ThemeSorter Updates (Blog)

Rounding Up Recent WordPress Themes, News and Coupons

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:33:32 -0600

Here's a quick look back at the most recent news, coupons and themes.

Latest Theme News

ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway Winners Announced

StudioPress announced the second Genesis Connect meetup to be held on March 10 in Austin, TX during SXSW. The first event was in San Francisco last year.

ThemeShaper posted a blog titled Where Do You Find the Best WordPress Themes? with some handy tips. Care to add your two cents to the comments?

WPCandy introduced The Weekly Theme Show. In episode one, Ryan Imel is joined by two commercial theme consumers.

The PageLines Developer Center is up and running. This is where developers can find resources and interact. Developers will be able to sell their child themes and plugins in the PageLines Store.

Themes Kingdom teased their upcoming restaurant theme, Stomaci. It will have reservations, menu card and events.

New Theme Coupons

WPZOOM Turns Three, Gives 25% Off Coupon - Use coupon code 3YEARS
Coupon for 30% Off at Theme Junkie - Use coupon code WELCOME

New WordPress Themes

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to stay on top of the latest updates.

ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway Winners Announced

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 12:03:32 -0600

Thank you to everybody who participated in the ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway. In case you missed it, this giveaway was to celebrate our first year online. We partnered with AppThemes to give away their WordPress themes to 13 winners. And the winners are...

Grand Prize � AppThemes Club Developer ($349 value)

Jeff - "I would like to use JobRoller to create a local job site."

Second Prize � AppThemes Club Standard ($249 value)

Gerald Griffith - "I'm interested in using the upcoming Vantage product. I'm in the process of putting together a nation-wide project in hopes of proving a directory of industry specific resources. Based on the information I've been able to gather, Vantage will do this nicely. I currently use ClassiPress and it's been working great."

Third Prize � AppThemes Club Standard ($249 value)

Marinel - "I would love to work with Classipress, I have a Noah' Classifieds site since 2004!"

Ten Runner Up Prizes � Choice of Any Theme ($99 value each)

Rich - "I am going to use Vantage to create a unique business directory."

PremiumWPInfo - "I win to ClassiPress for my next Ads related project."

evtikawebdesign - "I would like to use Vantage as a local business directory in my community, as well as a business directory for web designers in my area. Thanks!"

Jermaine - "I just want to give Appthemes some love because of what they've created! They are by far the best when it comes to creating useful business, and community focused themes...Currently i am working on my business and im using classipress. I would like to use classipress to create the ultimate marketplace for the Event Service & General Service Industry in California..."

Fashion Portland - "I would use Clipper and Vantage to help promote independent fashion designers in the northwest."

Costyn Danyel Naq - "I would like to use Vantage for a Uk business directory"

Miravzal - "I like ClassiPress very much. And I would like to creat the best classifieds ads website proudly powered by AppThemes."

Dayabaran G - "I would like to use Jobroller theme as I run an educational site, and that would make an ideal additional site for posting internship, part time jobs etc."

Fabian Hanu - "I would like to use Classipress for a clasiffieds site with only Apple products. The users will be able to sell, buy or exchange for free Apple products."

Jennifer Washlow-Pag - "I would love to use Quality Control to help organize web edits for a non-profit I work for. It looks so much simpler and cleaner then the current one I am using"

We selected winners by compiling a list of all entries via blog post comment and Twitter which was then randomized by random.org. The top 13 entries in the randomized list were chosen as the winners. Each of these winners will be contacted today and will be able to redeem their prize shortly.

Thank you again to everybody who entered our giveaway. And a big thanks to AppThemes for generously supplying about $2,000 worth of prizes. Stay tuned for future giveaways as we may be putting together a ginormous multiple theme shop giveaway this summer.

Weekly Roundup: Birthday Giveaway Edition

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:36:52 -0600

I'll tell you what, the roundup isn't going to be skimpy this week. There's a whole lot of interesting news and developments from the WordPress theme community, not the least of which is that we turned one year old and are giving away about $2,000 worth of WordPress themes from a popular theme shop. There are also couple of deals and there was a steady stream of new WordPress themes that we've rounded up for you.

From the Grapevine

The big news around here is that ThemeSorter turned one year old this week. To celebrate, we have partnered with AppThemes to give a bunch of stuff away. To enter, all you have to do is post a comment on our ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway blog post.

DIYthemes released Thesis 1.8.3. This release provides increased speed, drag-and-drop image uploading, WP Network support (formerly called multisite) and Gravity Forms styling. The blog post also speaks about what's to come with Thesis 2.0.

Siobhan McKeown published a great article titled WordPress Theme Trends For 2012 at Smashing Magazine. It looks at past predictions, design and development. Did you know that in 2008, some predicted the collapse of the premium theme market? Yet, here on ThemeSorter in 2012 we have more than 80 theme shops and 300 designers represented, many of whom are making full-time livings.

WordPress.com Theme Wrangler Ian Stewart posted his predictions for themes in 2012. Simpler options, better design. By the way, he was the guy that predicted the premium theme market's collapse back in 2008. We think his predictions for 2012 are right on.

WooThemes enlisted Andrew Schar to create a cinematic video tour of their headquarters in South Africa. It's a great deal of fun to watch.

iThemes has created a wall showing faces of customers in order to remind them of who they are working for. Very nice idea and cool to see.

The 2012 State of iThemes webinar will be on February 22. Register now to watch it live and see where iThemes is heading this year.

