Mojo Themes makes some really great themes and we list the best 20 here on WPHub.

This is a very simple contest to qualify for and 3 lucky people will win a theme of their choice from Mojo Themes.

Here is what you need to do to enter:

1. Follow @WPHub on Twitter if you haven’t already done so.

2. Make the following tweet:

Thanks to @WPHUB – I just entered the Free Mojo Theme Contest via http://www.wphub.com/win-a-mojo-theme/

That’s it – you’re entered and the Twitter contest program we’re are using will randomly pick the 3 winners for us on Saturday March 30th.

Extra Credit

- Friend us on Facebook:

- +1 us on Google+:

- Leave a comment and tell everyone how you will use the theme if you are one of the three winners!

Rules:

1. This contest is will run from June 17th – June 30th 2013 @ 11:59pm EST.

2. We are running this contest with http://interactwive.com/ and they will select the winner on Monday July 1st.

3. We will contact the 3 winners via Twitter so we can get their emails in order to have Mojo Themes send them access to the theme of their choice.

Also you can get to know one the men behind Mojo Themes in our interview series HERE:

Thomas happily wrote Monday, “Each day, you blog, you create, and you make things with your WordPress.com site. Meanwhile, behind the scenes, the code that runs WordPress.com gets updated dozens of times a day, as we deploy improvements. While you can’t see the vast majority of those changes, there is one improvement we can’t wait for you to see: a brand-new, redesigned WordPress.com dashboard featuring better contrast and the oh-so-lovely Open Sans typeface.”

Google Fonts: Open Sans

From the early days of word processing evolution in which authors could choose their typography rather than being forced use a single type, fonts have been a matter of taste. Open Sans was created by Steve Matteson or Ascender Corp. with the newest version (2.0) containing the complete 897 character set including Latin CE, Greek, ISO Latin and Cyrillic. Created with upright stress, the font is both legible and works well with mobile, print and web interfaces.

If you’re a WordPress.com user who is using a large desktop monitor to perform work from, then chances are you’ll quickly notice the new font and appreciate the way it reads.

New Dashboard Guidelines

As we reported in April, there were several guidelines that the development staff considered upon undertaking the task of revamping the WordPress.com Dashboard. The first imperative objective was to ensure that the new design would be simple and free of clutter in order to allow users to focus the vast majority of their time on actual content. Secondly, a webfont that reads well on all browsers was considered a must, as was designing a responsive design that would work well with all of today’s popular smart phones and tablet computers. Finally, the final product needed to be innovative while not straying far from the time-tested Dashboard concepts that users have come to enjoy over the years.

From what we can tell, all of these guidelines have been met with the new release, although there have been several comments in the past few hours regarding the new “grey on black” color scheme that may not be optimal for lower resolution monitors or those who are working from older devices that don’t contrast well.

Grey On Black Menu Bar

One of the main areas of contention with the new design is the grey on black menu bar, which looks great when used from a high resolution device or smart phone, but may not be optimal for older computer screens that don’t have as many display options. Ideally, the scheme works best with sharp contrast and a bright screen. However, there have been several comments today that were from WordPress.com users who are not in favor of the redesign. “Please, please change it back. Cannot read mid grey on a black background,” replied one user. Thomas immediately chimed in and requested a screenshot and stated that adjustments could be made if those experiencing problems are willing to send in images that show exactly what is being viewed from their Dashboard. Unfortunately for some users who are not in favor of the redesign, there is currently no opt-out option.

Overall, feedback has been about 75 percent positive. User Jas Baku replied, “Thank you WP people for making the admin stuff (eg widgets) easier to read by adding some contrast to the text. A good move.”

What are your thoughts on the new design? Feel free to leave a comment below to let us know how your experience with the new WordPress.com Dashboard is panning out.

* Images in this article are property of WordPress.com.

WPHub:What’s driving the growth at Mojo?

J.R.: Even today, we’re in Year 4 and I am still doing the design and blogging. That’s the thing we don’t want to let go of as co-founders. A lot of our sellers have our Skype names and e-mail addresses. They can call us and say, “We don’t like this or that.” We’ll bend over backwards for our buyers and sellers. Having that homegrown, mom-and-pop shop is important. That personal touch and being hands-on help really help us grow.

WPHub: What aspects of your life before Mojo have helped you ascend in the business and develop it to where it is today?

