Update: This post refers to a WordPress theme I have since swapped out for a new theme, also by StudioPress. Note – these themes are now included free-of-charge with any hosting plan by WPEngine.
I spent the better part of the weekend before last making updates and revisions to my personal blog, preparing for the holiday rush. The biggest change that I made was to install a new WordPress theme by StudioPress, called Revolution News.
I've used Brian's themes on a couple of blogs now and I love them – primarily because his designs are fresh and fabulous and better yet, they encourage visitors to poke around the site longer. After I installed the theme, the average visitor duration increased from 302 seconds to 356 seconds. The number of newsletter and feed subscribers has also increased by result.
Unlike typical themes, Brian's themes come with uniquely-styled homepages, archive sections, and post pages. I particularly like the ‘newspaper' look and feel of the Revolution News homepage, on which you can display recent posts from categories of your choice, in any order you like, which is infinitely preferable to the endless 10-post homepage scroll on most blogs. The primary and secondary top navigation bars allow you to highlight pages and categories that you particularly want your visitors to see and visit.
A Feedburner subscription button and an email form are already built-in, you just have to supply your own code. Site search is prominently located above the top navigation bar.
Brian's themes are also perfectly functional out of the box — unlike some of the free themes I've found on the WordPress codex which I've installed and later uninstalled.
Tutorials include:
- How to Create an Archives Page
- Using a Full Width Header Image
- Creating a Dynamic Home Page
- How to Use the Blog Link
- Using a Background Image
- How to Use the Single Page 2 Layout
- Creating Multiple Featured Pages
- Adding a Padded Color Border to Images
- Customizing the News Page
- How to Remove the Double Border
I still have tweaking to do, not least of which is to make a header graphic for the site. Otherwise, I'll just dash madly to get travel gift links up there in time for the Christmas shopping rush. Then again, Ed could that… while I change this blog over to a new StudioPress theme.
Sssshhhhh… don't tell him. 🙂