If you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to lately — like not keeping on a regular blogging schedule — then you should know that I’ve been hard at work on a new WordPress theme.
I present to you the Options Theme. Here’s a live demo.
What you see there is only a small sampling of what the new theme will be like. Heck, even this theme got its own subdirectory in my site.
I’m still working on getting a few kinks out. One in particular is the paragraphs not displaying correctly in IE with Smooth Gallery. I may end up going another route with that functionality. I haven’t done extensive testing in any browser except Firefox, so I hope you’re viewing with that browser. If you’re not, and you’re having problems, tell me what they are. Then, go download Firefox.
Why is it called the Options theme?
Because you’ll have more options than ever before. It’s like Structure on steroids.
I won’t reveal all the details until I get this thing released sometime this week, so if you want to see it released quicker, tell me about any bugs you find.
What’s left?
I have to do a lot of testing to make sure everything’s working correctly. I’m also releasing this theme with at least two separate stylesheets (will release more periodically). I’ve got a few more functions to code and I’ll be through.
Tell me what you think thus far and persuade me to work faster.
Oh! My God! This is a beauty. I can’t wait. I’m going to hold off on a new project until this masterpiece is available. Absolutely head and shoulders above any theme I have ever seen… even your Structure theme that I love.
Superb work Justin. Very professional look with awesome features! A truly premium quality theme. Can’t wait to see the final product.
Free or paid?
Now that is a sweat template. Something worth paying for. Well done, mate.
Excellent work Justin. Really, really good.
If this has a price, then I’m sure it will be well worth it. If it doesn’t have a price, then only a fool would buy any of the vast majority of ‘premium’ magazine themes available.
wow =)
Well, I can tell you it looks good in Safari too. Can’t wait to see the finished product. The tagline has me intrigued to say the least.
Only thing I can say is WOW! (And GO FIREFOX!!!)
Only two things I’ve seen that bug me. One is the Flickr pics placement on the home page, but that no big deal, just my opinion and easily fixed via widgets. The second is the way that the pictures on the homepage feature thing are squished and distorted. I realize this due to the improper ratio of the picture, but is there anything that can be done to make it so pictures don’t have to be cropped every time? Great work!
lol … you don’t make it easy for people with theme addictions to just pick one and stick with it. This looks really nice. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Todd
SinDe
Thanks. You shouldn’t have to hold off on a your new project too long. This thing will be released this week.
PremiumWP
Thanks.
Nathan Rice
It’s a free theme. I’m trying to think of a few ways to possibly make a little money off it though. Maybe I’ll release extra “features” or stylesheets for a few bucks each or something.
A buddy of mine and I discussed releasing the theme for $2. I think I’ll definitely put up a donation link because I got a lot of small donations with Structure, which was nice.
Zac
As I mentioned to Nathan, there’ll be a donation link.
Armen
Thanks. One thing I’ll try to never do is label my themes “premium.” We need a new word for premium — quality, superior, high-class, high-caliber, valuable, etc.
Maybe my tagline should be:
“Options theme: the nobility of WordPress themes. All other themes are just working class.”
Marcus Oliveira
Thanks.
Ian Stewart
Thanks for checking it out in Safari. I was thinking to myself the other day, “Shouldn’t all themes have more options for the user, and why don’t they?” That’s how I came up with the tagline.
Noah H.
There’s actually an option to place the Flickr pictures in the sidebar instead. The feature pictures were not properly cropped (I just resized them). That’s why they’re a bit off.
You’ll be able to change the height of the picture frame through CSS though. However, the images, to look right, will have to be resized or cropped because that frame will have to stay one size. It doesn’t resize the pics automatically though. There are just black bars on the side if the pic isn’t big enough.
Todd
You think you have a theme addiction? I have to stop myself from redesigning my blog every week.
I haven’t figured out how to use Structure yet. I love it but can’t figure out how to use its features and functions.
That’s not going to stop me from trying this new one though! Wow! I love it! Hope some docs for complete noobs come with it or else the new forum gets going.