StudioPress has been given a wee bit of a new look. Also, their all-themes package has increase by $50 to $349 due to the fact that it now includes so many more themes than it used to. You also get lifetime support and access future releases. The Genesis Framework is included.

Obox Themes has also made some price adjustments. And to go with those changes, you now get two free bonus themes with a single theme purchase (formerly you got one free bonus theme with the Standard Pack).

Speaking of deals, love is in the air at Dev4Press, where you can use coupon code VALENTINE for a 25% discount on their WordPress themes and membership packages. This will expire on February 20.

New WordPress Themes

Here they are. Lots of very nice new WordPress theme from the last week or so.

Openluxio from ThemeForest

How's that for a name? Openluxio. It's unique and so is this theme. The design has a very modern look. Its menu is fixed to the top of the browser viewport so it stays in view while you scroll. Content just goes right underneath it. Some of this theme's more unique features are the slider manager and column generator which make things a bit easier.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Apogee from ThemeForest

Apogee is a WordPress theme for general use. The demo shows it a being good for business, freelance and portfolio type websites. It has a slider with three sections showing at a time. You can also show a single image or a single video. Also on the homepage is space for little bits of content such as your services or products and widgets for recent blog posts and projects.

$30 (Single Site), Live Demo

Cre8tive Burst from StudioPress

Crea8tive Burst is a trendy child theme for the Genesis Framework by Shannon Dow of EightCrazy Designs. It has a homepage with spaces for featured sections such as services, portfolio and staff. Latest tweets and blog posts are also shown on the homepage. There are several page templates including one for a portfolio.

$79.95 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Parallax from ThemeForest

This WordPress theme is named after its slider which uses a parallax scrolling effect to rotate content on the homepage. You can choose various backgrounds for this effect. Parallax is a multipurpose theme with multiple portfolio and gallery templates, shortcodes, widgets and contact page with form and map. You can customize colors and background.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Mosaico from ThemeForest

Mosaico is named for its unique homepage. It shows posts with featured images in a dynamic mosaic with a block set aside for use as an introduction. Because of this image-centric homepage and multiple portfolio templates (with category filtering), this theme is ideal for use by designers, artists and photographers.

$30 (Single Site), Live Demo

Stream from ThemeForest

Stream is a nice, crisp magazine-style blog theme for WordPress. It is ideal for online newspapers and magazines or bloggers who want an alternative look to the traditional blog layout. Featured stories can be shown with image in a slider on the homepage. The homepage also shows recent posts divided by category. Each article page has social sharing.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

StorePress from ThemeForest

StorePress is a full-featured e-commerce WordPress theme. Unlike most store themes, it does not rely on a third-party plugin for shopping cart and payment capabilities. These features are self-contained and made specifically for this theme. StorePress lets you create a complete online store that sells tangible or digital products.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

New Business 3 from ThemeForest

New Business 3 is a super clean WordPress theme that can be used by businesses, freelancers and for virtually any type of website. It comes with two styles, light and dark, and you can tweak colors from the admin area. The homepage has a large slider and space for recent work, services, etc. There are multiple portfolio page templates.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Market from iThemes

Market is an e-commerce child that utilizes iThemes Builder drag-and-drop framework. It supports three major e-commerce plugins for WordPress. Choose to use Shopp, WP e-Commerce or Cart66. Builder is included with the theme and there are free versions of some of these plugin. They will let your customers browse products, add items to their cart, checkout and pay.

$80 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Quicknotes from ThemeForest

Quicknotes is a simple WordPress blog theme with a responsive design. Since it is responsive, it fits nicely on small screens such as those of phones and tablets. The simplicity of this theme is that is purely for blogging and shows posts in a very simple, uncluttered manner on the homepage. It utilizes WordPress post formats which means you can post quick photos, videos, quotes, etc.

$30 (Single Site), Live Demo

Config from ThemeForest

Config brings everything but the kitchen sink. It's a multipurpose WordPress theme that can be used to create business, portfolio and virtually any other type of website. It comes with a highly customized admin area that makes it easy to enter content and tweak the looks of your site. You can fine tune custom colors and fonts without coding.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Neon from ThemeForest

This is a WordPress theme designed for businesses and creative pros such as web designers, graphic designers, photographers and illustrators. It has a clean, modern look to it. Neon can be used to create a website that promotes your services and shows off your projects. Show your work in the slider on the homepage plus on a portfolio page.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Danko from Themes Kingdom

Danko is a charity WordPress theme from Themes Kingdom. What's great (other than the theme itself) is that Themes Kingdom has made this theme free for nonprofits to use. WordPress is also free, so this is a great way for charities to be able to have a nice and easy to manage website. The money saved can go toward the causes themselves.

Free, Live Demo

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to stay on top of the latest updates. You never know when we might have another giveaway that you'll want to hear about.

Win Everything From AppThemes! Enter the ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 10:52:36 -0600

Update: ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway Winners Announced

Today is ThemeSorter's first birthday. We completed our first year with more than 1,000 WordPress themes from 80 different theme sellers. It looks like we are now the largest filterable, human-managed commercial WordPress theme search engine. You be the judge, but we think that means we have something useful going on here. Thanks goes out to everybody who has used our website and supported us during this first year.

But enough about us, let's move onto what you really care about: birthday presents � for you!

Win Everything From AppThemes � Forever

Our friends at AppThemes have been generous enough to supply prizes to 13 winners of the ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway. Three people will win a membership that includes all of their themes (including future releases) and 10 more will win the theme of their choice.

