Thesis, my first premium WordPress theme, received a major update yesterday with the addition of a new design options panel. This revolutionary upgrade gives users an unparalleled degree of control over their site’s layout by allowing them to specify fonts and font sizes all over the theme. In addition—and this is my favorite part—users can now choose a 1, 2, or 3-column layout with the amazing new layout constructor.
Oh, and if you’re really a control freak, you can adjust the widths of the content and sidebars on the various layouts, too.
Seriously, folks… Stop looking for that one theme that is just right for your site, because it simply doesn’t exist! Instead, check out Thesis—it’s whatever you need it to be, and best of all, you get to call the shots.
And about that free premium theme? If you get Thesis before midnight August 31, 2008 (PST), you’ll receive Cosmo, a magazine-style premium theme, at no extra charge as soon as I’m done creating it. Don’t drag your heels, though, because I know you’re going to want Cosmo once you see it. Besides, I really don’t want to have to tell you “no” when you ask me if you can still get it for free even though you waited until September 1 to buy Thesis!
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87 Comments ↓
Chris,
I’ve used and been a fan of your themes for a long time starting with Cutline, and then the Copyblogger theme. I’m going to purchase Thesis and I look forward to customizing it for some of my sites online. I’m looking forward to the Cosmo theme as well!
Clarke
Already got Thesis. Love. It. Much.
We want Cosmo ! We want Cosmo ! We want cosmo !
Personal License - gives permission for one website installation. Does the whole domain count? I have a test site on the same domain that I use for testing purposes. So will the personal license cover my blog and the test site on the same domain?
Just dropping in to say that if you’re on the fence… fall off. Thesis is fantastic. The one thing keeping it from being perfect has just been taken care of. The fact that it’s being tweaked, months after its initial release should be more than enough to convince anyone.
Great news, Chris!
We’re wrapped with how Thesis is working out for us - we’re hoping to launch in the next couple of weeks and Thesis is providing the perfect platform.
I’ll let you know when we flick the switch; we’re a fairly large SME so a good example of just how flexible Thesis Theme really is.
Oops, I forgot to add, you oughta add a post on the Thesis Theme demo site so all those subscribed by RSS don’t miss out on the deal!
Hey Chris
I’m already a thesis user (http://faraz.org)
I just wanted to check if I upgraded to the Dev account, would I be ablse to use Cosmo for multiple sites as well.
Kudos then!
Faraz
Using the new version of Thesis, is it possible to have a 3-column default view and still create posts/pages that offer 2-columns for wider width content? This is the only thing I’ve been waiting for that would prevent me from converting my websites to Thesis. Here’s hoping . . .
Chris,
Two questions:
Do you have a demo for the two column/one column Thesis?
If I purchase one copy of Thesis, can I use one copy of Cosmo for another site?
I hope I get an answer before the promo ends.
Chris,
I am using Thesis for a client of mine. Would you be interested in coming on the School of Podcasting’s “Morning Announcements” podcast to talk about it?
Dave Jackson
http://www.schoolofpodcasting.com
Very generous of you, thanks!
Chris,
I wish I could take you up on the Thesis/Cosmo offer, but I’m holding out for Cosmo on its own.
I’m using Cutline on my blog An American in Lima (http://americaninlima.com), and the only thing that’ll make me give that up is a Pearson magazine-style theme. Need those grids!
I can’t wait to see your work on Cosmo.
Just bought Thesis … very frustrating so far. The columns on the site started out fine … now they don’t work (on my home page the sidebars for some reason are pushed all the way to the bottom of the page). The forums are very confusing to navigate, and the tutorial on installing custom backgrounds is very tough/darn near impossible for newbies to grasp.
Christian — Your post entitled “Married Life — Til Death Do them Part” is causing the problem with your sidebar. That post contains a bunch of unnecessary
<div>tags in the markup (there shouldn’t be any), and the last tag is “unclosed” on the homepage, causing the problem.Eliminate the
<div>tags from that post’s content (perhaps by using the HTML editor), and that should fix you up.Also, I’m switching the forum software over to phpBB this weekend, so that should help things at the forums. I was using vBulletin, but honestly, it’s usability is in the toilet; as a result, it’s a goner.