Charles
I’m working on a more complete online documentation right now. That’s one of the things keeping me from releasing it too soon. This theme will be much easier to customize than Structure.
After 500+ comments on Structure and 100+ posts in the Structure forums after a week, I’ve learned a thing or two about “complete noobs.”
Nice work, man. I especially like the alpha-transition slideshow piece.
Darren
Thanks. I have to admit that I didn’t do much work for the slideshow. Most of that credit goes to the Smooth Gallery. Just to give another inkling of what’s to come — that’s not the only available “feature” posts option.
This looks really great Justin, there’s a good chance I’ll be using this theme as soon as you release it (soon I hope?). I’m not sure how I feel about the nav menu and categories being so close together, but I’ve never been a fan of that kind of layout… makes things too cluttered for my taste. If it stays that way in the final release I’ll probably just remove the categories though so its not a big deal. Thanks for including the author info and picture, saves me from having to add it myself! Oh and the Dark colors are looking good too.
love the slideshow… already getting ideas!
get that donation link up
Praise in the forum…
If I click on the link, “read more about me and the site“. You get a no input file specified. But the link looks wrong …tadlock.com/index.php/about.
Just trying to find anything to get it out!!!
Justin, this theme is incredible! I can’t wait to see what the theme will be like in action! You put so much work into your excellent themes that it’s really hard to believe you’ll release for free (or at such an incredibly low price!).
I’m loving the slideshow feature! At present, I’m creating a whole new theme for my Blogger blog, and now I’m wondering if this will fit with the magazine style theme I’m creating for myself… If you have the time to write anything about the implementation, I;d love to read about it, then hopefully I’ll be able to figure out if this will be possible for my new layout.
Thank you and best wishes,
Amanda
Fantastic work and free!
Looks fine in ff, you might take a look at it in opera, just for testing.
On the other hand: you do such cool layouts, but use a rather boring design for your own site, why?
No offence, just curious…
not sure about the solution, but you might consider not to show featured post in the sidebar on category template – as there’s is double post in the category view, like this:
http://justintadlock.com/options/?cat=13
Very nicely done, Justin.
I agree with Josh. The Nav menu and Categories bar seem to be a bit cluttered. I assume the search, rss, and subscribe functions will be added in the final version, correct?
I like the navigation on the video section. It’s much better looking than the one in structure. Will we be able to use any video codec of video or only be allowed to use the ones you’ve showed?
Outstanding job! I’ve been patiently waiting for all my favorite designers to release their “premium” magazine themes. This one just made my decision to pick one much easier.
Good Luck! – Terrence
Josh
Don’t worry about the nav menu. Not to give too much away, but you’ll have some easier control over that.
I’m a big fan of the dark colors too. I’ve always had trouble designing dark layouts with white text on black, but I like the feel of this.
Christine
The slideshow is definitely cool. Smooth Gallery is pretty powerful and you can do a lot of things with it.
I think the donation link will be the first thing I put up.
echoca
And thank you for being such a valuable member of my forums.
Oh, that’s just a typo I input in my about section. You’ll be able to input your custom text from your Dashboard under “Users » Your Profile » About Yourself.”
Amanda
I might just get around to that tutorial sometime in the future. It’s not really hard to do if you know your way around WordPress a bit. You might want to go ahead and try Smooth Gallery out.
milo
I haven’t tested in Opera yet. I always test in Firefox, IE6 and 7, Opera, and Safari before releasing a theme.
I never have time to work on my own site. I’m thinking of customizing this theme for myself though. I take no offense whatsoever. I know I need to seriously revamp this site’s design.
hammerFar
This theme will be completely widgetized, so you can show what you want in the sidebar.
Terrence
As I mentioned to Josh, there’ll be easy customization of the navigation menu.
You’ll be able to upload YouTube, Google, MetaCafe, and other videos in the initial release since they’re the most compatible videos you can input anyway.
Justin,
Very…very impressive. The effort you have put into it shows…
You mentioned you will be releasing 2 stylesheests. I hope one will be black on white.
This is going to be one big hit !!!