If you are not familiar with AppThemes, they are known for producing ultra-niche WordPress themes of high quality. They don't rush things � they do them right, which is why they have had 10,000 customers. Their themes include ClassiPress (classifieds), Clipper (coupons), JobRoller (job listings) and Quality Control (bug tracking). One more theme that will be out very soon is Vantage (business directory).

Grand Prize � AppThemes Club Developer ($349 value)

The grand prize winner will receive the AppThemes Club Developer package. This is their big-kahuna offering.

Access to all current themes
Access to future releases (yes, really)
Lifetime updates
Photoshop PSD files

Second Prize � AppThemes Club Standard ($249 value)

The second prize winner will receive the AppThemes Club Standard package. This is AppThemes' most popular offering.

Access to all current themes
Access to future releases
Lifetime updates

Third Prize � AppThemes Club Standard ($249 value)

The third prize winner will also receive the AppThemes Club Standard package. However, this winner won't feel as special as the second prize winner.

Access to all current themes
Access to future releases
Lifetime updates

Ten Runner Up Prizes � Choice of Any Theme ($99 value each)

Ten runners up will receive their choice of one standard edition theme.

Your favorite theme
Lifetime updates

Entering is Easy...

Entries will be accepted for two weeks, until Tuesday, February 21. Winners will be selected at random and announced on February 22. Just follow these instructions. It will only take a moment to enter.

Post a comment below. Tell us which AppThemes theme you are most interested in and how you would use it. For example, "I would like to use Clipper to make a coupon site for organic dog food products." Do this and you're entered to win.
Tweet to double your chances. You may optionally hit the "Tweet" button below to tweet this blog post for an additional entry. Feel free to rewrite the message but keep #tsgiveaway and the URL intact.

Until February 21

Rules: Entries will be accepted from 12:00 am (CST) February 7, 2012 to 11:59 pm (CST) February 21, 2012. Entry by blog post comment is required (maximum one per person). Additional entry via Twitter "tweet" is optional (maximum one per person). Users found to have entered with multiple comments or multiple Twitter "tweets" will be disqualified. Thirteen different winners will be selected at random on February 22, 2012. Winners will be announced on this blog and contacted directly by e-mail or Twitter. Employees and relatives of employees of DreamDolphin Media, LLC and AppThemes, LLC are not eligible for entry.

Theme of the Month: Di'verso by Sara Presenti

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 11:43:28 -0600

Our January Theme of the Month selection is Di'verso by Sara Presenti. This one has been selling like hotcakes since it was released earlier this month over at ThemeForest, and for good reason. Check out the Live Preview.

Where to start? Well, for one, Di'verso is flexible. It can be used to build virtually any type of website. There are six homepage layouts. It has a wide range of features including templates for FAQ, staff and testimonials. There are shortcodes for media and pricing tables/boxes. It has several portfolio templates to suit your needs. There is a complete blog section with two layout options. You can also customize the looks with many fonts and background patterns.

Short and Sweet: This Week's New Themes, News and Deals

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 10:46:08 -0600

Here's a quick rundown of what the WordPress theme sellers have put out in the last week.

Theme Seller News

PressWork is seeking designers to create child themes for their framework which is now used by 50,000 people.

ColorLabs previewed Neu, their upcoming news theme for WordPress.

StudioPress released Genesis Framework 1.8 with responsive design, updated SEO controls and goodies for developers.

Elegant Themes shared a screenshot of their upcoming DailyJournal responsive personal blog WordPress theme.

WooThemes posted Theme Options - Friend or Foe? in which they announce their philosophy of minimal theme options.

ColorLabs released their Backbone framework for WordPress. It has drag-and-drop, responsive design, SEO and more.

Headway 3.0.5 introduces responsive options. This makes it easy for Headway-powered sites to be mobile-friendly.

A Couple Deals

StudioPress Coupon for 10% Off Pro Plus All-Theme Package - Use coupon code TEN (expires January 31, 2012). This deal precedes a price increase which will occur on January 31.

ColorLabs "All for One" Deal is Back - Get 23 themes for $59. If you "like" their Facebook page, you'll save another $10.

New WordPress Themes

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to stay on top of the latest updates.

Rounding up BluChic, Themeswell, Sweet Deals, New Themes and More

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:33:44 -0600

Here's a rundown of the latest news from the WordPress theme sellers, a few deals and a look at some of the best new theme releases.

From the Grapevine

A new theme shop is in town. BluChic produces WordPress themes with feminine designs.

iThemes introduced the Student Edition of WordPress Web Designer's Toolkit which comes at a 90% discount.

Themeswell is new tool for creating WordPress themes with zero coding. Give the beta shot if you're curious.

Andrew Powers of PageLines introduced the Developer Essential Training video series for PageLines 2.0.

StudioPress revealed a list of their Top 10 Selling Themes for the month of December.

Themes Kingdom posted a teaser of Danko, their upcoming charity theme featuring a donations system.

Themedy posted a shot at Dribbble that previews Reactiv, their upcoming child theme for Genesis and Thesis.

Lastly, our first birthday is coming up. Look for the ThemeSorter Birthday Giveaway to begin on February 7th.

Sweet Deals

30% Off BluChic Coupon for Launch - Use coupon code CHIC30LNCH (expires January 29, 2012)

iThemes Celebrates 4th Birthday with 44% Off Coupon - Use coupon code COMMUNITY (expires January 31, 2012)

Save 38% on Backbone Framework from ColorLabs (Pre-order)

The Latest Themes

Here are the 10 most recent commercial themes added to our index. If we had to pick a winner from the bunch, it's Di'verso.