Holy mackarel — thanks for the speedy response … dunno how you sniffed out the problem so quickly, but you did.
One more thought … your diy/thesis site has a few quick, helpful tips for new Thesis owners (like how to make drop caps, highlighting text, etc). Perhaps you could expand that part of the site, or even cobble together more tips and sell it as an ebook or something. I’d gobble it up
Is there an equivilent Blogger Template to Cosmos?
Chris, have you considered bbPress instead of phpBB?
I like the Thesis theme. I use it. I’m curious about Cosmo as well, though. Oh well, time to move to the updated version and start tweeking. It should be fun.
tabitha — That particular setup is completely within the personal option guidelines… No need to worry at all.
Mitch — Sounds good! You’ll have to send me a link when you get everything up and running properly.
Faraz — The promotion only includes a free Cosmo personal option; the developer’s option for Cosmo will be a $77 add-on (tentatively).
Bill — At this time, Thesis 1.1 does not support that kind of layout (at least not without some custom CSS). Cosmo will certainly behave in a manner similar to this, and looking ahead, I expect Thesis to include this kind of functionality as well.
Wassim — A forthcoming post on the Thesis theme demo site will include screenshots of the 1 and 2 column layouts in action. In the meantime, you can check out Aaron Brazell’s fantastic 2-column Thesis, and hopefully, you’ll get some ideas for your own 2-column implementation as well.
Finally, when Cosmo arrives, you’ll be able to use it on a second site. In other words, you won’t be restricted to using it only on your Thesis domain.
Christian — With the help of Kingdom Geek from the DIYthemes forums, I’m working on expanding that part of the site. The documentation is a huge concern of mine, and this area should improve remarkably as I figure out better and better ways to balance the development and information sides of this business.
Dave — Thesis relies on the flexibility that hosted Website solutions provide, and that’s why it’s only available for WordPress at this time. In the future, I can foresee Thesis becoming available for other CMS platforms (Drupal, for instance), but probably not for Blogger.
Eduardo — I originally installed bbPress to run the forums, but I quickly found that I needed a more robust solution on the user management side of things. I’m not actually using any user-related WordPress functions to manage accounts on DIYthemes, and that’s the main reason why I felt like bbPress was not the best fit for the site. I’m feeling good about the future with phpBB, though, because it should provide a much-needed usability enhancement in addition to a seamless integration with my membership software.
I just bought/downloaded 1.1 … and I want to add a dark color/border around my main site. Right now its all stark white. Do I need to download the Custom Background Starter Kit to do so …. and if so where do I drag that on my FTP setup? The tutorial is just too advanced for me to follow on this subject.
Also, on my theme editor under stylesheet (style.css) it says not to tweak it, but how else do I tinker with CSS?
Chris, just wanted to say that I’m a happy customer. I really like what you’ve added in the 1.1 release. And I’m especially glad that you are improving the support forums as having that support was one of the selling points for me - I’d rather focus on using this tool than having to learn all the intricacies of it.
Since I bought the developer version, I decided to have some fun and create a “fan” site as well, which you can find here. If you read the “About” page I explain why I created the site and what it is meant to do. I’d love to get your opinion on it.
Thanks for a great product.
“I really don’t want to have to tell you “no” when you ask me if you can still get it for free even though you waited until September 1 to buy Thesis!”
is there any chance to grab this offer?
I’d love to jump in on this offer to purchase Thesis and get Cosmo for free. I’ve been busy w/a kitchen remodel so I haven’t had much to time to visit your blog these past few weeks.
Hey Chris,
I’ve been wanting to buy Thesis for a while, but I’m not a big fan of 2 columns on one side. I remember someone asked you what I’m about to ask now, and you said it would be possible for future updates of Thesis.
