Christmas is right around the corner, and here at DIYthemes, we’re busy filling our sleigh with Boxes, Skins, and everything else you need to run a killer website.

In addition, we’ve been testing Thesis day in and day out, and we determined that we needed one final update to the core before we could begin shipping our highly anticipated Skins and Boxes.

Let’s take a quick look at what’s new, and then we’ll explore the forthcoming goodies that would even make Santa jealous.

What’s New in Thesis 2.0.3?

First, we’ve added more quicklinks to the WordPress menu in your dashboard—now you can visit your Skins and Boxes pages with a single click.

Second, we knocked out a slew of issues that you guys raised in the forums, but there’s one in particular that I think is worth mentioning:

Most of the save buttons in Thesis 2 are AJAX saves—in simple terms, this means that the page does not refresh when you hit the save button. A side effect of this process is that you have to wait for a server response after hitting the save button, and sometimes, that response can take a few seconds (mostly on slower servers).

While waiting for this response, many users were becoming justifiably impatient, and they clicked the save button 100 times in a frantic bid to get the damn thing to save!

In a couple of unfortunate cases, this caused people’s template data to be deleted. Of course, Thesis has a Skin Manager that allows you to backup your Skin data, but that doesn’t make this problem any less of an issue (especially for those folks who lost data!).

To remedy this, I’ve instituted a fix that prevents the save button from firing after you’ve pressed it once. With Thesis 2.0.3, there’s no risk of losing data on save, but I still want to encourage you to backup your skin data—it’s a best practice when working with Thesis.

Next, I’ve made it so that Boxes can now be properly nested in the inactive area of the HTML Editor. This will help Skin developers and armchair tinkerers “clean up” that part of the interface so they can focus on their templates. [the crowd cheers]

Finally—and this really only applies to developers—I instituted a check that will only allow Box admin pages to run once, no matter how many instances of the Box appear in the active Skin’s templates.

But When Do We Get to Open the Presents?

Some of your presents have already arrived, and you can start opening ‘em now. Log into this site, and then check out the 6 Basic Mods for the Classic Skin—these are highly refined versions of the 1, 2, and 3-column layouts that you know and love from Thesis 1.x.

Also, version 1.0.3 of the Classic Skin contains a sweet new Landing Page template that is designed for focus and conversions. With it, you’ll be able to create landing pages like WordPress SEO or Email Marketing for Everybody in just seconds!

Next week, we’re going to roll out the Social Triggers Skin and the AWeber Email Signup Form Box.

Shortly thereafter, we’ll release our Social Media Boxes (Twitter, Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, and Pinterest) and a MailChimp Email Signup Form Box.

Assuming everything goes according to plan, we’ll drop the Pearsonified Skin before Christmas, too.

Not yet a Thesis customer? Click here and choose the plan that’s right for you!

If you’re already a Thesis customer, click here to download Thesis 2.0.3.

About the Author: As the creator of the Thesis Theme Framework for WordPress and the founder of DIYthemes, Chris is obsessed with optimizing the web and making sure every last detail receives the attention it deserves. You should follow him on Twitter here.

WordPress 3.5 is scheduled to debut on December 5, 2012, and you’re probably curious to know if your version of Thesis is going to be compatible with it.

Well, I’ve got great news for ya…

Both Thesis 2.0.2 and Thesis 1.8.5 are perfectly compatible with WordPress 3.5, and thanks to some WordPress dashboard tweaks, both versions will appear to run a little bit faster than they did before.

So, no matter which version of Thesis you’re rockin, you’re good to go. Huzzah!

About the Author: As the creator of the Thesis Theme Framework for WordPress and the founder of DIYthemes, Chris is obsessed with optimizing the web and making sure every last detail receives the attention it deserves. You should follow him on Twitter here.

Let’s talk about pain.

Specifically, let’s talk about the pain that we’ve all felt while working with our web designs. If you’ve run a website for any length of time, I’m betting you’ve felt…

• Insecure about giving FTP and WordPress login details to a designer
• Worried about making new design changes or implementing new design elements
• Frustrated by how time-consuming and difficult it is to create a design on a development server and then move it over to a live server
• Devastated when you lost design work and were unable to recover it

Thanks to the new Skin Manager and a clever little feature called Preview Mode, Thesis 2.0.1 is turning these pain points into areas of unprecedented control and stability.

Those negative emotions I listed above? They’re all tied to 3 specific problems—the 3 dragons of web design.

Let’s take a closer look at these dragons and see how Thesis turns web design weaknesses into strengths.

Dragon 1: Access to Your Design

Whether you’re working with a designer or receiving help from a support expert, giving people access to your design is an ongoing problem for a couple of reasons.

First, it’s not only discomforting, but it’s also insecure to give FTP and WordPress login details to anyone.

Second—and I know I’m not alone here—it seems like overkill to give up secure information about your site when all you really want is some help with your design.

With Thesis’ new Skin Manager, these problems simply disappear.

For example, let’s say you’re working with a designer, and you’d like to install a design they’ve built for you.

In the past, you would have had to either install the design yourself or give that designer FTP access so she could install it for you. After that, you’d have to activate the new design within WordPress and then hope that nothing on your site broke during the transition.

With the Thesis Skin Manager, you can maintain total control over your site in situations like this. Instead of giving FTP access to a designer (or even needing FTP at all!), you can simply import the designer’s work directly into your Thesis installation.

