SolarCrash.com now runs on the thesis framework. I bought into it because I wanted to refresh this site and am planning on doing some site development for others. I’m also really banking on the search engine optimization hype all over it. Finding a promotional discount also helped.
I was exploring Thematic, and some other frameworks at first, but felt that a lot of them were still glitchy and in beta stages. Thesis seems to have reached the tipping point where the kinks have been ironed out and there’s a large support community around it.
It’s definitely powerful, but having said that, I wouldn’t get it if I was completely code-illiterate, unless you’re willing for your site to look like an increasing number of other Thesis-driven sites out there.
This site still needs some work, but I’ll have to let it slide till I have more time to tinker around.
Some changes so far
- cutting the load time by half
- added a social profile icon bar at the top
- creating a ‘brighter’ look with the background
- rounded corners – using some new css features – that won’t work in IE though.
- shifted the nav bar down below the header
- removed redundant links like home / subscribe
- added a intro section hook above the sidebars
- removed some dividing lines for a cleaner feel
- edited the threaded commenting system so it’s a bit more engaging
I still hope to eventually make a new logo/banner, layout the navigation pages better, and probably remove those google ads once I hit the next payment clip. I’m getting a bit tired of ‘Sexy Christian Singles” ads. Hopefully I’ll get some sponsors at some point (can you believe I made 10% of my income last year, through this blog?)
If you plan on purchasing Thesis, you can click my affiliate link so I can get some cash back.
Let me know if you’ve got ideas on making a better site, specifically this one!