Justin, I did a little browsering of Otpion theme in Opera this morning and found a little problem. Don’t know if with your theme or not though. The drop dowm menu on the “About” button stays down after moving the mouse off of it.
Here’s a screen shot – http://picasaweb.google.com/cnhardwick/ScreenShots/photo#5168709725547458082
wow wow and wow!!
Is this the result of project community? or just your another design?
I was spoiled by such hign quality free WordPress theme again.
thanks for not forcing to pay. I don’t have even just 2$ lol
I tested this theme in Opera, the text in dynamic tab on top right doesn’t look right
btw, in your “project community theme design” post
I submit comment with a lot of links to color lover awhile ago (around comment number 4 or 5)
may be it was false positive marked as spam? (I commented as SE7EN in name field though)
Wow..what a fantastic and Great WP Theme! And is this for Free Release?? Unbelievable!
Well done Justin! You are the Man! Thanks for your Efforts!
Congrats Justin. Structure on steroids had me smiling. I second Milo’s suggestion. You should go all out for justintadlock.com.
Trakin
One of the stylesheets with the initial release will be black text on a white background.
Noah H.
I hadn’t tested in Opera at all up to until tonight. I usually save it and Safari for last. I couldn’t recreate the problem you had though. I’ll look more into it when I’m in the final stages of testing.
Nice from Thailand
Nope, this is something totally different than the community theme. I mentioned a little over a month agoMblogger
Yeah, this is a free release, just as soon as I finish the last stylesheet, a few more functions, and final testing.
Small Potato
To release another tid-bit of news about the theme, I’m actually going to release a Structure color scheme for this theme. That way, if Structure users wanted to switch over, they would be able to keep their same layout style.
I’ve got a few ideas about what I want to do for this site too. I just got to find the time to put them all together.
Great theme… make me think, what elset site I can develop. great, and nice nice nice
What would be a cool option would be to replace the flicker option with an image that would like to a gallery or your posts and when you click on it or rolled over it the post or the image would show in the large box above.
And then if you added a slider option then your gallery or entire section could be seen on the front page.
- Cheers you the man JT
Sorry – “like” is actual “link” I need some sleep.
GN
The new theme looks great! I like just about everything about it and I agree that it looks even better than Structure. And it’s nice to know that it will be easy to implement. The only thing that I like less is the dark background. I find it easier to read dark letters on a light background than the other way round.. But don’t worry about it if I’m the only one thinking that way…
2 cent comment;
- Square hovers could be round to go with the corners.
This looks really cool. I am looking at starting a new site, and this theme should fit the bill.
Is the category tab unit (field? thing?) from Structure available for Options? It’s a cool feature I would like to use.
http://www.blogstorm.co.uk/
I would make the homepage look a tad bit more like that, you have too many google video’s and not enough space for posts lol
Luke
Luke, you do realize thats just a modified version of the last theme Justin released right? And that the video section is optional? you know, cause the name of the theme is… “Options”.
I can’t wait for its release. I’d be happy to review it on my blog. Good stuff!
Really great, but could you put an option to change the background to milky white? Brown on white or blue on white. Black seems to be somewhat hard on the eyes.
Awaiting for it’s release. Thanks in advance!
I love it I love it I love it! I can’t wait for this to be released. I can definitely use this on a site I’m working on right now. Just tell me when and how much much and I’m there.
Great job and I’ll be waiting.
I love it! I am using Structure on one site and I might try this on my other one. I would prefer it to be lighter, though. That text is hard to read.
To answer for Justin since he is probably too busy finishing up the theme to repeat himself, there will be more than one color scheme available for this theme and he also plans to release one with the same colors as structure.
But also to repeat myself, I vastly PREFER the dark colors and think its easier to read than the regular, boring, black on white layouts that most websites use. Maybe its just my glossy mac display, but Options looks fantastic and the images really stand out because of the darker scheme.
Lovely! I’ve been suffering dreadfully trying to find a theme for my new blog; this isn’t my dream look, but it’s terrific.
