Darren Hoyt Releases Mimbo 3.0 Theme
Though there are a number of popular magazine WordPress themes on the market, including a number of great free magazine themes, I think it is pretty safe to say that none have been more popular over the past year than the Mimbo theme (and the Mimbo Pro version).
This morning I just noticed that my friend Darren Hoyt, the author of Mimbo and Mimbo Pro, has updated his original free theme, calling it Mimbo 3.0.
Here is a screen shot of Mimbo 3.0:
You can view the live demo here. Here are the updates features in the newest version of Mimbo:
- No more custom fields. Most importantly, custom fields are no longer necessary to call thumbnails. Mimbo 3.0 includes a script that pulls images automatically from the post body, then resizes them with TimThumb.
- Support for WordPress 2.7. This includes code for sticky posts, comment pagination, threaded comments, wp_logout_url, and the rest of the new features.
- Sticky Posts. In the past, you had to create a “Lead Story” category. With the new version, that beige box contains whichever post you’ve marked as sticky, or whichever is most recent.
- Standard Bloggy Behavior. What I learned about Mimbo 2.2 is that a lot of people missed having a regular old blog component on the homepage, ie, simple chronological display. So I tried to retain the popular magazine-style layout, while organizing the middle column more like a standard blog.
- Featured Categories. Thanks to some great coding help from the talented Jean-Baptiste, Mimbo 3.0 has a custom control panel that sets featured categories with a configurable number of headlines
- Localization/Translation. As I’ve realized, there’s really no excuse for not localizing your WP themes so they can be enjoyed by people all over the world. Feel free to contact me with translation help.
- 125×125 Ad Support. Mimbo 3.0 comes pre-styled to work with the excellent WP125 plugin and its companion widget.
- Better body id/classes. As I’ve written about, this can make your theme tremendously flexible, but now things are even flexible-er. Tip of the hat goes to Thematic, by way of Sandbox.
- Multi-Level Dropdown Menus. People asked for them and now they’re here. They’re semi-transparent, too, if you use a decent browser.
- Custom Sidebar Conditionals. If child pages exist, they will now appear in the sidebar when viewing a page section. And on single post pages, the sidebar will dynamically display a handy “Related Posts” box.
- Better Custom Archives. Personally, I almost never browse by month or year. I prefer a full archived list with dated headers. Mimbo 3.0 comes with a custom template that displays posts organized by month, plus pagination.
- Better Author Archives. Looking back, it’s not really necessary to have the author bio included at the bottom of every single post, as with v2.2. In the new version, author archives can be viewed only when the person’s name is clicked. Also, gravatars are now used for both author photos and comments. No more lame hacks.
- Gallery, Inline Image & Caption Styling. There are now styles for all the various ways you’d insert an image in a post which became possible with version 2.5.
- More Widget Freedom. In the past, I probably included too much custom code in the sidebar whereas most of it could be replicated/re-ordered with widgets anyway. So currently, the entire right-hand sidebar (minus the aforementioned Page submenu and “Related Posts” module) is widgetized and pre-styled for your pleasure.
150+ Free & Premium WordPress Themes Gallery
Updated: September 24, 2011
As WordPress continues to grow in popularity, more and more designers are realizing the potential of building WordPress themes. In addition to the financial benefits, designers can also use WordPress themes to create additional inbound links, improve their reputation as a designer, and of course help generate freelance work.
Because of the huge size of the WordPress theme market, it has become increasingly difficult to find a good way to browse through the available WordPress themes. Unfortunately I don’t have a solution, but I have spent several hours trying to sort through the available themes and create a gallery to display many of the top designs in both the free and premium WordPress theme markets. Currently this page has over 150 WordPress themes, plus a few known theme clubs thrown in at the bottom for people that prefer that route.
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Blog WordPress Themes
Vintage Theme
Blues Theme
Shades of Blue Theme
Typebased Theme
PassionDuo Theme (3 Colors)
Green: Demo | Download, Red: Demo | Download, Blue: Demo | Download
WP Freemium Theme
SimpleWP Theme
Evolution Theme
Source | Download | Demos: Blue, Green, Red
GlossyBlue Theme
Color Paper Theme
StudioPress Theme
Blak Magik Theme
Several3 Theme
Mag on Wood Theme
Simply Ornate Theme
Agregado Theme
Notepad Chaos Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
WordPress Fun Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Daily Press Theme
Curious Theme
Rewire Theme
Pixeled Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Daily32 Theme
Digital Statement Theme
Maggo Theme
Firebug Theme
Padangan Theme
Black and White Theme
Xplosive Theme
Blog oh Blog Theme
Langit Theme
Blue Block Theme
Dark Zen Theme
Tomodachi Theme
Blue Dream Theme
Simple Red Theme
Source | Download (Requires free registration) | Demo
True Blue Theme
Source | Download (Requires free registration) | Demo
Resurrection Theme
WP Premiere Theme
Silveray Theme
Rhea Theme
Aspire Theme
Velocity Theme
Techicon Theme
Biz Theme
Quadruple Blue Theme
Lightsource Theme
Comes with $20.00 subscription to Elegant Themes Club!