MultiPress from ThemeForest

True to its name, MultiPress is a multi-purpose WordPress theme. It has a wide range of features including a homepage with large slider, tweets, social media icons and latest posts with filters. With this theme you can post different kinds of content. It is possible to post events and even collect payment for registration via PayPal.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Zig Zag from ThemeForest

Zig Zag is a responsive responsive single page portfolio theme for WordPress with a great deal of style customization options. The responsive design allows it to adapt to smaller screens such as phones and tablets while still looking good. Load it up on your phone or resize the live preview to see this in action.

$30 (Single Site), Live Demo

My Mobile Page from ThemeForest

My Mobile Page is a responsive WordPress theme intended for use on mobile devices. Instructions are included for showing this theme to users on phones, tablets, etc. while serving your main theme to laptop and desktop users. It has a slider, blog and gallery for images and videos.

$20 (Single Site), Live Demo

Circlus from ThemeForest

Circlus is a trendy-looking personal portfolio and vCard theme for WordPress. The homepage is made up of four circles (hence the name) that when hovered upon execute a rotating animation. Clicking one of these circles loads up the corresponding content. You can create an "about" page with picture, a resume section with your skills, experiences, etc.

$25 (Single Site), Live Demo

Magdalena from BluChic

Magdalena is a WordPress theme designed for bakeries, cake makers, sweets shops or whatever other business might need a cute and trendy design. It's responsive so it will look nice on mobile phones and tablets. The homepage has a wide slider for sharing your tasty treats with customers. It has a gallery that can be used to show off all of your products.

$79 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Le Breindel from BluChic

Le Breindel was designed by BluChic for wedding-related business, but it can be used for any type of business that would be well-represented by a feminine design - a sweets bakery, for example! The design is responsive so it will fit nicely on mobile screens. It features a gallery section that you can use to post photos.

$79 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Trine from ThemeForest

Trine is a responsive WordPress theme for portfolio websites. By responsive, we mean that it will look good on mobile devices such as phones and tablets because the layout and content automatically rearrange as screen size is reduced (resize your browser window on the live preview). The homepage is full of ways to introduce your work and services.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

City Desk from Gabfire Themes

City Desk is a WordPress theme for online newspapers and magazines. It was designed with a style reminiscent of classic print newspapers. The homepage shows various articles in three columns with a slider at the top for featured stories. Each article can include a cover image, making any site made with City Desk very lively.

$59 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Di'verso from ThemeForest

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Primecut from ThemeForest

Primecut is a multi-purpose theme for WordPress that will appeal to businesses who want a website with a trendy design and that can show many different types of content. The homepage has multiple slider options (see live preview) and many content boxes for your services, portfolio items and blog posts.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Please follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to get the latest WordPress theme releases, previews, news and deals.

Introducing BluChic Feminine WordPress Themes

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:30:57 -0600

BluChic is the latest WordPress theme shop specializing in feminine WordPress themes. They're a little different, though. You can buy a theme or opt for a bundle that includes the theme plus business card design and social media kit. The social media kit includes graphics for Facebook and Twitter profiles. All of their themes will include at least two color schemes plus social media integration. Their first two themes are also responsive so they fit snug on mobile screens. Their themes cost $79 each and can be used on multiple websites.

30% Off Coupon Code

Take note of this coupon code which gives you a 30% discount during BluChic's launch period: CHIC30LNCH (expires January 29). Now, here's a look at their first two themes.

The First Themes

Magdalena (Live Demo)

Le Breindel (Live Demo)

Other theme shops making WordPress themes for women and with feminine designs are Allure Themes and Diva Themes. StudioPress also has some relationships with designers who produce such themes. Have a look at our Feminine and Women categories for even more.

Theme of the Month: Duet, an Elegant Writer's Theme

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 10:57:01 -0600

We have selected Duet (Live Demo) from The Theme Foundry as December's Theme of the Month. It wins for simplicity and elegance. Somebody once said, "good design is when nothing else can be added or taken away" (or something like that). That's how we feel about this theme which is targeted at writers.

It has a wonderful newspaper-inspired design that is ideal for long-format writing (posts have two columns of text). We can see this being useful for journalists, short story writers and others whose work has traditionally appeared in print. This is a responsive WordPress theme � so everything looks dandy even on small phone and tablet screens. It uses post formats so you can also publish photos, videos and other content.

You can buy Duet for $68 (multiple use license).

The Christmas and New Year Deals Roundup

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:15:31 -0600

Photo by Jeff Weese

Christmas is almost upon us and the deals for this holiday and the new year have been rolling in. Just as we did for Thanksgiving, Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here's a Christmas roundup of deals and coupons for WordPress themes. Merry Christmas, everybody!

