The Thematic Feature Site Theme

You’ve heard about the Thematic Theme Framework and want to use it for your site but don’t know where to begin customizing it. Or maybe you’re a WordPress Developer wanting to speed up your site development time. If either one is the case I want to introduce to you the Thematic Feature Site Theme.

Are you ready to give your Thematic Theme a Power-Up? Click the big image below to see the theme demo and then head on back to find out what the Feature Site Theme can do for you.

The Feature Site Theme is the second Theme in the Thematic Development Series; a series of themes showing you how to take advantage of the killer customization powers brought to you through using a WordPress Child Theme with the Thematic Theme Framework. Each theme in the series gives you a huge leg up on rapid WordPress theme development.

A Killer Custom Template For Your Home Page

If you want to use WordPress to power your web site—not just your blog—this is the Theme for you. Need to highlight multiple sections of your site? All of equal importance? I’ve tested this template and it works.

A rotating spot for your featured items

The Feature Site Theme lives up to it’s name by randomly featuring blocks of image and text on the home page. Now, you’re going to have to edit a little code to work with this theme but really it’s baby stuff. I don’t like over-complicating things—and I bet you don’t either.

Here’s what the relevant bit you have to dig into looks like in the functions.php:

    /*
    Highlight your most important projects with a series of files (2 to start with) named feature-front-x.php.
    Where x is a number. Then, these files are randomly included on the front page. It’s pretty simple stuff.
    
    The important bit is the mt_rand(1,2). Right now it’s randomly including 1 of 2 files.
    If you had 15 files you’d need to have mt_rand(1,15) in there.
    */
    $rand = mt_rand(1, 2);

Yep, that’s right. If you want to add more featured items you only have to edit 1 character of code. 1 character and a new featured file for each new item which in practical terms means copying one of the sample files in the include directory and making whatever changes you want.

Like I said, it’s pretty simple stuff. To activate the front page create a new page called “Home” and set the template (in the attributes box of the Edit Page page in the WordPress admin) to Front Page. Then set your Front Page to Home in the Reading Settings in the Settings section of the WordPress admin and you’re done.

Immediate reader orientation

If the featured item on the home page fails to attract the interest of a casual visitor this design knows where to direct your attention: immediately to a quick about section and a listing of recent posts.

Persistent WordPress Search in the Header

Once of the most common requests I get for Thematic tips is “how do I get this or that into the header?” Well I’ve done it for you here in the header by injecting a WordPress search form—another common request. Take the lesson learned here and apply it in your own designs and you’ll be set.

So Good I Use It Myself

Here’s how I know the Feature Site Theme works. I know it’s good because I use it myself. It’s the same starting point I’ve used to build the last two versions of the WordPress Child Theme featured right here on ThemeShaper. And you know what? It’s a design starting point that really does work. It drives traffic to my featured items and that traffic converts. Which means I make money with it. And you can too.

In the end the Feature Site Theme is all the great things you’ve come to expect from Thematic—because it is the Thematic Theme!