Prose Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Canvas Blogging Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Mag.net Blog Theme
Single-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Glow Blog Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Flexx Blog Theme
- Over 1,000 Possible Layout Combinations!
- Completely widget based
- Multiple Styles to choose from
Multiple-Use ($79.95), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
PersonalPress Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Social Life Blog Theme
Multiple-Use ($75.00)
Social Eyes Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
MyStream Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Fresh Life Blog Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Therapy Blogging Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Thesis Theme Framework
Single-Use ($87.00), Developer’s Pack ($164.00)
Genesis Theme Framework (by StudioPress)
Multiple-Use ($59.95), Developer’s Pack ($249.95)
——————————————————————————————————————————–
Magazine/News CMS WordPress Themes
Options Theme
Hamasaki Theme
Structure Theme
Visionary Theme
Mimbo Theme
Morning After Theme
Forte Theme
The Studio Theme
Arthemia Free Theme (Premium Version Also Available)
Source | Download | Demo | Premium Version of Arthemia
Guzel Magazine Theme
Newsweek Theme
Studio WordPress Theme (Available in Blue, Green, & Red)
Transparency Theme
Slick Press Theme
Cellar Heat Theme
MonarTech Theme
Premium News Theme
Small Magazine Theme
Source | Download | (Unable to Locate a Demo)
Lifestyle Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
WP Smooth Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Elisa Magazine Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Zenko Magazine Theme
Multiple-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Spectrum Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Magazine WordPress Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Reflecta Magazine Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Blissful Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Manifesto Magazine Theme
Multiple-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Delicious Child Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
WP-Chatter Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Initiate Magazine Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Sleek Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
WP Sublime Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Estate Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Boutique Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Stunning Magazine Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Headline News Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
WP-Prosper Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
News Flash Theme
Multiple-Use ($59.00), Developer’s Pack ($159.00)
Minimal Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Mocha Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Gourmet Cooking Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Developer’s Pack ($99.00)
Platinum Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Tribune News Theme
Multiple-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Polished Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Amped Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Gadget Theme
Multiple-Use ($19.95), All Theme Junkie Themes ($59.95)
Streamline Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Evertis Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Serenity Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Blog Newspaper Theme
Multiple-Use ($59.00), Developer’s Pack ($179.00)
NewsTube Theme
Multiple-Use ($29.95), All Theme Junkie Themes ($59.95)
Emporium E-Commerce Theme
Single-Use ($69.00), Multiple-Use ($99.00)
Monograph Magazine Theme
Multiple-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
News WordPress Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Cube Light Theme
Multiple-Use ($19.95), All Theme Junkie Themes ($59.95)
WP Launch Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
eNews Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
WP Ellie Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Lexicon Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Sea Light Business Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
My App WordPress Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Lumin Magazine Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
WP Genius Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Optimize Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Bigfoot Theme
Multiple-Use ($29.95), All Theme Junkie Themes ($69.95)
Going Green Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Bold Magazine Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Arthemia Premium Theme
Multiple-Use ($59.95), Developer’s Pack ($159.95)
The Source Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Vega Magazine Theme
Included with FlexiThemes Membership! ($19.95 – $49.95)
Memoir Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Crystal Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Newswire Theme
Multiple-Use ($29.95), All Theme Junkie Themes ($59.95)
Nova Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
My Cuisine Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Fabric Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Yamidoo Magazine Theme
Multiple-Use ($69.00), Developer’s Pack ($149.00)
Glider Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
WP Media Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
In Review Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Church Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Outreach Church Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Magnificent Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Grace Church Theme
Single-Use ($59.00), Developer’s Pack ($159.00)
Chameleon Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Foundation Church Theme
Included with iThemes Builder Theme ($127.00)
Pretty Young Thing Kids Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Tapestry Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
WP Jazz Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Newspaper Theme
Multiple-Use ($59.00), Developer’s Pack ($159.00)
“On The Go” Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
Daily Edition News Theme
Multiple-Use ($70.00), Developer’s Pack ($150.00)
Aggregate Theme
Included with Elegant Themes Club Membership! ($39.00)
Source/Demo | Purchase Membership
WP Clear Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
WP-Glide Magazine Theme
Single-Use ($79.00), Multiple-Use ($179.00), Developer’s Pack ($279.00)
Download StudioPress/Revolution WordPress Themes!