Christmas Deals for WordPress Themes

Gabfire Christmas Promotion: Four Themes for the Price of One

Templatic Christmas 2011 Deal: Buy One, Get Two Free

Coupon for 45% Off Blog Themes at WooThemes - Use coupon code 12DAYSBLOG (expires December 23, 2012)

Dev4Press Christmas Coupon - 50% Off Themes and Membership - Use coupon code XMAS2011 (expires December 25, 2011)

Mint Themes Christmas Deal: Buy Two, Get One Free - Use coupon code XMASB2G1F (expires December 31, 2011)

50% Off ChimeraThemes for Christmas and the New Year - Use coupon code F41C079759 (expires January 1, 2012)

Allure Themes Coupon for 50% Off Until January 1st - Use coupon code HOLIDAY50 (expires January 1, 2012)

WPZOOM Christmas & New Year Coupon for 50% Off - Use coupon code WPZOOM2012 (expires January 1, 2012)

ColorLabs Christmas & New Year Sale - 23 Themes for $49

Theme Junkie Christmas Coupon for 35% Off - Use coupon code XMAS (expires December 5, 2012)

Peaxl Christmas Sale - All Themes for $25

ThemeShift Christmas Coupon: 30% Off - Use coupon code NAVIDAD (expires December 26, 2011)

$20 Off PremiumPress Christmas Coupon - Use coupon code MERRYCHRISTMAS (expires December 31, 2011)

Solostream Coupon for $20 Off - Use coupon code 2A1198 (expires December 31, 2011)

Just a Bit of News

WPLift posted an excellent article weighing the pros and cons of free themes vs. premium themes.

WPCandy is now accepting nominations for the WPCandy Awards. Categories include best theme, shop and framework.

Elegant Themes posted a preview Convertible, a landing page theme with drag-and-drop content builder.

You can follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to stay on top of the latest updates.

This Week: The $1,000,000 Theme Man, a New Theme Shop and Emerging Christmas Deals

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 10:14:04 -0600

This has been another active week in the WordPress theme industry. Here's recap of the latest news, a preview, several Christmas deals and, of course, new WordPress themes.

This Week's News

Kriesi, the top selling author at ThemeForest, has become the first Envato Elite author by exceeding $1,000,000 in sales. Envato conducted an interview with him about his success over the last few years.

Mike McAlister opened the doors of Okay Themes, a new WordPress theme shop.

ColorLabs, like always has been busy. See their restaurant theme preview, very fine new office (the "Lab of Color") and take their year-end survey in which 10 random participants will be selected to receive all 20+ WordPress themes for free.

DevPress has had a shakeup of team members and is now a one-man project. Tung Do will be focusing on bringing club members new WordPress themes (no more plugin development).

Merry Christmas and Happy Birthday

The Christmas deals are starting to come out. We'll have a complete Christmas deal roundup for you next week.

Peaxl Christmas Sale - All Themes for $25

WooThemes 12 Days of Christmas (12 Daily Deals)

ThemeShift Christmas Coupon: 30% Off - Use coupon code NAVIDAD (expires December 26)

Builder Turns Two - iThemes Coupon for 33% Off - Use coupon code BUILDER2 (expires Dec. 31)

Many New WordPress Themes

Theme sellers seem to be pushing out their themes at a faster rate before the Christmas and New Year vacation period goes into full effect. A slowdown will probably follow. We'll see.

Go ahead and follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our custom feed to get new themes, previews, news and deals as they happen.

Introducing Okay Themes by Mike McAlister

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:17:23 -0600

If you follow WPCandy, you might remember a highly commented on article by popular ThemeForest author Mike McAlister titled A Hypercritical Analysis of $35 WordPress Themes. In his opinion (and many agree), ThemeForest prices are too low compared to other theme shops with comparable quality WordPress themes who are charging $50 to $75 a pop and able to use those resources to provide adequate support. Now it cannot be denied that several ThemeForest authors are wildly successful, but the fact of the matter is that it can still be difficult to provide "optional" support for a complex theme that only nets the designer $15 to $25 after ThemeForest's share.

Introducing Okay Themes

So with that said, we are happy to welcome Okay Themes to ThemeSorter. This is Mike's brand-new one-man WordPress theme shop in which he will experiment with selling his ultra-clean, modern designs directly to you. The cost per theme during this introductory period is $25 a pop. Yes, that is less than ThemeForest! But don't worry, he assures us that prices will increase in January. You can also buy a pack of all four current themes for $50. Unlike the ThemeForest license, you can use themes from his new shop on multiple websites. Support is available in his forum. Oh, and you can play Tetris on his website.

Learn more by reading the introduction on Okay Themes' blog.

A Look at the Themes

Okay Themes has four WordPress themes so far, all of which can be found on ThemeSorter.

Structure

Structure is a WordPress theme ideal for creative people who want to show there work on a website that doesn't put their blog in the back seat. There is a slider on the homepage handy for showing images and videos plus a secondary slider that shows your latest blog posts. Naturally, there are also full-blown portfolio and blog sections.

$25 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Element

Element is a squeaky clean portfolio theme for WordPress. You can use it to show off your design projects, artwork, photos or whatever else it is that you create. It's handy for businesses, freelance pros and personal websites. The gallery has some nice touches. There are filterable categories, Quicksand transitions and video support.

$25 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Mission Control

This is a single page portfolio WordPress theme by Mike McAlister. The menu scrolls to sections (about, portfolio, blog, etc.). What's really neat about it is that even though it is on one page, it offers you the ability to really create a complete site. When you click a portfolio item, for example, it opens in a lightbox with full details and even comments. The blog works the same.

$25 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Scribe

Scribe is a WordPress theme made for writers. It has a clean design with several real-world elements including stitching and tape. The background has a slight texture which adds to its interestingness as well. One special feature of this theme is Editor Styles which make it possible for you to see how your post will appear on site while you type.

$25 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Weekly Roundup - Drag and Drop Framework Edition

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 11:04:59 -0600

This week we saw happenings with four of the major drag-and-drop WordPress theme frameworks. The biggest news is that Headway 3.0 and PageLines 2.0 were both released. Copyblogger announced some news about their Prose point and click child theme for Genesis and iThemes launched a major deal on their toolkit bundle which in large part centers around their Builder framework.