Figure 1. Backup, restore, import, and export Skin data with the new Thesis Skin Manager. [click to enlarge]

In this situation, if you encounter a problem or if the results aren’t what you expected, you can simply revert back to a previously-saved state for your active Thesis Skin. Then, you can go tell your designer that there’s still work to be done.

The cost of making and testing design changes has never been so low, and switching back and forth between different design states has never been easier.

Thesis 1, dragons 0.

Dragon 2: Consequence-free Design Changes

There’s no escaping the facts—sooner or later, you’re going to need to tweak something on your design.

You might need to incorporate a new element like an email signup form, or you may just want to change some fonts and colors. In the past, this was a risky venture for a couple of reasons:

First, if you wanted to have the peace of mind that comes with making risk-free changes, you’d have to back up not only your CSS files, but also the HTML (and possibly PHP) that was required to make your changes. This way, if you didn’t like your changes, you could “restore” the old version from these backup files.

Unfortunately, that’s a terrible system for managing the evolution of your design—dealing with a bunch of files can get messy and confusing in a hurry.

Second, if you change files containing the CSS, HTML, and/or PHP associated with your design, you’re playing with fire because you always run the risk of:

• changing/deleting something that you can never get back
• breaking your site altogether

The bottom line here is that you need a risk-free, easy way to experiment with your design and to track changes.

As you might have guessed, this is another area where the Thesis Skin Manager is absolutely indispensable.

Figure 2. Effortlessly backup and restore your designs with the Thesis Skin Manager. [click to enlarge]

With its magical backup/restore functionality, the Manager lets you save and annotate your design at any point in time, so you’ll never lose a customization again.

Worries? Gone.

Thesis 2, dragons 0.

Dragon 3: Test Site vs. Live Site

Back in the prehistoric era (that would be all of history up until right now), if you wanted a new design for your website, you probably did one of the following:

• Used a development (or “mirror”) server to build out your new design before transferring it to your live site
• Hired a designer to build your new design and then transfer it to your live site when complete

The biggest problem associated with both of these methods is the fact that it’s a technical nightmare to mimic your live site properly.

When I did freelance work for large web companies, we rolled out new designs on test servers, and no matter how hard we tried, there were always inconsistencies between the test site and the live site.

As a result, whenever we would “flip the switch” on the new design, we’d spend the next few hours (or days, ugh) scrambling to tie up the loose ends and ensure that everything was working properly.

(And that doesn’t even mention what a clunky, time-consuming process it is to move files from one server to another.)

Having done this more times than I can remember, I can confidently say: This method sucks.

It would be far better if you could simply create and test the design on your live site…without messing up your site for visitors.

But how the heck are you gonna do that? You can’t show one design to your visitors while working on a different one…can you?

Thanks to Thesis 2’s new Preview Mode, you can. It’s simple; it’s revolutionary; and here’s how it works:

As the site administrator, you can designate a Preview Skin in addition to your Current Skin. If you do this, visitors to your site will continue to see the Current Skin, but you’ll see the Preview Skin.

In Preview Mode, you’ll be able to work with the Thesis Skin Editor to build out your new design on your live site, and your visitors will never know the difference.

And just like that, the technical nightmare associated with designing on a test server is over.

No more costly test servers. No more file transfers. No more scrambling to clean up the details after “flipping the switch.”

From now on, it’s just you, your site, and Thesis.

Thesis 3, dragons 0.

Download Thesis 2.0.1 Now

It’s a knockout, folks. A clean sweep. No more dragons.

If you’re already rocking Thesis 2.0, you can automatically update to 2.0.1 from inside your WordPress dashboard. This will be the easiest Thesis update you’ve ever done—in fact, I’m shedding a tear over how happy I am about this.

Note: Your WordPress site only fishes for Thesis updates once every 24 hours. Therefore, it could take up to 24 hours for this update to appear in your WordPress dashboard.

If you don’t have Thesis 2 yet, I have two pieces of advice for you:

• WATCH OUT FOR DRAGONS!
• Upgrade your existence to Thesis 2.0.1 as fast as you can.

Already a DIYthemes customer? Download Thesis 2.0.1 here. Need to purchase Thesis? I recommend Thesis Professional for lifetime upgrades: See Thesis plans and pricing.

About the Author: As the creator of the Thesis Theme Framework for WordPress and the founder of DIYthemes, Chris is obsessed with optimizing the web and making sure every last detail receives the attention it deserves. You should follow him on Twitter here.

Late last night, the brand-new DIYthemes web design (and pricing structure) went live.

And I may be biased, but I think it looks AMAZING.

You can now see all of the benefits of Thesis 2.0 (and how they help you).

Before I walk you through all of the changes, and answer your questions, take a look at this quick screenshot:

Introducing the Brand-New DIYthemes.com Web Design

(this is only part of the DIYthemes home page. I suggest you load up http://diythemes.com in your browser and see everything)

How cool is this new design?

You’ll see why skins, boxes, and packages are the FUTURE of designing WordPress themes.

You’ll also see all the “behind the scenes” stuff that Chris Pearson implemented to make Thesis 2.0 as SEO friendly as possible.

Now Your Questions About Thesis 2.0 Answered

As with all big changes, people have questions. And today I’d like to answer some of them.

So let’s dig in.

“You changed your pricing. How does this affect people who already bought the Personal Option or the Developer’s option?”

If you’re a new Thesis 2.0 customer, you have nothing to worry about. You’re all set.

If you’re an older Thesis customer, we’ve got good news. Everything we promised people who owned the Personal Option and Developer’s option will remain in effect. This new pricing structure is for new customers only.