J.R.: Ten years ago, I worked at an interactive agency and started managing seven-figure campaigns for affiliate marketing. I had to build a lot of sites and drive traffic to them. It was cool to work with an ad agency and I learned a lot about brand management. I started using WordPress in 2006 and it was like Version 1.7 then. I fell in love with WordPress, kept using it with my affiliate stuff, and learned more and more about it.

I got to be the Director of Paid Search and Marketing, but quit my job and teamed up with Brady, the other Co-Founder of Mojo. The only way to do this was to go all-in and not do it half-ass. I came up with the Mojo theme idea. It took me two years to quit my job. I kept trying to launch it and decided to stop what I was doing and go for it.

I am 28-years-old right now. We had just bought a home and had a little boy and then had twins. I went to my wife and said, “I quit my job and Brady and I are starting Mojo.” She said she trusted me, and three years later, she still does!

WPHub: What is Brady’s background?

J.R.: We have known each other since we were kids. He was doing project management for custom development. He did a lot of stuff for hotels and boutiques. He studied Arabic at UCLA and ended up leaving for Jordan for five months. He came back, we met back up, and we started talking about this. He was going to be in the CIA.

WPHub: That’s quite a story about Brady. Talk about the emphasis on one-click install technology that Mojo offers. Tell us how that process works.

J.R.: Our issue with Mojo Themes was that it’s 2013 and people are coming to our site to buy themes. They see the live demo and say they want it on their site. Then, they get a .zip file and have no idea what to do. SimpleScripts does one-click installs for open-source scripts. SimpleScripts was part of EIG, so when we got bought out by EIG, that team joined the Mojo Themes team. We used that technology inside the new marketplace. It works not just for scripts, but also for themes.

How it works is that when you log in and sign on from your account, you click the WordPress icon and you’ll have all of your domain names listed. You click “Install” and it’s done. When you find a theme you want to buy, it bills your hosting account. Everything is done from one place with just a few clicks.

WPHub: Next time out, we’ll talk about the dramatic integration that Mojo has undergone after EIG bought the company out. Preview: there’s a lot going on!

Link: One-on-One with Mojo Marketplace Co-Founder J.R. Farr: Part 1

The BuddyPress Concept

Originally conceived in 2008, BuddyPress was officially launched in May 2009 to serve as an open source method for networking. Some of the common uses that BuddyPress has been used for since its inception are for creating a social network for school campuses, internal communication within a company, product marketing and connecting with individuals who share a common interest or hobby. The BuddyPress plugin can be easily customized to include only the features and modules that your website needs. Once you have configured its settings, your WordPress theme will automatically adjust without having to manually go into the Editor and work with code. The newest beta version along with previous full releases can be downloaded for free from BuddyPress.org.

What’s New In This Release?

Gorges (pictured) outlined the features that have been added to this beta version of BuddyPress 1.8 by saying that “BP_Group_Extension has been largely rewritten, with the goal of making Group Extension plugins faster and more consistent to write. We’ve worked hard to make sure that existing BP_Group_Extension plugins will continue to work as before, but we encourage you to verify your own plugins. In the upcoming days, I’ll be writing updated Codex documentation for the Group Extension API, so you can see how the new features in BP 1.8 will make writing group extension plugins radically simpler. Watch bpdevel.wordpress.com for updates. The group administration panels in the Dashboard have seen some improvements – in particular, to the way that the Manage Members section works. Pagination support has been added to the member lists in these panels, as well as the bp_group_has_members() stack that underpins the panels.”

A “detheming” process has been implemented on the bp-legacy stylesheet; removing much of the styling on themes that don’t include native support for BuddyPress. Gorges added that the development team has “introduced a new template hierarchy layer for top-level templates. Similar to WordPress’s template hierarchy, this new feature allows themes to provide top-level template files that are specific to a component or item. For example, if your theme contains a template at groups/index-directory.php, it’ll be used instead of buddypress.php or page.php when viewing the Groups directory.” There are several other enhancements that have been made to BuddyPress 1.8 Beta 1.

BuddyPress Download

BuddyPress is a subsidiary of Automattic – a company founded by WordPress co-creator Matt Mullenweg. If you would like to start using the BuddyPress plugin for your WordPress website, you can download the latest version here.

Upon deciding to use BuddyPress 1.8 Beta 1, it is recommended that developers not run the software on a production site; as it is still in development and needs further tweaking before it is capable of being designated as the default version on your site.