What's Up, Doc?

Headway Themes released Headway 3.0, a drag-and-drop WordPress theme framework. One of the major new features is child themes, with some coming from collaboration with other popular theme shops. A Headway Marketplace is almost ready and will provide goodies for Headway-powered WordPress sites.

Coincidentally, the PageLines 2.0 drag-and-drop framework has also been released and now supports child themes. The new PageLines Store offers customers a way to get new themes, plugins and various widgets. It looks to me as if PageLines and Headway have a very similar plan and are now direct competitors.

A new version of Prose, the point-and-click Genesis child theme from StudioPress, will be getting improvements in February, 2012.

Obox Previews 'Handmade' WordPress Theme

Press75 outlined their plans for 2012 which include an expanded team, a new theme framework, website redesign and collaboration with other designers.

Ryan Imel of WPCandy reports that ThemeForest doubled in size this year, with two authors having earned more than $40,000 in a single month.

Sweet Deals and a Giveaway

44% Off iThemes Web Designer's Toolkit (includes Builder) - Use coupon code TK4412 (expires December 12)

33% Off Most Headway 3.0 Packages (excluding Base) - Use coupon code HW33

Catalyst One Year Anniversary Sale - Save about 35%

Solostream Coupon for $20 Off - Use coupon code 2A1198 (expires December 31)

ThemeFuse Giving Away $3,000 Cash to Customers

New WordPress Themes

Notebook from Elegant Themes

Notebook is a tumblog/microblog WordPress theme with a full width layout. It is ideal for personal bloggers who want to be able to post quick photos, videos, audio clips, quotes, links and articles. The posts are shown on the homepage in a grid that resizes to fit your screen. Each type of post has a different style container.

$39/yr (Member Access), Live Demo

Nzig from ThemeForest

Nzig is a WordPress theme for the Genesis framework. The demo is configured as a blog with a slider at the top which supports wide videos. There are logo and color scheme options, video and ad widgets, social media integrations and font replacement. Search engine optimization features come from Genesis itself..

$25 (Single Site), Live Demo

Hstudio from Themes Kingdom

This is a WordPress theme made specifically for design agencies and freelancer web designers, graphics designers and the likes. It has a trendy sort of design and a unique slider on the homepage for showing off your latest or best work. There is a portfolio template (filterable), blog section, contact form, shortcode generator and SEO options.

$29/yr (Member Access), Live Demo

Zeences from ThemeForest

Zeences is a modern business or portfolio theme for WordPress. It has a large set of features which include a slider, masonry portfolio, blog section, contact form, shortcode generator, sidebar generator and customization options. You can change the looks to match your brand by uploading background images, changed colors and choosing custom fonts.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Scope from ThemeForest

Scope of one of Orman Clark's portfolio themes for WordPress. This designer is well-known for his clean, modern designs and attention to the features that matter. It of course has a filterable portfolio in which images open on their own page with space for full details to be written. The blog section uses post formats which make it easy to post quick images, videos, links, quotes and notes.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Spark from ThemeForest

Spark is a WordPress theme for creative professionals such as graphic designers, web designer, artists, illustrators and photographers. It also makes for a good personal website as it not only has a filterable gallery but also a blog section. Its other features include a slider on the homepage, Twitter widget, social media buttons and contact form.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Expansion from iThemes

Expansion is a business child theme for the Builder framework. It has a corporate-style design for businesses, although it can be used for other types of sites. There are alternate widget styles, a blog section and social media buttons. It uses Google Fonts for some added zeal. Builder provides drag-and-drop layout capabilities and a visual style manager.

$80 (Multiple Sites), Live Demo

Thanks for reading this weeks roundup of WordPress theme news. As always, follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our feed via RSS or email to stay on top of the latest news, themes, previews and deals.

Obox Previews 'Handmade' WordPress Theme

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 10:32:16 -0600

Handmade will likely be Obox's next WordPress theme release. It is designed by Shyama Golden with a real homespun look, making it ideal for cooking, crafts and mommy blogging websites. It has a very well-chosen color scheme and you can see from the screenshot below that careful attention has been given to the details. Here is the teaser provided by David Perel on the Obox blog.

PageLines 2.0 Released - Watch the Video

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 12:18:23 -0600

After a long period of serious development, PageLines 2.0 has been released. The new version of this drag-and-drop WordPress theme framework adds many great new features and along with it comes the PageLines Store which is a place where you can buy child themes, plugins and sections (enhancements such as sliders, menus and widgets) for your PageLines-powered website. If you're a developer, you can submit your work to the store for others to use.

With this new PageLines ecosystem comes a community forum and... new pricing. The framework costs $197 for use with your own websites or $397 if you want to use it to develop sites for clients. The current selection of child themes ranges in price from $30 to $50, plugins up to $25 and sections no more than $15 each. Several plugins and sections are free and there is a section yet to be filled for free child themes.

Check out the video above for a tour from the creators themselves.

ThemeFuse Giving Away $3,000 Cash to Customers

Thu, 08 Dec 2011 11:45:04 -0600

ThemeFuse will be having a drawing in which they will be giving away $3,000 cash to customers. Everyone who buys one of their WordPress themes this month is entered. There will be more than ten winners. The grand prize winner will receive $1,000 cash with two others receiving $750 and $500 each. Ten more will receive $100 or $50. If you have been wanting one of their themes, this giveaway makes it a sweet time to buy.

