I’ve been thinking about this for weeks. Making a switch from one theme to another. Finally, the time has come to switch from Thesis by DIYthemes to Canvas by WooThemes.
For the most part, I don’t think the readers of my sites care. If you’re at my photo blog, you could care less about the code that goes into the back end, you’re there to look at pictures. If you’re on jamesrlee.info, it’s probably because I wrote a tutorial that you need. It’s about the content – not the theme that styles the web page.
But I care about the style, because I know that the way information is presented makes it easier (or harder) to use. As such, I strive for clean designs that are unobtrusive.
Quite frankly, it’s how I design everywhere. For example, I’m designing a new web site for work right now. I’m trying to keep it very simple and easy to use. The site has two main purposes, and I want them to pop when you view the page. I don’t want users to get lost in a bunch of details that have nothing to do with my message. I’m not a professionally trained designer, so I am actually using someone for help on that project. Steve Sicherman is really good, and reasonably priced – I highly recommend his services.
Sorry – I’m getting off topic. I switched themes, which means I am changing the design of my web sites. I was using Thesis, I am now using Canvas.
It started with a very public spat between Chris Pearson, the author of Thesis, and Matt Mullenweg, the creator of WordPress. They argued, quite publicly, about the way Thesis was licensed, and whether Chris was violating the software license that WordPress issues. If you want to know more about that, there are – several – great – resources. In the end, Chris capitulated somewhat, but along the way he lost his business partner. And some customers.
Including me.
Matt Mullenweg famously offered to buy anyone a copy of another Premium theme. I haven’t received any of that money, but I did buy into Canvas from WooThemes, and so far, it’s an improvement for me.
jronaldlee.com now looks like this:
It used to look like this:
Smaller photos on the home page, with just a snippet of text. Still, the individual post pages are almost the same.
So what’s my take on the two themes? Which is better?
If you really know what you’re doing with PHP and CSS, Thesis is amazing. It’s really complicated, but that’s because it has so much power. If you know what you’re doing, you can make a Thesis site look like anything you can think of.
If you’re not a coder or designer, you should stay away from Thesis. I’m officially endorsing Canvas for 99% of the world… it’s just that much easier to use, and not very hard to customize, either.
Because there are more people using Thesis at this point, the support forums are a little better, but again, unless you’re doing some high level customizations, you’re better off with a theme like Canvas and making your site yours via built in controls.
In the end, it wasn’t the GPL spat, or the ease of use that pushed me to Canvas. What pushed me over the edge was Chris himself.
Read The F—— Manual
If you want help with anything in Thesis, your first bet is go read the manual. The URL for the manual? RTFM.
It’s here: http://diythemes.com/thesis/rtfm/ – though this is a members only site, so you won’t be able to access it unless you’re a paying customer. As a business person who works in a professional environment, that URL bothers me. As someone with kids, it bothers me. If I want to teach a thirteen year old how to use Thesis, I have to tell the kid to “RTFM.” So I went to Chris’s forum and said it bothered me.
After taking a cheap shot from the staff about me taking their URL as a “personal insult” (I’m not dumb – I know it’s not directed at me), I explained that I was just trying to offer a different perspective on how they could run their business without alienating a portion of their customer base. That’s when Chris weighed in. He doesn’t participate in the forums that much… in fact, it’s only the 22nd time he has deigned to leave a response on his own forums, and here’s what he had to say:
If I want to run a lighthearted business, I have a right to do so. By the same token, you have control over how you choose to let things affect you. No harm or negativity is intended on our end, so as far as I’m concerned, this is something you need to address with yourself!
By that logic, I can use racial slurs, and as long as I mean no harm, and it’s all in good fun, the problem is with the people who get offended – not me.
So I reached back out again. Tried to tweet to Chris – no reply. Left a message on his forum – no reply. I have been labeled, and can now be ignored.
I don’t get a refund with this change. I’m just doing what I think is right… taking my efforts and putting them into places that don’t ask me to compromise my values. So it’s costing me a few bucks, but what can you do. In the end, it’s about how I want to live my life. If Chris wants to run a light hearted business that strains the boundaries of common business standards of polite behavior, he can.
And I can take my sites in a different direction if he wants to be sophomoric about the whole thing.
EDIT: I’ve since moved again… at this point, I’ve tried all three of the big dogs (DIY, Woo!, and StudioPress). I’ll write more about it later…
Well written, James.
Your thoughts, and feelings, on Chris and his business echo mine.
Sites are looking great, by the way
Thanks, Shane… I’m getting there!
…and looking forward to seeing what’s under the tarp over on your URL, too.
Heh, ain’t much under the tarp right now! It will likely be a while before I’m up and running again.
I started a new job that has me working the night shift, so between that and being a little worn out with wordpress, I’m taking my time
In case you ask, I made a drastic career change. I’ve gone from an investment advisor with a large institution to getting in on the ground floor with retail grocery chain. From selling investments to stocking shelves…lol. A large step down to be sure, but I couldn’t be happier. It was time to get out of high pressure sales and run screaming from the utterly ridiculous and soul stealing corporate world. I needed a break!
Hi James,
I came here via Twitter to your photography site – hadn’t looked there in a while and the turtle looks great – and then I came here to your very thoughtful post.
It’s good to learn more about you this way.
I use Thesis on several of my sites and I read your take on this.
I admire you making the move over Chris’s response to your feelings about the language of the URL for the User’s Guide.
The letters RTFM never registered with me – maybe because I am British and the letters don’t make a connection in my head with the abbreviation and its meaning.
Now I know, it is just one more thing that makes me feel uncomfortable with Chris’s ethos.
I have always felt uncomfortable with the wording of the SAVE button in the back-end but at least I can change that. Still, had I known beforehand what the wording was – it might have tipped me away from Thesis. I’ll never know.
And it’s odd of me to object on that ground anyway because while I do not swear in public, I do swear at times in private – so why do I not want to see such language may reveal more about me than about the language.
The again, maybe not.
I am trying to reduce the swearing that I do down to nil. That is the direction in which I want to be heading.
So I don’t want to see an encouragement to go in the opposite direction.
I am not planning to change from Thesis, but I wish Chris had responded to you in a different way – but then he would be a different person.
David – I hear you… I, too, am neither prudish nor am I easily shocked, but when you take my money, I think I just demand a certain amount of polite behavior in return.
Hey James,
This is certainly good info. In your opinion does it make a big deal between made-for-seo Thesis, versus a theme heavy on features like Woo Canvas?
Best,
J
Josh, as far as SEO goes, I would have to say no, it doesn’t seem to make a difference.
As far as ease of use goes, Canvas is incredibly easy for basic customization, and you can make the site your own without having to know very much about Web design. With Thesis, you have to learn some code to customize it at all.
I haven’t used Thesis in months, so there’s no telling what Chris might have done to make it easier to use. I will say this – he is an active developer, so in the 18 months I used his product, I saw lots of updates.
That said, I see just as much activity from the team at Woo, and there’s more of them working the updates.
Long story short – I don’t see a difference in SEO. I’m treated much more nicely at Woo, and their product is immeasurably easier to use. If you want to customize to higher levels, either product will work.