Behind the scenes…

Personal option account holders: Your account level still exists. We just no longer offer it for sale. That means you’ll get everything we originally promised you when you invested in Thesis 1.8x. So no worries.

Developer’s option account holders: You will be automatically grandfathered into the new Professional option. You’ll also get to take advantage of the new bonuses when they’re ready.

“How can I upgrade my existing Thesis design to take advantage of Thesis 2.0?”

Right now, if you have advanced customizations, we recommend that you don’t upgrade to Thesis 2.0… yet.

Thesis 2.0 is a brand-new operating system, and things don’t work as you’re accustomed to. Chris rebuilt the interface, and while it’s different, you’ll find that when you play around with it you’ll have a BLAST.

That’s why we recommend you play around with Thesis 2.0 on a test site that way you can see how the interface works in a low-stress environment.

And then, all of a sudden, you can have little “AHA!” moments just like this:

Will it take some getting used to? Yep, but once you do, that’s when the magic happens as you can see .

“Will you create Thesis 2.0 documentation? How do we use the new software?”

As you’ll notice we have limited documentation on the new software.

Why?

We committed to releasing Thesis on October 1st, 2012, and we wanted to keep that promise.

That left us on a time crunch to create documentation, but rest assured we’re working on creating that around the clock.

And we hope to have much more live by the end of the week.

So keep your eyes peeled!

Additionally, if you’re looking for “specific” tutorials on how to use Thesis 2, feel free to leave a comment to let us know what you’d like to learn how to do. We’ll use your comments as a way to prioritize what tutorials get written first.

And of course, if you have any questions about your Thesis 2 install, feel free to contact our support team by popping into our DIYthemes customer forums.

About the Author: Derek Halpern runs marketing at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building, sign up to his list here. He's also giving away an awesome bonus for RHH B School. Read the Marie Forleo B-School Reviews.

Last night, just before the clock struck midnight, Chris Pearson released Thesis 2.0.

You can download it when you log in to your DIYthemes membership, but before you do that, read this.

As you’ll soon see, it’s not just a “new paint job.” Chris rebuilt the ENTIRE engine.

The. Whole. Thing.

But as we expected, with such a major overhaul, and tons of people using the new software, we’ve stumbled on a few bugs.

And while we squash these bugs, we don’t recommend you switch over your old version of Thesis to Thesis 2.0 just yet.

Instead, what you can do is this:

We created a nifty plugin that allows you to install Thesis 2, and lets you play with Thesis 2 options, without altering your existing site.

It’s amazing, and it’s a great way for you to play with the new interface… with almost no risk.

You can access this inside the membership area.

That said, we’ve got a short journey ahead of us if we want to perfect Thesis 2.

And that’s why, last night, Chris, Matt (another DIYthemes developer), Alex (the kid designer), and myself (the guy who writes all the copy) were awake until the wee hours of the night…

…and we got back at it after just a few hours of sleep.

We’re fixing bugs, prepping material to show you how Thesis 2 works, and adding the polish that this brand-new ENGINE needs.

Concurrently, the DIYthemes support team (Godhammer, Girlie, and Phil) have been answering questions in the support forums as they arise. They’re your superheroes right now if you have any issues.

As you know, this is a HUGE effort and we want you to know that we’re doing everything to make this new engine hum.

If you’d like to play with the new Thesis, go ahead, download it, upload it to your site, and make sure you activate that plugin that allows you to explore Thesis 2.

P.S. We’ve got some bonuses coming your way, and we’ll release them as soon as they are ready.

P.P.S. Later tonight we’ll be redesigning DIYthemes.com, and the new pricing structure will be in place. You’ll love this new design simply because you’ll be able to see WHY Thesis 2.0 is an AWESOME theme framework.

Oh, and here’s what some people are saying about Thesis 2.0 so far!

About the Author: Derek Halpern runs marketing at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building, sign up to his list here. He's also giving away an awesome bonus for RHH B School. Read the Marie Forleo B-School Reviews.

There are 3 things that you’ll find in every GREAT web design…

1. Pixel-perfect typography (that’s both easy to read AND scan)
2. A custom 404 error page (so people who can’t find what they’re looking for can find it)
3. Landing pages that CONVERT (gotta turn traffic into leads and sales, after all)

Before Thesis 2.0, getting each of these three things right took a considerable amount of “tinkering,” a developer, or additional software.

Not anymore.

How Thesis 2.0 Creates Pixel-Perfect Typography (No Coding Necessary)

If you haven’t heard about Chris Pearson’s excursion into Golden Ratio typography, I’ll sum it up real quick:

Chris discovered one of the best ways to lay type on web pages involved taking advantage of what’s known as the Golden Ratio, a math equation that dictates everything in nature (from galaxy spirals, to sunflower seed arrangements, to even how to take an aesthetically pleasing photograph).

He created a Golden Ratio Typography calculator that output the right CSS settings for designers and tinkerers. The problem was, people like you and me—people who may not have CSS skills—had no idea what to do with this output.

And that’s why Thesis 2.0 bakes this Golden Ratio typography formula INTO Thesis 2.0. No code, no calculator, no developer necessary. Thesis 2.0 just does it.

Now You Can Create Your Own Custom 404 Page In Just A Few Seconds

404 pages are one of those things…

If you have a funny one that works, it’s a nice to have, but do you really want to pay a developer to make one?

Probably not.

That’s why most people have generic 404 pages.