There are also a number of BuddyCamps that coincide with WordCamps across the globe where interested parties can share ideas and brainstorm on how to make the software more effective for its users. The most recent seminar was held a three months ago in Miami, Florida. If you are a developer who would like to get involved in the BuddyPress process, you can do so by joining the BuddyPress Community.

In his June 12th blog post, Roach said that “Vertex is a stunning theme built for service providers that want to showcase their equally stunning products. The climb down from the Vertex is long, but as you descend you are met with beautifully animated content that is built for scrolling. The homepages gives you a chance to engage your visitors and tell your story through galleries, sliders, testimonials and team member bios. At both the vertex and the summit, you are met with a clear call to action that is built for conversions. Vertex sweats the small stuff, and each element has been designed with meticulous detail. The theme is responsive, so it will will display beautifully on all devices. The theme also comes with some great color and font custmization options, as well as custom header images, making it easy for anyone to make Vertex their own.”

Responsive Layout With LightBox Effects

We focus quite a bit on responsive design in our news article due to the way it has revolutionized the WordPress market. If you are using the Vertex theme (or pretty much any recent template released by Elegant Themes), then you are assured a flexible layout that will automatically adjust to each visitor’s screen size. This is ideal for iPhones, iPads, and other handheld devices that are being used in lieu of a desktop computer. Without ever having to go in and work with code, you can make sure your on-the-go customers have a customizable view to enjoy and navigate.

Another feature that comes standard with most of the company’s themes is the ability to enhance your portfolio entries with LightBox effects.

In the screenshot above, you can see how the entry at the top left changes when it is being moused over. This will work for companies that want to show off their recent projects while also giving visitors a method for seeing additional information before clicking through.

Vertex Features

There is a lot to like about the most recent commercial release from Elegant Themes. For one, there is a Call To Action button displayed prominently within the homepage that will entice readers to click on your featured posts or slideshow.

Current and previous clients can take part in your company’s promotion via the Testimonials module where quotes are shown in a clean, organized layout for all potential customers to see.

There is also a Team Members module for bringing the staff of your business to the forefront. You can even use slider graphs to show which attributes each employee or executive specializes in (see below).

Vertex has been independently tested to ensure its code is secure, and it will work on the most popular web browsers such as Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Safari, Netscape and Opera. The back-end Options Panel is easy to maneuver and comes with unlimited color schemes, ad management, built in SEO and widget insertion.

More information can be obtained from the following pages.

Vertex Theme Page
Vertex Live Demo

The rapid growth of on-the-go devices over the past few years has sparked a major shift in online innovation as services such as WordPress.com strive to cater to the smart phone and tablet computer market. Regardless of whether the site owner is dedicated to its content full time or simply playing the role of webmaster while moonlighting at a regular job, the need to stay informed about the happenings of what’s going on with one’s blog or online business is essential. As time passes, more and more individuals are turning to their mobile hardware due to its ability to perform a massive amount of tasks with log in credentials from anywhere around the globe; provided there is a reliable Internet connection.

WordPress For Android Notifications

Version 2.4 of the WordPress for Android software will work for those who already have a premium subscription to the WordPress.com website as well as for self-hosted websites that are using the Jetpack plugin.

In his June 11th blog post, Roundhill wrote, “Need to get your WordPress.com Notifications on the go? With version 2.4 of WordPress for Android you’ll see all your Notifications right on your Android device. Step away yet stay connected. With the new streamlined Notifications view, you can step away from your computer but still stay connected to your readers. With just a few taps you can: Read comment threads and reply. Moderate new pending comments. Get stats highlights. See your new followers and follow them back. See who liked your posts.”

Not An All In One Module

The Notifications User Interface released with Version 2.4 of WordPress for Android is not an all in one module; meaning you or your webmaster can easily customize it to include only the functionality that is needed. For example, if you are not interested in receiving updates every time one of your posts is Liked, then you can easily remove that feature from the Notifications module without losing the ability to moderate pending comments and check statistics. The same can be said for getting updated on when you receive new followers.

If you’re at an event where you mobile device has to be turned on yet do not want to be interrupted with updates from your website, simply turn off the Notifications feature altogether and re-activate it once you are ready. The great thing about the WordPress platform is that so much functionality can be hard coded into the back end in order to ensure that all users have a customizable product to work with.

Bug Fixes And Improvements

The latest release of WordPress for Android also comes with a number of improvements and bug fixes. For one, a new menu icon has been placed within the software to coincide with the latest “Holo” design guidelines. The overall Settings and Sign Out toggles have been added to the overflow menu, and there are also new fonts that are now available.