The drawing will take place on December 31, with winners being announced at the beginning of January.

Headway 3.0 is Out - New Features and a Discount Coupon

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 11:04:22 -0600

After several weeks of anticipation, Headway 3.0 is now available. This latest version has been rebuilt from ground up and introduces significant new features as well as performance improvements. In case you weren't around for earlier versions, Headway is a WordPress theme with drag-and-drop design capabilities. It is simple enough for beginning users and powerful enough for advanced users. Here's a quick look at its new and enhanced features, the introduction of child themes and details about pricing.

Headway 3.0 Highlights

Headway has been Totally Rebuilt from scratch. Its optimized code base provides for faster performance.

Headway now supports Child Themes. You can, for example, select a theme for your law firm, fitness studio, or for your news website. These designs are ready to use out of the box. Read below more details.

The Layout Grid lets you design your website simply by drawing rectangles live on the page, no coding necessary. These blocks can be used to orient your header, navigation, content sections and more. Headway is a drag-and-drop framework.

The Visual Editor lets you specify fonts, colors, backgrounds and other elements (again, without coding). You can even create rounded corners and drop shadows. Changes are shown live on your screen.

Headway has Search Engine Optimization features. In 3.0, they have added rel=author for author links because of Google�s announcement that they will give more weight to XFN information in their rankings.

For Developers, the Live CSS editor now has syntax color-coding and the Blocks API makes it possible to create custom block types. Custom blocks can also be sold on the Headway Marketplace.

Introducing Child Themes

One of the most exciting features of Headway 3.0 is the introduction of child themes. These child themes give your Headway-powered website a professional look. Some are designed in-house and others are made by well-known WordPress theme designers including Organic Themes, Allure Themes and Press75. Others will come from independent designers via the Headway Marketplace. Child themes will be made available shortly.

New Pricing and 33% Off Coupon

The new pricing at Headway Themes looks like this. All packages entitle you to use on multiple websites.

Base ($68) - you get the Headway 3.0 framework and one year of. support/updates

Standard ($174) - same as Base plus three child themes.

All-Access ($378) - same as Base plus all child themes for one year.

Lifetime Pass ($587) - lifetime access to past and future child themes, lifetime updates/support, plus a few other perks.

Headway Themes is celebrating the release of version 3.0 with a coupon code that gives you a 33% discount on most of their packages. The coupon code is HW33. It works for everything except the Base package (for that, use the THEMESORTER25 code for a 25% discount).

Head on over to the newly redesigned Headway Themes website for even more information.

Weekly Roundup: New WordPress Themes, Headway 3.0 Video and WooThemes Survey

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 09:01:32 -0600

Last week it was all about Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. This week we're back to the regular routine of new themes, news, previews and... still some deals. There's news about a survey from WooThemes in which five participants will receive a Kindle Fire and a new promo video for the soon to be released Headway 3.0. Here's a look at what has happened this week in the world of WordPress themes.

Active Deals

$20 Off PremiumPress Christmas Coupon - Use coupon code MERRYCHRISTMAS during December.

23 Themes for $69 at ColorLabs - Get all of ColorLabs themes for about $3 each during December.

ChurchThemes 10% Off Coupon - Use coupon code CHURCHPLANT

15 MOJO Themes for $29 - Their Cyber Bundle started on Cyber Monday and continues through December 4.

50% Off PageLines 2.0 when you pre-order. It will be released on December 8th, at which time the full price will go into effect.

Theme News

Headway 3.0 will be out very soon. In the meantime, view the new promo video on their homepage and sign up to be notified when it's out. Also check here for an exclusive 25% off coupon code when it is released.

Templatic previewed WP Locator, a WordPress theme for map-based location guide websites.

Take the WooThemes WordPress Wishlist Survey 2011 for a chance to win one of five Kindle Fires. The survey takes about five minutes and is open to all WordPress users.

We chose RT-Theme 15 as Theme of the Month.

Latest Releases

Adventure from ThemeForest

Adventure is a highly customizable WordPress theme for businesses and portfolio websites. Or whatever else you can think of. For starters, there are too many slider configurations to count (see the demo). You can customize the style of the theme by choosing colors, background patterns, custom fonts and adding your own logo.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

wpTraveller from ThemeForest

wpTraveller is a map-based photoblogging theme for WordPress. It provides a neat way for travelers to share the experiences. There is a map in the header that can show details about your travels. Each blog post can show travel photos and have a map configured specifically for that post. Your images are auto-resized and EXIF data can be shown.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

SevenWonders from ThemeForest

Earlier responsive themes have usually been simplistic blog themes. This responsive WordPress theme is a full-blown CMS-style theme for businesses, portfolios and blogging. Its responsive design makes it fit well on mobile devices by resizing and shifting elements on the fly.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Ermark Urban from ThemeForest

Ermark Urban is one of those truly unique designs that comes around every so often. This WordPress theme is made for bloggers and is also useful to creative professionals because of its portfolio and resume sections. What makes this theme so unique (other than the design itself) is that it has a live style editor. You can edit the color scheme, including colors of graphics.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Refined from ThemeForest

Refined is a theme for creating business and portfolio websites with WordPress. It provides a clean, corporate-style design and a host of features to help you promote your business and show off your projects. The portfolio uses a custom post type, has sorting controls and uses a lightbox. There are multiple sliders and custom color options.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Care from ThemeForest

Care is a WordPress theme designed for doctors, dentists, clinics and other healthcare providers. It has a clean, professional design and a wealth of features to help you build an informative website for your medical practice. These features include an options panel for easy customization of many features (including colors and typography).