(I know I’ve always had a generic 404 page on all of my sites).

And that’s why sites like Smashing Magazine feature great 404 pages…

However, with Thesis 2.0, you can create a custom 404 page in WordPress… no coding necessary.

It’s as simple as changing a few options on the backend of Thesis and BAM! You’ve got a custom WordPress 404 page!

How Thesis 2.0 Makes Creating Landing Pages (or Page-Specific Web Designs) Real Easy

As you begin to grow your blog, you’ll want to start using landing pages. You may also want to customize how other pages on your site look (like category pages, tags pages, home pages, and all of that).

Prior to Thesis 2.0, this was all possible with a developer, additional software, or hours of tinkering.

How do I know this?

That’s because that’s exactly how I did it.

For example, when you wanted to create a landing page in Thesis 1.85, you could follow this tutorial right here.

Sure, the directions were simple, but do you really want to jump into your custom functions and custom css and mess around? What if you broke your site?

That’s why I’m PUMPED to announce that Thesis 2.0 has a template editor. A template editor that allows you to construct these pages on the back-end of Thesis without ever jumping into your custom functions or custom css files.

As you can see, this template editor allows you to create UNIQUE pages without knowing a LICK of code.

The Bottom Line

Who needs a replacement ref… when Thesis makes all the right calls?

If you don’t own a copy of Thesis, get it through Appsumo right here. Not only will you get Thesis 2.0 when it comes out, you’ll also gain access to a bunch of BONUSES that early buyers will get at no additional charge.

If you do own Thesis, don’t worry. You’ll get the bonuses too. You’ll also get Thesis 2.0 at no additional charge.

However, if you own the personal option, and you want to take advantage of developer’s option only bonuses, now’s the time to upgrade. You can do that by logging into your DIYthemes account and buying the Developer’s option add-on.

About the Author: Derek Halpern runs marketing at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building, sign up to his list here. He's also giving away an awesome bonus for RHH B School. Read the Marie Forleo B-School Reviews.

Well, folks—it’s been a wild ride.

The ride began in 2006, when I designed a theme called Cutline that became one of the most used themes on WordPress.com because of its simplicity, no-nonsense design, and typography.

That early success was great, but I realized that there were many problems facing the theme space…problems that I was going to have to solve if I wanted to make a theme that millions of people could use over many years.

In 2008, I created Thesis to solve some of these problems. As you know, it quickly became the industry standard for premium WordPress themes, thanks to innovation in key areas.

Not only did I bake the best SEO functionality directly into the theme, but I also empowered users to tweak their designs with point-and-click controls.

Shortly thereafter, many WordPress design shops went into catch-up mode to incorporate similar features into their themes.

But now times have changed.

Over the last couple of years, innovation in the WordPress theme space has completely stagnated.

Yes, people pumped out new designs and began adapting some of their old designs for the responsive web. Although this stuff is great for users, it’s not innovation, and it damn sure isn’t good enough for me.

I didn’t want to just release a “new coat of paint” for Thesis.

I wanted to rebuild the whole engine.

And believe me—it wasn’t an easy decision.

My marketing partners yelled at me the entire time because they wanted something new to promote. Customers grew agitated because they saw new coats of paint coming from every theme shop on Earth, yet I was curiously silent.

Heck, I even had to question my own sanity because I left millions of dollars of revenue on the table.

But this was never about revenue. It’s about building the best website engine on the planet. It’s about solving the problems that prevent you from running a website that is everything you want it to be.

And it took two years of work to build the new engine that will define the future.

With that said, I’m proud to announce Thesis 2.0. You’re absolutely going to love it.

What Can Thesis 2 Do for You?

If you run a website for any length of time, you soon realize that you need to do 3 things to stay on the cutting edge:

1. Implement a new design from time to time
2. Add functionality as your site or business grows
3. Incorporate the add-ons from step 2 into your design

Each of these steps has a host of problems associated with it, and worse—any of those problems can derail your website performance and momentum if not handled properly.

Thesis 2 solves these problems in innovative, powerful new ways.

Thesis Skins: The Answer for Your Design Needs

Prior to Thesis 2, all skins and child themes were either collections of template files or a bunch of PHP code that made your website behave a little differently.

While this worked and allowed people to produce all kinds of cool customizations, it was difficult to work with and understand. Essentially, this was a “developers-only” kind of environment.

It’s easy to see why this was a poor long-term solution: What if you, the average user, wanted to make some changes yourself? Well, you’d have to sift through some code if you wanted to do that. Fail.

Ultimately, it was clear that skins needed to be something real, something you could see—not just something that existed only in cryptic combinations of hard-to-read code.

And that’s where Thesis Skins and the new Thesis Skin Editor save the day.

With Thesis 2, everyone from novices to experts will interact with Skins through the Thesis Skin Editor, an amazing new visual environment for building templates and managing your design.

Figure 1. Working with templates has never been easier. The Thesis Skin Editor lets you “see” HTML for the first time! [click to enlarge]

The Thesis Skin Editor brings your Skins to life by allowing you to click on, move, and interact with the elements of your website.

Figure 2. The Thesis Skin Editor gives you a new, visual way to edit HTML that makes working with templates fast and easy. Pretty soon, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it. [click to enlarge]

Thesis Boxes: Add-on Functionality on Steroids

Simply put, Thesis Boxes are add-on functionality done right.

For the sake of understanding, let’s compare Thesis Boxes to something you’re already familiar with—WordPress plugins.