What you were asked and what I’m asking now is, is it possible to have Thesis with 3 columns, where the content is in the center and the 2 columns are on the left and right?
Hi Chris,
I just came across Thesis and it looks great. I’m totally new to Wordpress and web design, so this sounds like it will help a lot. The only reason why I’m hesitating right now is these whisperings of Cosmo - when is this coming out? Or at least when is a demo page of this theme going to be unveiled? I’d probably just go ahead and get Thesis today, but judging from your work I may like Cosmo and unfortunately I can’t afford both at the moment. I just need to see it!
Thanks so much!
Wow, only just came across your themes and love them!
Fairly new to the world of blogging! Currently working on a side project with some colleagues which is called Flaming Desks.
We are using the standard Wordpress template with a few tweaks here and there, be great to know what people thought of it.. Had I have known that so many great themes were actually available for free I would have taken a bit more of a look around!
I’ll certainly be keeping an eye out for more classics ones from you now!
Many thanks!
N
Hey Chris…
I have already set 2 clients up on the Thesis theme and they love it… I just picked up a new job that I think would work best with a magazine format so I’m holding out for Cosmo. Any idea when it will be released?
Hello Chris!
Thesis certainly is intriguing. Have a question.
Need 2-3 column format with different posts in each column. Does Thesis work well for that? I gather it’s easy to adjust column width and the no. of columns in the dashboard. But what about placing different material and posts in each column?
With the current theme I am working with, to make different posts you have to adjust PHP code regarding categories of posts. Is it the same for Thesis, or easier to accomplish?
Thanks ever so much!
Michael
Follow up:
This is what you have to do with other themes. Same with Thesis?
Wordpress tutorial: Blog posts in different columns
Thanks
Michael
Hi Chris,
I’ve found a security bug in your thesis theme to do with the search box. Basically, on the results page of the search, the page does not escape/check the output, so that
?s=<script type="text/javascript">alert('here');</script>will cause the javascript contained in the URL to be executed. This can lead to XSS attacks.
Please could you fix this, so that all HTML and JavaScript is escaped.
Thanks,
–
Isaac
Christian — The best place to get answers to your theme-related questions is over in the Thesis forums, simply because there is always someone there who will be able to guide you along each step of the process.
Also, you should only add CSS to your custom stylesheet,
custom.css, which is located inside the/thesis/customfolder.Luis — Because of the significant coding differences between the three column layout you describe and the default Thesis layout, you probably will not see that as an available option in the future. That style of layout is more befitting of an entirely new theme, and for what it’s worth, eye tracking studies have proven time and again that the default Thesis layout is more effective, at least for content.
If you want to focus on ads in a left-hand sidebar, then obviously you’d want to go with the layout that you’ve described. However, if you are relying on ads in a sidebar for income, I’d advise you to change your moneymaking strategy
Aimee, Tim — With any luck, Cosmo will be out by the end of the month.
Michael — Running posts in a secondary column is somewhat of a non-standard procedure, and even though Thesis is pretty flexible, you’d still have to add the suggested custom query code to the sidebar to make it happen.
Isaac — What you’ve described is standard WordPress behavior that is not intrinsic to Thesis. Do you have any suggestions for a fix, or can you point me in the direction of an existing thread that addresses this topic? Given the nature of the possible breach, I would think that every single WordPress site would be affected, which seems highly unlikely at this point…
Isaac — Upon further inspection, I see the problem. Thanks for the heads-up!
So i only just saw this post and didn’t buy thesis in time for the free cosmo. Any chance thesis users get cosmo at a discounted rate when it is released?
@ Liam
A discount for thesis users is a good idea.. I Saw this promo 2 days late also..
I just want to say that I am very pleased with the Thesis theme. I have used several premium themes before, but none of them are as good as this one!
And the support that you get for this theme is excellent!
I would love to buy the thesis theme, but where I live I can’t use paypal. Do you have an alternative payment method please?
Thanks!
I just got Thesis yesterday - I’m having a ball with it. It’s going to be perfect.
