My site is therefore the same version as the demo site that shows the available functionality. Nonetheless, if you want to check out the site that I have built, and will continue to build up and modify, then you can find it at http://www.definition-britain.co.uk.
I just noticed that WordPress 2.5 pages have a page order option built in to them now. Go to manage pages (or write a new page) scroll down, and there it is.