How many of you have tried to incorporate a plugin into your site, only to be told that you had to insert some PHP code into the “appropriate template file?”

[cue sound of a train screeching to a halt]

Instead of this approach, wouldn’t it be nicer if you could activate a plugin and have it incorporated into your site in a way that didn’t force you to muck around with template files and code?

I think so, and that’s part of what Thesis Boxes are all about.

Activate a Thesis Box, and boom—it gets queued up for use in your current Skin, no matter which Skin you’re using!

You’ll be able to drag the box where you want it, change its settings if necessary, and basically get the exact result you’re after…without messing with code or template files.

Even better, you don’t need to be an expert to do this stuff. Everything is point-and-click in the Thesis Skin Editor, so you’ll never be limited by your knowledge of code.

From now on, you no longer need to worry if your Skin supports a particular feature. With Thesis Boxes, you will always be able to add precisely the piece you need, when you need it, and where you want it.

Thesis Packages: Conquering CSS Once and for All

Honestly, the CSS/design landscape is pure and utter madness right now.

Stylesheets are getting bigger, more complicated, and less efficient because no real innovation has occurred in the CSS space in over 10 years.

Sure, we’ve gained new properties and behaviors, but none of these things has made our lives any easier. Worse, these new features have only led to larger and harder-to-maintain stylesheets.

Some people might look at this situation and see progress. I see a serious problem for normal people who want to run cutting-edge websites, both now and in the future.

The problems don’t stop there, either. Let’s say you’ve added a plugin (or a Thesis Box because you’re super savvy) to your site, but now you’d like to customize the look of this add-on in some way.

For years, custom CSS—something I introduced back in 2006 with Cutline—has been the answer to this extremely common problem. But writing custom CSS requires you to know how to…write CSS.

We can do better. Enter Thesis Packages, which allow you to deploy even the most complicated CSS without writing any code.

To understand how Thesis Packages work, just think about a dropdown navigation menu (like the one that Thesis 1.x has had for years).

Dropdown navigation menus consist of complicated structural CSS coupled with simpler elements that everybody understands, like colors and fonts. The complicated elements are especially tricky because they play a huge role in determining whether or not your design is cross-browser compatible.

Thesis Packages allow us to do the hard work for you, while leaving you to interface with the stuff you actually care about—colors, fonts, and other simple properties.

Figure 3. CSS doesn’t have to be an overwhelming maze of code. Thesis Packages give you point-and-click editing capabilities that just make sense. [click to enlarge]

It’s hard to convey how excited I am about this particular facet of Thesis 2.

Let me just say this: Within a year, we’ll have Thesis Packages that handle almost every design element imaginable. From typography to email forms to nav menus and beyond, we’ll have it all.

Thesis 2. October 1. Are You Ready?

It’s official. Thesis 2 arrives on October 1, 2012.

Shortly after launch, we’re going to be changing our pricing structure and benefits packages to nail down the value that we provide.

Before we change the structure, I want to make sure that every one of our existing customers has the chance to maximize their Thesis 2 benefits at the lowest possible price. Here’s how it will work:

If you’re already a Thesis customer and own the Developer’s Option, you don’t need to do anything. When we switch our pricing structure, you’ll be grandfathered into the maximum benefits package.

If you currently own a Thesis Personal option, you’ll still get Thesis 2.0 for free. However, if you wish to get the maximum benefits package for Thesis 2, you’ll need to upgrade to a Developer’s Option before we change our pricing structure.

Right now, the cost to upgrade is only $77; after we change our structure, this cost is going to rise. Therefore, if you want the maximum Thesis 2 benefits at the lowest possible price, you should upgrade to a Developer’s Option as soon as possible.

If you’re already a Thesis customer and wish to upgrade to a Developer’s Option, log into DIYthemes.com and then click here to buy the Developer’s Option add-on.

If you’re not yet a Thesis customer, you can pre-order Thesis 2 through AppSumo.

This is the cheapest you’ll EVER be able to buy Thesis 2. We don’t do sales, so if you’re thinking about waiting for a better price, you’ll be dead before you get Thesis 2.

And hey, even if you’re already on the Thesis train, you should check out the Thesis 2 deal on AppSumo just to see my sweet mug on video. You know you love it

See you on October 1!

PS: I’ve barely scratched the surface of Thesis 2 in this post. If I even attempted to talk about all the new features and cool things that Thesis can do, you’d be buried under an avalanche of awesome. We’ll be looking at all the new stuff in detail over the coming days, so stay tuned!

About the Author: As the creator of the Thesis Theme Framework for WordPress and the founder of DIYthemes, Chris is obsessed with optimizing the web and making sure every last detail receives the attention it deserves. You should follow him on Twitter here.

Site feeling a little sad? Blog feeling a little blah? Today I’m going to walk you through an easy fix that will instantly perk up the look of your web presence: change your logo font!

This one simple change can make a HUGE difference to the look of your site – but often, it either doesn’t occur to us to try it, or we just don’t know where to begin when it comes to finding the perfect font (you might spend hours hunting, only to fall into what I call “the font vortex”).

Plus, if you’re not a “real designer”, it’s easy to doubt yourself and assume that you don’t know the first thing about this stuff. That’s where this article comes in.

We’ll begin by taking the guesswork out of the process by introducing you to 10 fun, free, can’t-miss fonts you’ve likely never seen before. All you have to do is pick the one you like best, and then follow my instructions to put it into place on your blog or site. It’ll be inspiring, it’ll be fast, and it’ll totally change the way you think about your little slice of the World Wide Web.