I really wish I’d seen this promo 2 weeks ago! A magazine-style theme is exactly what I need right now for another site.
You asked “Do you want a free premium WP theme” I answer “Yes”, How to get it?
I bought Thesis and…
- no Gravatars
- no built in contact form
- can’t edit my own comment
The free MistyLook I was using before had these things - I pay over 100 dollars (Australian) for something that doesn’t?
I can live with getting a contact form myself, but the lack of Gravatars is ridiculous. I’ve seen the instructions on the forum for adding the code, but they are tricky, people find they don’t always work, and they might be out of date for all I know.
Despite being promised that Thesis came with support, I could see no clear way of getting it apart from the forum - and this comment box. I have replied to my registration email - but will that work?
It’s early days, but I am frustrated so far.
I forgot to add…
no comments on pages, even though they are set to be open (MistyLook had that too)
Robin,
If you can’t edit your own comment then there is something wrong somewhere else, but not with Thesis. I have had no such problem with Thesis.
As for a built in comment box, I don’t see why that is such a big deal as there is a free plugin for one.
And as for MistyLook, that theme doesn’t even come close to being as good as Thesis, as it doesn’t even have half as many options.
As for support, the forum is filled with all kinds of helpful information and there are people there who not only answer questions quickly, but they are incredibly knowledgeable about coding, especially Rick. And they are patient too. If you don’t get something then ask for further info.
I do not regret purchasing Thesis! It has been one of the best investments that I have made online.
By the way Robin, my comments on pages feature works.
See for yourself.
Will there be a free Cosmo for those who PREVIOUSLY purchased Thesis?
Connie,
This was put up in the forums.
Connie, one more thing. In the link I provided, Rick used the expression, “All current license-holders”. From what I understand this means that anyone who purchased Thesis prior to and during the promo will get the Cosmo for free. But don’t quote me on this, as it is my interpretation of what Rick had said.
Perhaps Chris will join in here soon to verify if this is the plan.
Thanks, Chris. I really hope your interpretation is correct.
Robin — Gravatar support is on the way. These things aren’t mission critical features that help your site in search engines, so that’s why they’ve yet to be incorporated into a proper release of the theme. In spite of this, there’s been a fair amount of discussion about them over in the Thesis forums, so if you are burning for info on this topic, I’d suggest heading over there for a look.
Contact forms are also optional features that many users wish to implement into their themes, and for now, Thesis users are encouraged to use a plugin in order to get this going. Of course, in the future, Thesis will offer an out-of-the-box contact form solution, but for now, a plugin should suffice. Again, this has been a hot topic in the forums, so please check out this thread on integrating a contact form plugin with the theme.
In version 1.1, you can add comments to any page simply by selecting the Page with Comments page template from the options beneath your page editing area (when you are editing a page on which you’d like to enable comments). Chris mentioned a plugin for this, but in reality, you don’t need one as long as you select the appropriate page template for your pages.
Chris & Connie — Anyone who was a Thesis customer before September 1, 2008, will receive a free Cosmo personal option. In other words, the only people who won’t be getting Cosmo at no charge are the people who signed up after the August 31 promotional deadline.
Chris, thanks for clearing things up about the Cosmo.
Also, the plugin that I had mentioned was for the contact form. I am aware of the template that allows for comments on a static page. That is why I put the link in my post to show Robin that the Thesis option for comments on pages does work.
Thank you, Chris (Pearson — so many Chris in this thread)! My food blog awaits.
Thanks for your reply, Chris
Glad to see Gravatars are on the way - for my site, a community feel in the discussion is more important than search engine traffic, and the instructions I saw in the forum seemed a little complex and unreliable - but thanks anyway! Also - I had set the option for comments on two of my pages, but didn’t notice there was a ‘page with comments’ template - thanks. (and I found how to edit my own comment - duh - my previous theme had a direct link to it). Thanks for your email about the width issue, too.
