Daily Blog Tips is not only about blogging tips, they also create free WordPress themes for public use. Their recent release called StudioPress, is a beautiful, clean looking, 2 columned theme which has the option of easily integrating Adsense units in several locations.
I was planning of reviewing the previous theme that Daily Blog Tips released, the GreenTech WordPress theme but when I saw this one I liked it better and so I decided to review this.
Basic Features:
- AdSense-ready: The theme comes with three units integrated already. A 468×60 unit on top, a 336×280 unit on top of the sidebar and a 120×600 unit on the bottom of the sidebar. You just need to copy & paste the AdSense code on the specific php files.
- Widget-ready: The theme supports widgets, so just drop the ones you use.
- Comment styling: Comments alternate with a different background, making it easier to follow the conversation.
- “Welcome” section on the sidebar: You can customize a “Welcome” or “About us” message easily through the form on the “Theme Options.”
- Search Engine Optimization: The theme comes with title tags optimized, and it already displays only excerpts on archive and category pages, to reduce the duplicate content.
Screenshot:
My Take:
Premium themes are getting popular these days but if you don’t have the budget for it, you don’t have to worry because there are a lot of good quality free/public WordPress themes released almost everyday and one of those is StudioPress.
I love the color scheme used in StudioPress not only because it has blue (my favorite color) on it but because the colors match very well together. I also like the custom background image and how the glossy RSS feed icon stands out on top of the page. How can you miss that?
StudioPress would definitely appeal to a lot of WordPress users because it’s widget-ready, has the option of integrating Adsense units and is already optimized for search engines. Plus it doesn’t require any plugins so it works straight out of the box. I also don’t see any problems tweaking or customizing this theme, provided you have a working knowledge of HTML/CSS and how WordPress themes work. Btw, you can customize this theme any way you want it as long as its for personal use.
The only bug that I found in StudioPress is that if viewed with the Opera browser, the blog title and RSS feed section becomes elevated by about 60 pixels and almost reaches the bottom of the section where the search bar is located. I don’t know if the guys at Daily Blog Tips are aware of that but I’m sure it can be quickly fixed. Btw, it works well with Firefox and Internet Explorer.
I give the StudioPress WordPress theme a 4 out of 5. Hats off to the guys at Daily Blog Tips for another great WordPress theme. Looking forward to more beautiful themes in the near future!
Preview or Download the StudioPress WordPress theme.
SIDENOTE: The program I used to create the screenshot is called Fireshot, a Mozilla Firefox extension that I discovered from Daily Blog Tips and I also included in my recent Weekend Roundup. I’ll also try to do a review on it one of these days.
I am using Studiopress 1.2 at this moment. However, I don’t like the listing of Archives summarized my post and remove the images. Anyone know how to make it show full post content?
@mike – Why? What seems to be the problem with this theme on Opera and IE?
Who can help me make this theme work with Opera and Internet Explorer ?
@Hussein – You’re not the only one my friend. Many people like this theme and have downloaded and installed it on their blogs at one point. :)
I like this theme of DBT.
@Jauhari – Yeah it is. Btw, your WordPress themes look good themselves. :)
Nice layout theme, I like it
@mr nice ash – Cool new blog! So this theme or this resolution works for the Eee? You said you’re running your Eee PC on a Mac? Do you mean you’re using the Mac OS on it? Maybe you should post a tutorial on how to do that. :D
hey, i am using the iTheme now. it has a new version and it's perfectly designed for eee pc i think…
and i'm running eee pc on mac now. :p
@mr nice ash – You’re right, it does have a slight resemblance to the iTheme. :D
this looks like iTheme… :)
@Lloyd – You’re welcome! Let me know when you’ve decided to use this theme. Thanks for dropping by! :D
A very nice theme indeed. I might use this theme in the future. Thanks for sharing!
@Pinay – It looks good right now but if there was one thing I’d change it would be the Poll. I’d edit it to blend with the background so it would look like a part of the theme. Right now, it looks kinda out of place.
Unless of course you really want to make it stand out. But then, you can do it in a different way but still make it look like a part of the theme. ;)
Just stay tuned and you’ll soon find out. Regarding the Magazine theme, you shouldn’t feel or think that coz it’s not a custom theme. It’s a Premium theme that’s available to anyone who buys it. One of the reasons why I tweaked and customized it is to make it look different from other blogs using the same theme.
any suggestions on the tweaking part?
and hmmm… curious ako ha :) i do like the magazine premium kaso hiya ako sa yo baka sabihin mo gaya gaya ako wahahaha :mrgreen:
@Blogoloco – Hehe can’t make up your mind huh? That’s the beauty of WordPress and free themes. There are a lot of good quality themes that you can download/install for free anytime you want a new theme. :D
All I do is swap from one theme to another :)
@Dre – You’re right. And I think for people who design WordPress themes, you get inspiration and ideas from other themes right?
Yes, but it’s an inspiring design ;)
@Dre – Yes it is. But you don’t need it since you design your own WordPress themes. :D
That’s a pretty cool theme ;)
@Joie – You’re not the only one, many users like the Revolution Theme but some can’t afford it. Check back here often and you’ll soon find out how you can get a free copy of the Revolution theme. :D
It is a very nice theme. Although i still like the revolution theme better. But this really saves some $$. Thanks for the review..
@Pinay – That makes you another reader of my blog to use this theme. If only I get a commission for promoting these themes! Hehe It already looks good on your blog but a little bit more tweaking won’t hurt. :D
Btw, if you want the Revolution and Magazine premium themes just check back often for updates. I have something coming up soon. ;)
@sasha – Yup, somethings are better simple. :)
funny i just tried it… i like it too, i just need to do some tweaking first but i think i will use it. i was looking into revolution and magazine news but as you said why pay for it when i can get something for free :)
I also like the theme :smile: I agree that it’s simple, but not trivial
@mr nice ash – You’re welcome! Which blog are you gonna use it for?
@K – Another theme for you to play with. Hehe I just checked your blog and saw it sporting a new theme again. Btw, congratulations on your new camera! :D
@TechRoam – Thanks for sharing and good job with porting the theme to WordPress! :)
i wanna give this a try… thanks.
Quite stunning. So many themes to choose so I’ll bookmark this and try it next time, hirap mag kalikot.
Thanks for the share.
check out my new theme: Phokus Light
@dimaks – Yup, the colors are really good and so is the layout. Simple, yet elegant.
Btw, just dropped by your blog and I really like the photos you took. I wish I could take nice pictures like that. :D
@jhay – Yeah, you got that right. I thought about it but forgot to mention about it being web 2.0-ish. Hehe for a moment there, I thought you were thinking of another theme reboot. :D
@Showbiz – I see that you’re already using it on your blog. Looks very nice! My theme? Hehe if you really want it you don’t need a discount. Just check back here often or better yet, subscribe to my RSS feed. You’ll find out soon. ;)
i like the theme.. especially the color and the layout.
Nice theme. Simple yet very elegant and very “web 2.0-ish” :lol:
And no, I’m not going on another theme reboot if that’s what you think dude. :grin:
great theme..i am going to use this..but what i really really like is YOUR theme jaypee. :lol:
i guess i have to save up for the next adsense check for your magazine theme. wala bang discount?? :lol: