THESIS – DIYthemes

With no template files, your design travels as data

You finish a site for a client, you are happy with the structure, and the next month another project asks for something very similar. If your design lives scattered across edited files and loose settings, reusing it means hunting for what you changed and where, and hoping you forget nothing.

Thesis starts from a different base: it is a modular template and design system for WordPress, and it has no template files. Templates, CSS and options make up Skin data that can be backed up, restored, exported and imported. For anyone who builds sites often, that turns a design into a reusable asset.

In exchange, it asks you to learn its way of working. If you want to import a demo and swap the logo, another tool will probably suit you better.

The pieces that make up a Thesis site

• Skins: the WordPress themes that run on Thesis.
• Boxes: reusable HTML objects that can be edited, moved and extended. They also handle options for settings, posts, terms and templates.
• Skin Editor: brings together an HTML editor, CSS editor, image manager, data manager and Canvas.
• Dynamic CSS: the editor supports variables and an SCSS compiler.
• Design and Display Options: the former can update CSS variables on save; the latter switch template elements on or off.
• Modular Content: stores reusable content in one place, such as email forms, feature boxes or galleries.

What Skins inherit and what Boxes add

Each Skin gets visual template control with the Skin Editor, design backup and restore, adaptive typography through Design Options, and granular Schema control.

The Classic Responsive Skin offers a one- or two-column design, with settings for layout, fonts, sizes and colors. Focus, the DIYthemes flagship Skin, also runs on Thesis.

Core Boxes include Title Tag, Meta Description, Canonical Link, Post Box, Comment List, Favicon, Footer Scripts and Google Analytics. Add-ons include Breadcrumbs, Google Tag Manager, Open Graph, YouTube and MailChimp.

If you code, the Box API lets you create your own. In Modular Content, however, PHP cannot be included.

Which plugins work alongside Thesis and which do not

Before migrating a site, compare its plugin list with this one:

• Compatible with no changes: WooCommerce, Disqus, OptimizePress, Thrive Comments, Wishlist Member and Subscribe to Comments Reloaded.
• Avoid: Lizatom Shortcodes, Triberr, Use Google Libraries and Ultimate Learning Pro.
• With adjustments: in W3 Total Cache, disable object caching and HTML and XML minification; in WP Minify, disable HTML minification.
• Only if they fail: deactivate Antispam Bee or LeadPages if the Skin Editor stops working or sends you to the home page.

First steps with Classic Responsive

Setup requirements vary by Skin. With Classic Responsive, the initial route is this:

1. Install and activate Thesis.
2. Follow the setup guide for the Classic Responsive Skin.
3. Adjust layout, fonts and colors from its design options.
4. Back up the result with the data manager before making major changes.

GeneratePress, Astra and Bricks for another method

If you want a WordPress theme with premium modules, look at GeneratePress Premium or Astra Pro. If you prefer to design with a visual builder, there is Bricks Builder.

Skins, plugins and code: short answers

Is Thesis a theme?

It is the base on which the themes called Skins run. You work with an active Skin.

Does it work for shops?

WooCommerce is on its list of compatible plugins. Also check how your Skin presents it.

Can I take a design to another site?

Yes. The data manager exports and imports a Skin's templates, CSS and options.

Do I need to code?

You do not have to write code to use Skins, options and existing Boxes. You do to write your own Boxes.

Can I reuse a form on several pages?

Yes. Store it in Modular Content and place it with its options box or the [modular_content id="..."] shortcode.