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Prolio from ThemeForest

Prolio is a portfolio WordPress theme with a modern design. It is targeted at businesses and freelance professionals who want to show their work and advertise their services online. The homepage has a nice slider that can be used to show featured work. It uses a post type for portfolio items and has a template that shows your portfolio with filter controls.

$35 (Single Site), Live Demo

Invitora from ColorLabs

Invitora is a WordPress theme for announcements and invitations. In particular, this theme is ideal for weddings. As ColorLabs points out, a well-crafted invitation sets the tone for a wedding. They designed this theme with a special charm, having that in mind. The happy couple can use this to setup a website with engagement photos and wedding information.

$49 (Single Site), Live Demo

Entree from ThemeForest

Entr�e is a responsive WordPress theme for businesses, freelancers and people who want a way to show off their services and portfolio. This theme has a slider on the homepage. Its portfolio section is complete�each item gets its own page rather than just opening in a lightbox.

$30 (Single Site), Live Demo

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Theme of the Month: RT-Theme 15

Mon, 28 Nov 2011 09:50:20 -0600

RT-Theme 15 (Live Demo) is our November Theme of the Month. It made it onto our Top 50 Most Popular Themes list in less than three weeks. It has also been selling at a rate of about one per hour at ThemeForest since it's launch. It's clear that people see something in this theme, and so do we. Congratulations to designer Tolga Can of RT-Themes for the quick success of this theme.

RT-Theme 15 is a multi-purpose WordPress theme with appeal for business and portfolio websites. It has a nice clean design and all the bells and whistles (shortcodes, widgets and templates) you could ask for. Features of particular interest are the portfolio templates and product showcase features. Also noteworthy are the branding features. You can customize colors, fonts and add your logo using the options panel. The cost is $35 for a single site license.

Runner up for Theme of the Month is Architectos, a full-screen photography portfolio theme by WPBakery.

Weekly Roundup: Black Friday Edition (23 Deals)

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 12:07:02 -0600

Cyber Monday Update: For the latest Cyber Monday deals, see our Coupons and Deals section.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, also known as Black Friday. Right now hoards of people are making a mess of Best Buy and Walmart to get sweet deals on electronics. In the world of WordPress themes, the same thing is happening, just without the chaos. In this week's roundup we're going to skip all the usual stuff like news and previews because right now what the people want is deals! Without further ado, here are a boatload of them.

WPZOOM (33% Off) - Use coupon code THANKSGIVING (expires Cyber Monday). Good for themes and memberships.

MOJO Themes - Cyber Bundle is 15 themes for $29. This deal will go live on Cyber Monday. Check the details and sign up for an e-mail notification. Deal ends December 5th.

StartBox (50% Off Developer's Club). This deal is good today only.

Obox (50% Off plus 3-for 1). This is basically like getting 3 themes for $25 (or $50 if you want PSD's).

BizzThemes - 15% off membership with coupon code BFCLUB, 20% off single themes with coupon code BFSINGLE. Expires Cyber Monday.

Storefront (50% Off) - No coupon needed. Expires Cyber Monday.

Acosmin - 7 WordPress themes for $35 via Mighty Deals. Deal expires at end of month.

PageLines - Pre-order Pagelines 2.0 and get 50% off the regular price. It will be released on December 8.

Photocrati (33% Off) - No coupon necessary.

Dev4Press (50% off) - Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY. One day only.

WooThemes has many coupons for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Click through for full details. One deal snags you 5 themes for $56. Another gets you 20% off membership joining fee plus one free month.

8BIT (30% Off) - Use coupon code BLACK2011 for a discount on Standard Theme, Live Theme, Developer Theme and Pro Photo Theme. Deal ends Cyber Monday.

Gabfire Themes is having a 4-for-one deal for Black Friday.

Rockable Themes is geting 60% off their Euphoria magazine theme. Use coupon code DEAL. Expires Cyber Monday.

WPCrown (50% Off) - Use coupon code BLACKFRIDAY by Cyber Monday.

StudioPress (25% Off) - Use coupon code THANKS (expires November 28, 2011). This is the first StudioPress coupon code in a very, very long time. The same code will also work for another Copyblogger product, the Premise landing page package for WordPress (save $70).

iThemes (28% Off) - This deal starts on Black Friday and will expire after Cyber Monday. Use coupon code FREESHIPPING (yes, that's some kind of joke). This same coupon code can also be used at their sister-site, PluginBuddy (anybody who has wanted BackupBuddy will be interested in this).

Mint Themes (25% Off) - Use coupon code THANKS. Expiration is not known.

Color Labs (24$ Off) - Use coupon code 5867A (expires November 30, 2011).

Theme Junkie (35%) - Use coupon code THANKS (expires November 30, 2011). This makes all of their themes under $20. Get all themes via membership for about $32.

FlexiThemes (30% Off) - Use coupon code THANKS. Expiration not known.

Xtreme Theme (30% Off) - Use coupon code THANKSGIVING (expires November 27, 2011).

Organized Themes (35% Off) - Use coupon code THANKS (expires after Cyber Monday).

For Black Friday plugin coupons (including 35% off Gravity Forms), see our sister-site, CouponWP.

Please share this list. At the moment we're pretty sure it's the most comprehensive WordPress theme deals list for Black Friday, and they'll all be expiring in a few days.