So without further ado, let’s meet the fonts!

Fun Font #1: Sail

This happy, preppy font is on the feminine side without being frilly. Try it on your fashion or photography site to modernize your design in a jiffy.

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Fun Font #2: Love Ya Like A Sister

This font would be stellar on a kid-oriented blog, or an educational site that doesn’t take itself too seriously.

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Fun Font #3: Londrina Outline

The hand-drawn design trend shows no sign of slowing down these days, and if that’s the route you’re going with your Thesis site, you need a light, quirky font. This one is just unusual enough to be eye-catching, but it’s still nice and legible.

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Fun Font #4: Francois One

Like a clean look, but sick of those old standbys, Helvetica, Arial, and Verdana? This font is a great alternative. Think of it as the strong, silent type of this list.

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Fun Font #5: Amatic

This all-caps font is light on pretension and high on character. Lighthearted and unassuming, I could see this working well on a cooking or travel site.

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Fun Font #6: Graduate

Love football – or at least the keg parties that go along with it? This masculine font will have your visitors thinking back to their college days.

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Fun Font #7: IM Fell DW Pica SC

This one doesn’t have the catchiest name, but it’s definitely got a unique look: kinda like an old wax seal. This would be just the thing for a history-themed site.

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Fun Font #8: Emilys Candy

When it’s gotta be girly, this font never disappoints. You’ll femme up your site in a heartbeat with these little hearts and curlicues.

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Fun Font #9: League Script

This elegant script font has a swingy, European feel. Try it on a site that needs a breath of fresh air.

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Fun Font #10: Fanwood Text

For the traditionalists: if you like the look of “serif” fonts (those are the ones with the little “feet” on the letters), this one’s an awesome option for a subtle site update.

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How to use one of these fonts in your Thesis site logo

First of all, I should specify that if you have a header image uploaded in Thesis, you’ll need to edit the image itself (and the text contained within it) using an image editing program such as Photoshop (you can download all the Google Web Fonts for free, which is a nice perk).

But if you’re not currently rocking a header image on your site (i.e. if your site name/logo is plain old text at the moment), just follow these steps to switch it over to the Google Web Font you like best:

1. First, go to the Google Web Fonts site, type the name of the font you like in the Search box at the top left of the page, and hit “enter”.

2. Then click the blue “Quick-use” link that you see on the right side of your screen, under the name of the font you want to use for your site logo.

3. On the next page, scroll down a bit to the “Add this code to your website” box. Copy the code you see in there.

4. In a separate browser tab or window, log in to your WordPress admin for your site and go to Thesis –> Site Options. In the “Additional Scripts” box, paste in the code you just copied from the Google Fonts website (just paste it immediately after any code that’s already in there).

5. Click the Big Ass Save Button.

6. Go to your custom.css file under Thesis –> Custom File Editor. Scroll down to the bottom of the file, and paste in the following code:

.custom #header #logo { }

Don’t save the page yet.

7. Return to the Google Web Fonts page you still have open, and look for the area called “Integrate the fonts into your CSS”. Copy the code you see there. It should look something like this:

font-family: 'Amatic SC', cursive;

8. Go back to your custom.css file in your other browser tab or window, and paste the code you just copied between the curly brackets that you placed there in the previous step. Don’t forget to include the closing semicolon when you copy and paste. This should give you an end result that looks like this:

.custom #header #logo { font-family: 'Amatic SC', cursive; }

9. Click the Big Ass Save Button.

10. Check out your site! Your new logo font should now be in place!

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Just one warning: The right logo font will totally set the tone for your blog or site, so don’t be surprised if changing yours inspires you to do a total redesign! Luckily, because you’re running Thesis, doing that is a cinch.

Have fun out there – and beware the font vortex!

About the Author: Amanda Aitken is the creator of The Girl's Guide to Web Design, the online course that teaches women (and men who are cool with hanging with a bunch of ladies!) how to design and code unique and stunning Thesis-based blogs and sites. And heads up: she needs your help TODAY to help her clinch the title of "Thriving Female Entrepreneur of 2012", which will allow her to continue spreading the word about Thesis all over this fine planet of ours. If you love Thesis, please click here to vote for Amanda and The Girl's Guide to Web Design now! She's currently in third place and today is the last day to vote!

All it takes is one link from a top blog or social media influencer, and you’re set…

That one link can flood your website with thousands of leads, and if you’re lucky customers.

Question is how can you get just that one link?

Keep reading.

The Drafting Technique

What I call “the drafting technique” is the most effective way to land your first link from a major media outlet, blog, or social media influencer.

Sound hard to believe?

I’ll explain.

Before I tell you about the technique, first let me tell you all about drafting.

When you’re racing at high speeds, like with cars or cycling, there’s wind resistance that slows you down.

However, you can eliminate that resistance by drafting, which is a fancy word for aligning in formation behind the person ahead of you.

Hows that work?

You see, the person in front breaks the wind resistance, and the people behind him can maintain their speed while expending less energy because they take advantage of the “slipstream.”

Makes sense, right?

Right!

How Drafting Helps You Score More Links

Like with racing, top bloggers also have a slipstream, or better yet, a “link slipstream.”

What’s a “link slipstream?”

Well, there’s two types of link requests. First, you can ask a blogger to link to something they’ve never linked to before.

As you might have guessed, that’s a hard-sell because there’s a lot of friction in convincing them to link.

Or, the much better option is to ask a top blogger to link to something they have a history of linking to.