Chris,
Do you see something fundamentally wrong with putting ads on a site or do you advise against it because most people don’t make a lot of money from it?
I’ve seen you suggest that people do something different several times and was just wondering your reasoning behind it.
Chris, just curious how often you or Rick check in on open issues in the user forums. Been trying to get an issue resolved since mid-yesterday.
My Daily Morning Routine:
1. Wake up. 2. Look for the Cosmo Theme. Repeat.
What’s the dillio? I see a lot of twittering about about guitar hero but I still see no Cosmo!
I’m holding 2 clients in limbo, waiting for the Cosmo theme and I’ve never even seen it. C’mon Chris!!!! WE WANT COSMO!!! WE WANT COSMO!!! WE WANT……
…it said hoot and/or holler….
Per my previous comment, the support I was looking for was already there. Just had browser weirdness that prevented me from seeing the latest post from Rick.
The Thesis theme has so far exceeded expectations. Got something workable done pretty easily, and looking forward to flexing into some of the other possibilities.
Nice job Chris, and thanks for all of the tutorials!
Hi Chris,
I was just wondering if you are willing to sell the domain name, designclinic?
Thank you
El — If I owned it, I’d sell it… But I don’t!
Hi Chris,
I have been considering the Thesis theme but am having trouble coughing up the cash. I am also afraid to buy Thesis just to realize later I would rather have Cosmo.
Do you have an ETA on Cosmo?
Chris- I’m sooo excited to implement Thesis (just waiting for paypal to clear payment-urgh!!)
Anyways, my question is: I have my main blog and I’m starting a “side” blog- basically a subdomain of the original one to better organize my writing. Can I use the personal version for both of these pages since they’re under the same main domain? (Pretty please… I can’t afford the developer’s license right now!)
P.S. I’m so sad I missed out on the cosmo deal! I was a month late, darn it!
Chris, where is Cosmo? Pearsonified? We’re waiting for both!
Carrie,
First of all, I am another Chris (not Chris Pearson).
Secondly, did you know that Chris has an affiliate program for Thesis?
Because of this, all you would have to do is get a few people to purchase Thesis through your affiliate link to get your money back. So it would be like you got Thesis for free.
In any case, I think that it would be well worth every cent for you to purchase Thesis. I don’t believe you will be disapointed.
I have it and I am very pleased with it.
Agreed - I’m very happy with my purchase. Still tweaking the theme, hopefully I’ll be done soon, but I’m really pleased with it now.
Hey Chris. Do you have a demo for the Cosmo theme? I want to sneak a peek at it.
Hi Chris, is it possible to create landing pages and sales pages (without sidebars) with Thesis theme?
I bought Thesis recently and am enjoying it. It hasn’t bumped my traffic up as I hoped, but my site doesn’t crash anymore like it did with my previous free theme. But I’m new to web design and can’t figure out how to change the background color of my site. Right now it’s all blinding white. I want there to be a frame around it … so the content stands out more and it looks better. I think the DIY Themes site offers info on this, but it’s just too complex/not dumbed down enough for me. Any help you can offer?
The girl in your header is hot.
For anyone that is still making up their minds about Thesis, I’ve added another post to my Thesis Theme blog here:
Thesis Theme 1.2 Revealed
The idea is to go through all the available admin options and provide some helpful information about them. This post is the first in what will be a series. (With Thesis 1.2 there are now a lot of options to cover!)
I hope this post, and my other blog posts, prove helpful. At the very least they give you another example of what a Thesis-powered site looks like.
dont make me wait more fir new theme … i will buy some other theme …
Hi. I liked your Thesis Theme and I decided to buy it. However I read about Cosmo. Should I wait for it? Or should I go with Thesis? Also, I have not found an e-mail. That’s why Im writing here. Thanks, Marcelo
Marcelo — Thesis and Cosmo will share the exact same framework engine, and therefore, you’ll be just fine if you wish to “switch” to Cosmo in the future. In reality, it won’t be a switch at all—you’ll just have unprecedented control over your static homepage along with a host of options to pimp out the most important page of your site.
