Follow @ThisOldBrain on Twitter Subscribe to This Old Brain via RSS Email View Mike Kirkeberg LinkedIn Profile View Mike Kirkeberg

Love, Hate, and the Thesis Theme

by Mike Kirkeberg

Hello there! If you are new here, you might want to subscribe to the RSS feed for updates on this topic.

Thesis Theme Review

If you are reading this, it’s possible you have a blog of your own. So, here’s a question for you.

Why do you have a blog?

A quick internet search brings up many reasons for blogging-

You may have ideas and information you want to share;
You may wish to report news on a local, maybe even a global scale;
The editor in you wants to comment on news and issues;
Lot’s of people blog to make money;
You want to express yourself, or to show your creative side;
You would like to influence or be influenced;
You want to make new connections or renew old connections, or connect others;
You have a business an you want to marke and get the word out to the right customers;
You have something to offer that will help people to achieve, improve, develop, or grow in life;
You have a hobby you are excited about and want to share.
You want to tell your story.

It could be any of these or any of a myriad of others. What’s the commonality? Whether you have a business, a hobby, an interest, or a self to promote, your blog is a reflection of you. And you want it to be a reflection of you.

If you are like me, this can be difficult because when you start a blog, you have many choices…. but they are all themes that some one else has designed, and if you aren’t a coder, they can be difficult to customize.

Enter the beautiful, maddening, elegant, and ultimately flexible Thesis Theme. Take a look at what Jenn H. (real name … or not) has created in a single column theme on her blog –

Mixed Metaphor.Net

And then take a look at my now defunct Outlaw Coach Journal. to see the basic framework.

You can get the Thesis Theme here, and take a look at some more customizations here –

Thesis Gallery Showcase — See killer customizations from around the Thesis community!

I know (knew) nothing about coding. I still know next to nothing. That used to frustrate me to no end. Over time, I have come to stop worrying about it and now cannot imagine blogging without Thesis.

It has been an ongoing affair of the heart and head.

Click below to purchase Thesis –

I have had the Thesis Theme for about 3 months now. I feel like Faye Dunaway at the end of Chinatown -
I love it.
I hate it.
I love it.
I hate it.
I love it.
And that is where I end. I do love working with this theme. Well, maybe not “love,” but a strong “like a lot.” At times, I still hate to say it, but it is true. I’ve learned more about blogging and blog design in the last three months than I could possibly imagine.
I am not an expert by any definition of the word. Sometimes the Zenny part of me says that is my advantage, my beginner’s mind. If I were a web designer I would have nothing else but Thesis.
It is truly DIY. In a good way.
There are so many possibilities with this theme that I spend time playing with the computer, working on new Thesis dance steps.
I love the challenge of, over time, being able to have my Blog look exactly as I want it to look. Check back from time to time to see the progress of both my writing (I hope) and the design of This Old Brain Dot Net (of this I am sure)
Go there now. It will be the best investment you can make in designing your blog, and it is under $100. I don’t think you can go wrong.
Here is another stylish, yet simple blog design done with Thesis. It’s also in the same vein of blogging as This Old Brain.

MindTweaks

Before you come back, also consider signing up for Tori’s Brain Fitness Boot Camp. I’m thinkin’ about it myself.

Back to my Theme Journey

Before I became a believer, I had been blogging for about 3 months. In that time, I had changed themes dozens of times, downloaded and tried so many I couldn’t begin to count.

Don’t take that wrong. Some of the themes I used were really nice, looked great, but there they sat. I could not change them because I didn’t know how.

With Thesis, there is a great forum, and when something doesn’t work, the senior people on the forum will continue to try things until the bugs are gone, or they will say, simply, I don’t think this plugin is going to work.

They are straight up about it. How often does that happen. I’m a grown up, I know my limitations, and I am eternally graetful for the help I receive there.

Some of the most followed blogs on the web use this premium theme to keep readers looking. One of my favorites is CopyBlogger.com.

CopyBlogger

I like my blog as it is currently and know it will continue to need a little work now and then. I will continue to design it and when I get it exactly the way I want it, I will probably change it again. So, for Thesis, I guess the final words for me are, so far ..

I Love It.

We’ll see how it goes tomorrow!

Mike

Don’t forget to look at resources..