If you’re reading this post via your RSS reader or email, then you haven’t seen my new blog theme/layout. When you have time, please do drop by and check out the new look of JaypeeOnline.
The last time I did a theme reboot or change my blog theme/layout was early this year when I installed a customized version of Magazine News. I liked my previous theme/layout, but it didn’t really work out as I expected it to be and I also grew tired of it. I spent a good amount of time scanning and browsing currently available free and premium WordPress themes and after narrowing my options and weighing things out, I was able to decided on which theme to use.
JaypeeOnline has a fresh new theme and it’s called “Fresh News”. I purchased this theme from WooThemes during their Halloween Special promo where they offered three themes for the price of one. Although Fresh News is not a new theme, I’ve always liked it ever since it was released by WooThemes. Now that I have it, I just wish that I had purchased this theme earlier.
It took a while for me to finish customizing the Fresh News theme because it uses a lot of built-in functions, includes and other files that my previous themes didn’t have. I had to go through the code and familiarize myself with the theme structure. I’m glad that as a WooThemes customer, I have access to the support forum where I was able to ask help with some of the customization. The forum admin and Woo Ninjas (moderators) were very friendly, helpful and prompt in answering my questions and replying to my support threads.
As you can see, the layout has changed a lot from the previous theme. Previously, there were three columns that had two sidebars and a bottom bar. Now, it only has two columns and no bottom bar. I’ve dropped some plugins like the Page-Navi which I don’t need anymore, Post-Ratings because I feel like its not serving its purpose and MyAvatars because Fresh News already has built-in Gravatar support. I also got rid of some scripts/widgets like FeedBurner (RSS readers), TopBlogs and Ratified. I thought about also removing the Entrecard widget but I decided to keep it for now.
Anyways, this layout and all the stuff you see here are not yet final. It’s still a work in progress so it means I could still change some parts of it and add/remove stuff. There are some stuff that I plan on adding that I’m sure would be useful for both you, my regular readers and the visitors. Also, I would really appreciate it if you can help me by pointing out bugs, errors or typos that you might find in any part of the blog. Comments, suggestions and feedback are also much welcome. You can leave a comment here or contact me.
So what do you think about the new theme/layout? Do you think its better than the previous one? Why or why not? What are the things you think I should change or improve? I value your opinion. Thanks for your time and have a nice day!
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March 9th, 2009 at 10:00 PM
@CURIOSO – No problem with the English. Anyways, I visited your blog and it looks nice with the Buuf icons. Great job! :)
March 9th, 2009 at 9:58 PM
Hi, my english very bad, well visit my blog site .. i edited this theme with icon theme BUUF … very cool!!! :)
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December 14th, 2008 at 6:55 AM
@JuanDerPul – Yeah, same here. I loved this theme from the moment it was first released. I wouldn’t have bought it if it wasn’t for the 3-in-1 Halloween special.
If you want to have a premium theme for free, you might wanna join my Christmas Giveaway. There are several premium WordPress theme licenses and memberships available as prizes. It could be the Christmas gift you’ve been waiting for. :D
December 14th, 2008 at 6:54 AM
This theme is really my dream theme for my blog but I can’t afford to buy this one. I hope someone will give me this theme as a Christmas gift! Hehehe
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November 22nd, 2008 at 10:35 PM
@Ade – Thank you! :D
November 22nd, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Totally loving the new theme.
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:45 AM
@Ambo – Thanks bro! I love it too! I see, so do you already know which premium theme to purchase for your blog?
November 22nd, 2008 at 9:44 AM
Uh i love your new theme! Looks clean and very professional! I’m gonna buy premium themes maybe early next year. Congrats!
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:25 AM
@jhay – Thanks dude! Yeah, fits the name of the theme “Fresh News”, right? :D
In your case, yeah you need to come up with more content to make up for lost time. When you’ve done that, then you can do the theme reboot.
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:20 AM
Awesome dude! Everything looks clean and fresh.
Though I’m tempted to do a theme reboot myself, I figured it’s not really needed. More content is what needed from my blog. :)
November 21st, 2008 at 5:35 AM
@yuga – Really? Did you try asking help from the WooThemes support forum? I’m sure they’ll be able to help you with customizing this theme. If not, maybe I can help you. I’m not a Woo Ninja but since I’ve started tweaking this theme, I’ve become quite familiar with the code and structure. :)
Got your email but haven’t replied to it yet. I’ve reinserted the banners. Thanks for reminding me bout it. :)
November 21st, 2008 at 5:34 AM
Was using this same theme on another blog but had a hard time customizing it.
Anyway, I sent you an email about the banner placements.
November 20th, 2008 at 8:10 PM
@aj – Its one of the popular if not the most popular theme from WooThemes. I agree and that’s one of the reasons why I chose this theme, it looks very neat and organized. :)
November 20th, 2008 at 8:08 PM
this theme is very nice… really separates the premium from the free themes… noticeably professional. :)
November 20th, 2008 at 5:15 PM
@bariles – Hi Avel! Thanks for the kind words, appreciate it! I had help from the WooThemes support but I also did a lot of hard coding/tweaking under the hood to accomplish all of this. Actually, I’m still working on some parts of the theme/layout. Still a work in progress.
Looking forward to GenSantos.com’s theme reboot. Thanks for the comment and for dropping by! :D
November 20th, 2008 at 5:14 PM
Hi Jaypee!
It looks so clean and uncluttered. You made a good theme reboot here. Will be doing mine before Christmas.
Stay cool! :)
November 20th, 2008 at 11:40 AM
@joie – Thanks bai! I saw your new blog theme/layout and got envious so I went ahead and did a theme reboot. :D
November 20th, 2008 at 2:53 AM
wow..nice theme Jaypee.. Congrats on the new theme.. I like what you did..
November 20th, 2008 at 1:20 AM
@Miss Dre – You got that right. The previous theme wasn’t that neat looking and the layout was a bit cluttered.
I’m glad you guys like this new theme coz I’m lovin it! :D
November 20th, 2008 at 1:17 AM
Like I said, I like this theme better. It is cleaner and uncluttered. Easy on the eyes. :)
November 19th, 2008 at 1:15 PM
@K – Thanks friend! I have to disagree with that. Not all purchased/premium themes look great. I know of some free WP themes that are premium quality like the Revolution 2 themes for example. Also, there are some “premium” themes that are totally crap. :P
What are you talking about? Your blog looks great and you’ve done a great job with the Grid Focus theme. With some help from a CSS guru or WordPress Ninja, you might be able to accomplish that on your blog. :)
November 19th, 2008 at 1:10 PM
Beautiful theme Jaypee, of course a purchased theme always looking great!
I am stucked with my Grid Focus and I loved it. I want the way your previous post lined up in your index page, magazine theme-style. I am trying to find out how to integrate mine like that but I’m getting there.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:55 PM
@trench – Thanks man! Oh really? When did you purchase it? Was it also during the Halloween Special?
I did what I could. Although some customizations aren’t too obvious and this theme uses a lot of built-in functions, I’ve done a lot of hard coding into it and tweaked several parts. Since you also have this theme, you might know the difference or what I’m talking about. :)
November 19th, 2008 at 12:52 PM
looks good man. I purchased this for another project I had. I like what you did here.