In other words, instead of leading the pack and breaking the friction, you slip in behind the leader—every other link—and take advantage of a frictionless environment.

Two Examples of the Drafting Technique

Nothing sells a story like a good example, so I’ve got two of them:

Example #1:

Let’s say you want me to link your blog from DIYthemes. How can you pull it off?

Well, as you know, I often run link round up articles where I feature Thesis designs, Thesis tutorials, and other helpful articles for bloggers.

(As an example, check this out).

What’s the best way to get included in that roundup?

Write something worth linking to and tell me about it.

(Naturally you should make it Thesis related, since this is the Thesis blog, after all).

You’re not guaranteed a link, but if it’s a fit, why wouldn’t I share it?

Exactly…

Example #2

Now let’s say you want my blog Social Triggers to link you. What would you do?

First, you’d have to figure out my “link slipstream.”

After careful analysis, you’d realize that Social Triggers often links to psychology studies because my site focuses on teaching entrepreneurs how to use psychology to score leads and sales.

So, if you wanted to hop into my “link slipstream,” how would you do it?

If you thought about writing an article that quotes some new research I have never heard of, that would be a sure-fire way to get my attention.

Or if you didn’t want to write the article, sending me an email with a link to the research is another way to get my attention.

(That’s PERFECT because you’d make my life 100x easier. And why wouldn’t I want to reward that?)

But the question remains…

How Do You Grab The Attention In The First Place?

You’ve got three options, and each of these options works splendidly.

Remember, you’re drafting. You’re asking top bloggers to link things they already have a history of linking to. There’s no friction.

So, here’s how you reach out to them:

1. Give them credit in the blog post

If you want a blogger to link you, the best way to do that is to link them first.

Look—I won’t lie to you. When you link a top blogger, there’s no guarantee that they’ll link you back.

However, when everyone else is begging them on Twitter, a link helps you stand out from everyone else.

Plus, a link is sort of like a gift… and people feel the need to reciprocate gifts. It’s human nature.

One more thing: there’s an incoming link section in the WordPress dashboard. Chances are they’ll see your blog post there if you link them. Added benefit .

2. Email the blogger directly

This is the most under-used tactic for getting attention because people assume it doesn’t work.

Wrong.

This remains one of the best ways to get in touch with people… as long as you do it right.

Remember, you’re drafting. So, when you’re emailing someone, you’re emailing them exactly what they want.

How do you word that email?

Say something like this:

Hey Name,

I know you wrote about this [insert topic here] on this date [insert date here].

Given that, I think you’ll find this [insert topic here] interesting. [insert link].

Let me know what you think.

Thanks,
[insert your name here]

And now… the final step.

3. Send them an @ reply on Twitter

This is the least effective way to get a blogger’s attention, but if you’re using Twitter, as is the blogger, it’s worth a shot…

…And if you time it right, you’re golden.

Here’s what you’ll want to do:

Wait until you know the person is active on Twitter.

How do you know this?

Wait until you see them tweet something.

And then you can simply send them an @ reply shortly thereafter.

What do you say?

“I saw you wrote about [topic], and I think you’ll like this [link]“

You shouldn’t use that template word for word, but you get the idea.

Bonus Tip!

If you really want to grab someones attention, this is what you need to do:

Step 1: Write a blog post that cites some new information. Make sure you’re drafting behind a link with no friction.

Step 2: Find the blogger that you’d like to get attention from, and link them in that blog post.

Step 3: Email that blogger and tell them about your new article that you think they’ll like. Note: DO NOT ask for a link.

Step 4: When you see that blogger on Twitter, tell them that you just sent them an email with something they may be interested in.

And bam.

You’re done.

Now go get your links.

About the Author: Derek Halpern runs marketing at DIYthemes, and founder of Social Triggers. To get more tips on list building, sign up to his list here. He's also giving away an awesome bonus for RHH B School. Read the Marie Forleo B-School Reviews.

You know Pinterest is a big deal…

You’ve seen Pinterest buttons everywhere, but you’ve also probably seen the “Pin It to Win It” banners too.

Everyone from Better Homes & Gardens, Kraft and Threadless to Spa Week, AMC Theaters and Syracuse University has experimented with running contests on Pinterest, the third most visited social media network behind Facebook and Twitter.

Should you jump in and follow suit? Absolutely! Forget running a contest on Facebook with all their stringent rules and regulations and hold your next contest on Pinterest instead.

Read on to discover nine tips and strategies to get more traffic, increase your sales and find new customers from running a contest on Pinterest.

Determine your goals

There are many reasons to run your next contest on Pinterest, including getting new Pinterest followers, adding more subscribers to your email list, increasing awareness of your brand, getting more traffic to your website, increasing your sales, getting publicity, launching a new product line, getting feedback for your next collection, establishing your expertise and more.

Whatever your goals are, make sure that you and your team are fully aware of them before you start your contest. Having clear goals will help you make the most out of your next contest on Pinterest.

Keep in mind: Your contest can have more than one goal, but pick no more than two or three goals per contest to keep things less confusing for your participants. You can run a few contests per year, each centered around a specific goal, if you want to get the most out of running a contest on Pinterest.