Alexander — Landing and sales pages are not yet fully integrated into Thesis, but you can certainly expect to see them in a release before the end of the year.
Christian — If you pay close attention, you should be able to follow the user’s guide page on adding custom backgrounds.
Thanks, Chris. Will be a special price for Thesis users that decide to use Cosmo? Or will I have to buy Thesis and Cosmo. That’s the reason of my doubt in buying now or waiting. Regards, Marcelo
Chris,
Where do I find the custom css file? Do I access it via my FTP server? How do I change what’s in there? Just type it in? use notepad?
And which elements of the downloadable background kit do I need to drag onto my FTP server to make my background frame change colors?
I think I’m less advanced than your avg. Thesis customer … so forgive my basic questions.
OK, I was able to add a dark solid color background. I muddled through … thanks for your patience
whatwouldtotowatch.com
purty, eh?
Chris - I really want to buy Thesis for a project I’m launching, but because of a previous customer service nightmare with PayPal I can’t make the purchase in the way I want to. On your PayPal payments page, even if you select to pay via credit card, it still asks for “an e-mail address for your PayPal login details”.
I can’t find any contact information for you anywhere or any other way to pay for Thesis, so I’m trying here. Let me know if there is a better way I can give you my money…
well I don use a wordpress But my uncles uses this..
He needs to cheak this out..
Any idea on the ETA for Cosmo? I’ve just decided that I want to launch a new site using WordPress instead of my current Typepad hosting and really like Thesis. But I don’t want to get launched on it and then fall in love with Cosmo a week or two later! Cosmo might be a better match for me because of its magazine style description and I don’t want to get tied to Thesis if that is in fact the case.
I use your Thesis theme and it is, like you said, the best WordPress theme out to date! I love your style! Keep ‘em coming!
Looking forward to seeing Cosmo as well!
Hi Chris,
I am interested in the Thesis theme. Does it work well in a Wordpress MU environment. Will each user be able to mod their theme.
thanks,
-scott
Hi Chris,
Just want to say that I love the Thesis theme. The new blog I started recently went from 0 views to 25 within the last 2 days and all I did was change to your theme. Whatever SEO magic you have in placed the theme it is amazing. I’m changing my other two blogs to this theme now.
Thankyou very much.
Nancy — Thesis = Cosmo, so the sooner you get started, the less you’ll have to learn at crunch time!
Scott — I know that Thesis works with WordPress MU, and I believe each user has total control over his/her layout.
MissEm — Awesome, I’m glad things are working well for you!
Thank you for your awesome themes. I love using them.
Thank you for your great themes.
They are great!!!!
Your themes are gorgeous, so clean and very readable. I came here from another site after searching for your name as the original designer of the theme. I don’t run WordPress but I’m hoping to adapt a theme to work on b2evolution.
Does Thesis work smoothly with Wordpress upgrades (like WP 2.7, now in beta, I believe)?
Laura — Overall, WordPress is pretty easy to run, and I really think you ought to give it a shot. Once you get it set up successfully one time, you’ll be able to operate like an efficient, seasoned veteran!
Christian — I always update Thesis to work with the latest version of WordPress, but it doesn’t always accommodate all of the new features immediately. WP 2.7 is not yet out officially, and there are known issues with Thesis in its current state (version 1.3.2). Right now, the most pressing issue concerns the options panels—they don’t receive the proper styling inside the WP admin panel, and this is due to the fact that WP changed how the admin panel works in 2.7.
These issues will be ironed out within a day or two of 2.7’s release, so ultimately, there’s really nothing to worry about (unless you’re hell-bent on running 2.7 right now for some reason).
Chris - I have latest Thesis running in a 2.7 installation with no visible issues, and the options pannel arent that bad, they just dont have the same styling has the admin area. The important is that everything is working.
ruigato — Heh, I totally agree, but then again, not everyone is as understanding as you are! I really appreciate that, seriously.
Hoot and/or Holler ↓