That said, I agree with others: too many Google videos (something I rarely utilize) and it’s so hard on the eyes to look at a black screen. Different colour options would be great, such as chocolate, navy, red, plum, etc. backgrounds, and of course white or cream or something to that effect. The black looks fabulous, but…ouch.
Keep in mind the themes name is “Options”. Something tells me what is up on the demo site is just a demo of one/some of the “Options” that will be available. And Justin has pointed out the theme will come with a different color flavor, with more potentially in the wings. So if you don’t like the colors or videos, lets just see what “Options” will really be…
Hi Justin,
Are going to have this theme with gettext?
Much easier to get it localized if you can. Or may be even in the following version.
Great work!
and so, we’re just waiting for coming the masterpiece. Come on justin…. I love you
Avid fan of the Structure theme, and after this I think I’m in love with you. (In a totally non-creepy, not-stalking-you way.)
Can´t wait for you to release this one. As you said “Structure on steroids”.
this is one bad ass theme.. you’re going to start taking developers who sell themes out of business if you keep this up!
i love your work man… very very cool
To everyone
The theme is now up and ready! Check out the Options WordPress theme post!
Sorry it’s taken me so long to reply to you all, but I’ve been busily working away at the theme and a few other projects. I think the few extra days it took me to finish were well worth it though.
StudyForex
Glad it made you think.
Steve
That definitely sounds like a good idea — the image rollover thing. I might have to implement it in an update.
It was hard enough getting the hovers to work correctly. Now you want round corners!
Sueli
There’ll be plenty of stylesheets coming for this theme. I’ve released it now with Light and Dark stylesheets. I think the dark one is the best though. Look for updates on styles.
Tapeleg
Yep, the category tab section is availabe, except now, there’s several different options available. There’s one with thumbnails, list items, and your normal run-of-the-mill tabbed categories.
Luke Daly
I’m glad you find my theme at Blog Storm nice. There are plenty of options available to display what you want.
Josh
You’re completely right about the video section being optional. This is much more than just a mod of the last theme, but a lot of the ideas behind Structure have been implemented into this theme.
And yes, I’ve been too busy working on the theme to reply. Thanks for keeping the commenters in line.
Mark
Please do review the theme. I’d love to hear what you have to say about it.
Naveen
There are different stylesheet options available. The initial release has dark and light stylesheets. More will come!
tigga76
When: now (Feb. 24, 2008)
How much: join the forums and get involved.
Sharon Hurley Hall
Please feel free to try it out. If you’ve managed to figure out Structure, then you’ll do fine with this one.
Jen
There’ll be plenty of color options. Plus, you can always use the customizable stylesheets available with the theme download.
echoca
Thanks for stopping by the blog and adding your input. Yes, there’ll be lots of color options down the road. I think I might ask the readers what they want to see in future updates.
yoichi
This theme should be ready to be localized. I think I’ve completely gotten all the text covered with
_e()and__(). You up for another Japanese translation? Just let me know.vankojo
Well, it’s finally released. And, I love all of my readers too!
Josh Braun
Time to go try it out then.
Stefan
It is much like Structure with the idea that different sections of the site are highly customizable.
Julian
I’ve got some monetary plans up my sleeves for the future. But, you’ve got to “break the mold” if you want to make some real money.
darshan
Thanks. Try the theme out. You commented just before I published it.
i wait for it !
It’s like a dream come true, i’m no longer interested with my drupal blog, thinking to change to wordpress this weekend
Nice design, but I hate those serb flags (it would look better without them)
great thema very good.thank you very much justin.
Awesome. I do a lot of wordpress sites. This great! I am going to try out the options theme you have done already, but the demo of this looks like it is going to be quite something. Keep up the good work!
I do not know where can I download themes. Have you issued it for free. And when will it be issued? I think there are many people looking for it.
Thank you for your support.
Great job man.
Thanks for creating options, am currently using it in several blogs of mine and I really like it.
Wow, i like this theme, ill try to use on my new website very soon, thank you Justin
hi there!
how much it will cost these theme? or is free for personal use?
Jocuri