Note: As of January 1, 2009, it looks like Revolution/StudioPress themes are no longer free to download. They are all now available individually for $59.95 or ALL Revolution themes for $249.95.
Last month we wrote about Brian’s huge announcement that Revolution was going open source. At that time, the original launch date was scheduled for November 1st, but in the time since then the entire Revolution team has come together and managed to get Revolution 2 ready for an early launch!
As of today, Revolution is officially available to the WordPress Community. Included with the Revolution launch are 8 incredible new themes (10 if you count the two blog theme variants) which were designed to fill a large number of different niches. So far the choices include magazine themes, professional themes, media themes, photo themes, video themes, and even blog themes. Best of all, they are available to download completely FREE!
What is the catch? Well, there isn’t one. The themes are 100% free, but there is a small fee attached to any extras you may want. With purchase of either the yearly pro membership, or the pro plus lifetime membership (Revolution all-inclusive package owners already have this), you will get the following benefits:
- Unlimited support answered by our experts
- Learn customization techniques with our detailed theme tutorials
- Professional design services available by our list of recommended designers
- Discounted general consulting rates
- Increase your search rankings with a link from the Revolution site directory
Here are the StudioPress/Revolution themes which are currently available for download:
StudioPress Revolution Magazine/News Themes
Lifestyle Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Magazine WordPress Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Delicious Child Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Sleek Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Lexicon Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Mocha Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Amped Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Serenity Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Platinum Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Streamline Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
News WordPress Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Going Green Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Bee Crafty Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Church Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Outreach Church Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
StudioPress (Revolution) Business Themes
Enterprise Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Education Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Executive Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Corporate Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Metric Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Freelance Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
AgentPress Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Agency Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Family Tree Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
StudioPress (Revolution) Photo/Video Themes
Landscape Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Pixel Happy Photography Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
Expose Theme
- Child Theme of Genesis Theme Framework
Multiple-Use ($59.95), All StudioPress Themes ($249.95)
After looking around, I am already very impressed with how the site is setup and can see just how this site will grow in time to be a focal point in the WordPress community. What do you think of this new business model? Will it replace the current premium WordPress themes market in your opinion, or will you still be willing to spend your money when themes of this quality are available completely free?
Platformate: The Personal Magazine Premium WordPress Theme
For close to a year now, the idea of a magazine WordPress theme has often been modeled after a magazine or news portal, which helps to avoid the blog feel and highlight the most recent posts in several different categories in a visually appealing way. But does it always have to be that way?
Michael of Colorlabs Project has just released his Platformate theme, which provides many of the features you’d expect from a magazine theme but it also has a personal blog feel to it. At the top of each page (including the homepage), you’ll find a featured section for Hot Discussions and Most Popular Posts, making it more ideal for a personal blog.
Some other features that come with Platformate:
- 5+ Theme Colors Included – 5+ color schemes, included in one single product. Moreover, you can customize colors to anything you like, based on your taste. Stand out with your own styling. No need to edit the stylesheet template.
- Theme Administration Panel – You’ve got no idea about PHP, (X)HTML, and CSS? No need to worry about all the complicated commands and manage everything from the theme administration panel.
- Auto-Thumbnail your Old Posts – Forget the time-consuming manual thumbnail generation, even the old-fashioned Post Custom Fields. Thumbnails across the theme will be assigned and generated automatically. Simply upload an image and add it to your post.
- Navigation Drop-down Menu – Show links to your blog pages and sub-pages in a fancy drop-down navigation menu, located at the top of your blog.
- Sidebar Widget – Easily drag-and-drop widgets and place any widgets on sidebar and footer section. Download WP available sidebar widgets and have it right away at your blog.
- Cross-Browser Compatible – Designed to meet the latest W3C standard compliant, renders perfectly in Safari, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer. W3C CSS and XHTML valid.
- Analytics and Feedburner – Burn your feeds with Feedburner and manage your blog statistics using Google Analytics. Simply enter you Feedburner URL and Google Analytics ID in the theme administration panel.
- After-Sales Support and Upgrade – Don’t worry if you experience any problems during the installation process. Purchase packages include a free after-sales support. Contact us and we’ll get to help you. Updates and fixes will be sent regularly for free.
