Maven Pro is a relatively new sans-serif font designed by Joe Prince and offered for free to use. The typeface includes support for basic Latin and western European diacritics, with new weights in development.
Category: Asides
PageDrop Child Theme: Drop Down Menus for Thematic
Built-in drop down menu support is something we’re working on right now for Thematic 0.9 (one of the many changes you’ll likely be hearing about pretty soon). In the meantime, the always resourceful Cozmoslabs has released a nifty little Child Theme for Thematic called PageDrop that adds drop down menus to the current Thematic style. I’m sure this will be very popular. Check it out.
The LaunchPad Theme Updated To Work With Google FeedBurner
The LaunchPad theme has been updated to work with the new Google FeedBurner. Special thanks to go to Michael Moshiri for sending me the updated code. Please make sure you get the theme from the LaunchPad download post and not the WordPress themes directory. I can’t update LaunchPad at the WordPress themes directory without trying to fake out the automated themes checker.
How To Change The Postheader in Thematic
bendler.tv has written an easy to follow tutorial on how to change the Postheader in Thematic. The Postheader is the content, typically including the title and author info, above each post and page. This is can be one of the most powerful tools in your Thematic toolbox and the same technique can be used to modify the Postfooter. It let’s you take extreme control over what appears above and below all of the content on your Thematic site—without touching a single Template file.
WordPress Theme Frameworks on The Codex
Check out the WordPress codex page for Theme Frameworks that “ease theme development by reducing the volume of work which may be needed in creating a backbone for your theme”. Thematic is mentioned along with The Sandbox and others.
Replacing the Thematic Menu with a DropDown List of Categories
Cozmos Labs has a great tutorial showing how to replace the default Thematic menu with a dropdown list of categories. Included with the tutorial is a free Child Theme, CatDrop, perfect for those of you interested in making Thematic more like a magazine-style theme or wanting to see how to make a dropdown menu work.
How To Create a Custom WordPress Write Panel
A good solution for avoiding a confusing mess of custom fields needed to fill out the content in a complex theme: create a custom WordPress write panel. (via WPCandy)
How To Optimize Your WordPress Meta Descriptions
Nathan Rice has good advice on how to optimize your WordPress Meta descriptions and take more control over how your blog appears in search results.
How To Create Custom WordPress Content Types
Andrew Rickmann demonstrates how to create custom content types in WordPress—and creates a WordPress Twitter clone in the process. Amazing. Anyone using WordPress as a CMS needs to read this post.
Jacob Santos on WordPress Child Themes
WordPress developer Jacob Santos on WordPress Child Themes: WordPress Theme Modifications should be made in Child Themes.
An Interview with Ian Stewart on WordPress Child Themes
If you want more of an introduction to theming your blog or website with WordPress Child Themes you can read my two-part interview with Weblog Tool Collections’ Jeff Chandler on the subject. Part One gives an introduction to the concept with a ridiculously easy tutorial that guides you through making your own Child Theme. Part Two goes through some of the business implications of using them with a WordPress Theme Framework.
The Problem With Child Themes
Pat Dryburgh outlines the drawbacks to child themes—which hinder public acceptance and experimentation—that he’s discovered while working with Thematic.
ThemeShaper 