Pick your contest type

There are many different types of contests you can have on Pinterest and your goal can help you decide the contest type. Here are a few examples of contest types, each fulfilling a different goal:

1. To add more followers to your Pinterest profile, hold a contest that asks people to follow you (all your contests should require participants to follow you on Pinterest, but if you want to keep it simple, this is the easiest way to go)
2. To get feedback on your upcoming product line or project, create a board with your proposed products/project and ask participants to leave a comment on which one is their favorite and why
3. To get more traffic to your website, ask participants to create a board (and name it with your brand name) and pin their top 10 favorite items from your website
4. To get social proof, get new customers and increase your sales, create a board that allows contributors and ask your customers to upload a photo of themselves using your products or upload a video testimonial. This establishes instant credibility, which is key in getting new customers.
5. To increase your brand awareness, ask participants to create a board with pins that best represent your company. This can include items/products from your own website or inspiration from other sites.

Keep in mind: Establish clear guidelines about how winners will redeem their prize and if there are any costs associated with redemption (on your end or theirs).

Offer a worthy prize

Offering a high-value prize like a $500 gift certificate, a dream vacation, a shopping spree or one-on-one coaching will draw more attention to your contest and it will serve as a great incentive for more people to enter. The higher the value of your prize, the more entries you can expect.

Keep in mind: The value of your prize should be proportional to the effort participants have to put in to enter the contest. In other words, if you are only offering a $100 gift certificate, don’t ask people to follow you on Pinterest, sign up for your email newsletter, pin 20 items from your website AND share the contest with 20 friends.

Editor’s Notes: Depending on where you live, countries have specific rules about certain types of prizes. Make sure you’re aware of them before running a contest.

Create a pinnable image for your contest

Since Pinterest is image-driven, having a great pinnable image for your contest should go without saying. What makes a pinnable image? Using great colors that pop out, including your logo, having a call to action (“click to enter,” “pin to win”), using the words “contest,” “giveaway” or “promotion,” adding the dollar amount for the prize and mentioning the contest end date will make your image more pinnable.

Keep in mind: When you pin the contest image to your Pinterest board, add a relevant description, including your #keywords, the amount of the prize, a link back to your website where explain all about the contest and a call to action (i.e., Click on the image to re-pin, Visit our website to enter, etc.)

Promote your contest

A contest is not a contest without entries, so make sure to actively promote and cross-promote your contest. It’s not enough to pin your contest image to Pinterest and add a link to it from your website. Mention it in your newsletter, promote it on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and other social media networks (more than once) to get the most number of entries. Here are a few more ideas to promote your contest:

1. Contact your local press and ask them to get your local community involved (especially if your business is local)
2. Ask your affiliates and network to share your contest with their tribe
3. Ask your customers and those on your email list to share it with their networks

Keep in mind: Don’t over do it by having your contest be the only topic of conversation on your social media profiles. Mix it up with your regular posts to ensure that your followers don’t feel spammed.

Make it easy to enter

If you want more people to enter your contest, you have to make it easy for them to enter and participate. You should ask them to follow you on Pinterest and maybe add two or three additional steps to qualify. But don’t go overboard and ask them to pin 20 items from your site, create a new board, re-pin at least 10 items from your current boards, sign up for your email newsletter, comment on five pins, fill out an entry form, share the contest with 5 friends and comment on your blog. That’s clearly too many steps and a high barrier to entry.

Keep in mind: Balance is key here. If you are offering a significant prize, you have more leeway in what you can ask participants to do to enter. If your prize is minimal, the steps they need to take to enter should be minimal as well.

Choose a winner

When you set up your contest, don’t forget to set up the rules as to how you will pick a winner. Is the winner going to be picked at random (by using a service like www.random.org), will you select a winner based on responses or will you have a panel of judges determine the winner based on certain criteria?

Keep in mind: Let your participants know how AND when the winner will be picked so they know what to expect from you. Include any information on how they can redeem their prize and any deadlines, if relevant.

Measure and track your results

Measuring and tracking your results after the contest ends is just as important as running your contest. Take a look at what your goals are and implement ways to track those goals before, during and after the contest ends. Set up a spreadsheet, use an analytics program and use the statistics within Pinterest (re-pins, likes, follows) to determine the success of your contest.

Keep in mind: If you use Google Analytics, you can see what specific pins are driving traffic to your website. Check your contest image/pin to see how much traffic you’re getting from it. And don’t forget to set up “Goals” so you can track revenue generated directly from the contest.

Repeat

With contests, your motto should be “Do more of what works,” so if a contest worked well for you (lots of traffic, followers, subscribers, customers, buzz, etc.) there’s no reason why you shouldn’t run it again.

Keep in mind: Make regular Pinterest contests (maybe once a quarter) a part of your marketing plan.

A Few More Things to Keep in Mind

I hope you got some great ideas and guidelines for running your next contest on Pinterest.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you are planning your next contest:

• Check out Pinterest’s Terms and Conditions (which are constantly changing) to make sure you abide by their rules
• Create a landing page on your website with all the pertinent info about your contest
• Reward everyone who enters – offering a significant discount to EVERYONE who enters your contest is a great way to get more entries and convert some entrants into paying customers
• Don’t spam or ask contest participants to spam on your behalf

And most important, have fun! Pinterest is all about fun and inspiration and your contest should reflect that.

Have you ran a contest on Pinterest? If so, I’d love to hear more about your experience by sharing it in the comments below.

About the Author: Andreea Ayers is a product-based entrepreneur turned service-based (successful t-shirt line to business coaching). She is the author and creator of www.PinterestAdvantage.com, the most comprehensive and up-to-date course for entrepreneurs who want to use Pinterest to grow their business. She currently blogs at www.LaunchGrowJoy.com and is enjoying life in Boulder, CO.