Here is a sample of how the homepage looks (you can choose one of 5 colors):
And here is a screen shot of a post page:
You can also check out the Platformate demo for a live demo of the theme.
If you’d like to pick up a copy of Platformate to use, you can currently purchase a single-use license for $50.00 or a developer’s license for $175.00.
Free Magazine WordPress Theme: Introducing OpenBook
This guest post was written by Jean-Baptiste Jung, who maintains a blog over at Cats Who Code that covers WordPress and other webmaster stuff. If you have webmaster or WordPress knowledge and are interested in writing a post for WordPress Hacks, please contact us.
Inspired by the well-known Mimbo theme by Darren Hoyt, OpenBook is a free Magazine style WordPress theme, which doesn’t require you to manually edit a file.
I first realeased this theme in January, but at this time it was only available in French. So it is the very first English version.
Download OpenBook
Download OpenBook 2.2 WordPress Theme: zip archive
If you’re looking for a live demo, check out my personnal blog which uses this theme.
OpenBook Features
Here’s what you can expect in OpenBook theme:
- Magazine-style homepage, including 2 columns and SmoothGallery for your featured posts.
- 100% Gravatar compatible.
- Custom fields to insert images on the homepage gallery, on homepage posts and in categories posts.
- Magazine-style dropdown-menu for your categories.
- Not manual editing required. After installing the theme, you’ll find an OpenBook tab under Design, where you can set up the options for the theme, including featured posts, featured category, blog logo, number of posts to display on the gallery, categories to display on the blog homepage…
- If you hate Internet Explorer 6 as I do, you’ll probably be happy: OpenBook have an option which litteraly crash IE6 if checked. If unchecked, IE6 will not crash and people who (still) use it will see your blog just as other users.
- Compatible with Firefox 2, Firefox 3 beta, Safari, Opera, Internet Explorer 7 and Internet Explorer 6. (OpenBook is also probably compatible with other browsers like Konqueror, I just haven’t tested it myself)
- Widget-ready sidebar
- SEO-friendly titles
- Page templates for Links and Archives
- Compatible with WordPress 2.3 to 2.5.1
Installing OpenBook
OpenBook install is like installing any WordPress theme: Unzip the archive, and upload the openbook22-en directory into the wp-content/themes of your WordPress install.
Then, go to your WP administration panel, Design » Theme and select OpenBook.
Now, you should go to Design » OpenBook and fill the various fields:
- Your blog logo url
- ID of your featured category
- Number of posts to display in SmoothGallery.
- IDs of categories to display on the homepage.
- If you want to make any IE6 crash, just check the related checkbox.
- Number of posts to display on the homepage, by category
Configuring SmoothGallery
SmoothGallery is a very pretty mootools script by Jonathan Schemoul which display posts along with big images. In order to configure it, you must create a new category (In this exemple, we’ll call it featured) and report its ID to Design » OpenBook.
When you want to show a particular post in the SmoothGallery, just edit the post and check the featured category. Of course, you can add the post to other categories as well.
Now, you should define an image that will display in SmoothGallery. Juste create a custom field, give it featuredimg as key and your image url as value. Once saved, the post will be displayed in SmoothGallery.
The ideal SmoothGallery image size is 600*250 pixels. You can use different size, but the image will be cropped or will not fill all the available space.
Using custom fields to display images in posts
As I said above, it is possible to assign one or more image(s) to a post. Theses images will be displayed on the homepage, or in categories pages, depending of the custom field used.
Here’s the custom fields keys, and the place where the images will be displayed.
- featuredimg » The image will be displayed in SmoothGallery (Only if the related post is in the featured category)
- Image » The image will be displayed along with its related post, on the homepage.
- catimage » The image will be displayed in category pages. Ideal size is 125*125 pixels.
Please note
The OpenBook theme is (and will stay) 100% free. I also try to always help people who use it as much as I can. The only thing that I’m asking, is that you leave my link on the theme footer. Thanks in advance 
Edit on July 3, 2008: I just wrote a simple tutorial for modifying OpenBook color scheme. You can read it here.
awesome tips thanks so much for the great post. 
Great list and very thorough!
When was the last time this list was updated? Are they all still relevant today seeing ...
Hey,
You can also use the below plugin which adds a tick box when creating the page asking if you want ...
Great post. I wish more people thought about this kind of thing.
I agree that it does feel a bit ...
i Agree with Hillary Bost 
awesome article. Thanks for sharing with us. 