Roundhill ended his post by addressing some of the upcoming features that are anticipated for future releases by saying, “We’ve got some great new features in the works including improvements to Media, Account Setup, and the Reader.”

At the time this news article was written, no replies had been left below the entry, which usually points to a relatively clean release that doesn’t have any major flaws. If you would like to start using the latest version, click on the following link to Download WordPress For Android 2.4. Remember that if you are working from a self-hosted site that uses WordPress and still want to enjoy the Notifications feature, you’ll need to install the Jetpack plugin.

An in-house company statement published recently by the TeslaThemes staff welcomed new customers to the website while also giving a rundown of what visitors can expect when browsing through the themes and services that Tesla has to offer. Marketed as a “Rational WordPress Theme Club,” Tesla told its readers that “if you’re in the process of creating a new website or have an existing one, you’ll definitely need a beautiful design and advanced features, powered by a strong content management system. WordPress is probably the best choice for this, as its flexibility, ease of use and powerful features make it so popular and widely used. Its system of themes and plugins gives you (the site owner) practically unlimited possibilities in terms of visual appearance and functionality. You can personalize the look and feel of your website and turn it into anything you want. And what do you need to achieve that? A Premium WordPress Theme.”

Tesla’s statement continued by saying that this is the point “where TeslaThemes fades in: a selected club of Premium WordPress Themes coupled with clean, modern, responsive design and a complete set of advanced features. We provide Multipurpose WordPress Themes with handcrafted design that are great for all bloggers, developers, freelancers, agencies or corporate websites. Our themes come with extended documentation and set-up guides to help you easily get started and we are always glad to provide you full support and free updates for our premium themes.”

Theme Catalog

The names of the themes available at Tesla are: Revoke, Cool Stuff, My Countdown, Design Portfolio, Skywalker, Axa, and Belle. Each has its own set of unique qualities. Take the Revoke theme for example… it comes with a completely responsive design that will automatically adjust content to fit smaller screen sizes that are used when browsing from an iPhone, iPad, Samsung Galaxy, Blackberry, etc. Below the traditional navigation bar is a featured content slider followed by an introductory area where a thumbnail image can be inserted.

By default, there is a four column portfolio feed that can be published directly on the homepage in order to highlight your recent work as well as the projects you’ve worked on in the past.

Another highly unique theme is called My Countdown, and covers an important niche in the WordPress website market for those who need a module for an upcoming event that is capable of counting down the number of days, hours, minutes and seconds.

In the screenshot below, you’ll see that there is a meter displayed on the landing page that gives visitors a very clear idea of when a particular event will be taking place.

Tesla Subscription Plans

There are three subscription plans currently available upon becoming a TeslaThemes customer. The first is a single theme purchase option that is a one-time fee of $25 to full access to a single premium download, support, video tutorials, documentation and the ability to use the download on an unlimited amount of domains.

The Standard package comes with a yearly membership fee of $35 and includes full access to all themes (current and future) that are currently marketed by the company. If you would like to opt for the Developer Club plan, you can also receive PSD Files for all the themes for a price of $55 every twelve months.

Improved Gallery Template

Among the major changes that have enhanced the newest theme from Hermes is an improved gallery template. This has been implemented in the latest product to allow sub-galleries within the User Interface and will transfer correctly to the front end of your WordPress website without a hitch.

Responsive Layout

Of course, one of the most important features any premium theme can have is the ability to automatically adapt the layout of your site’s content to fit all screen sizes. The fully responsive design is compatible with an iPhone, Samsung Galaxy, iPad, Blackberry or other similar smart phones or tablet computers. Most importantly, this feature requires no code work in order to function as soon as you purchase and activate the theme.

Castello is Search Engine Optimized and hard coded in accordance with industry standards. Automatic image re-sizing means that your photos can be cropped and fit within a designated slot without any problem, plus the new theme has several custom page templates and widgets for giving visitors quick access to all the important regions on your hotel site. Publish an independent blog, send front end users to your contact page and much more; all from the back end Control Panel that boasts easy to use option panels.

Another benefit that Hermes Themes customers enjoy is the right to PSD Files without having to pay extra. Castello is localized for translations, and has cross browser compatibility with Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari.

Rooms & Rates

The Rooms & Rates page template has been updated as well. The Hermes Themes staff said Friday, “As Castello Theme was developed with vacation homes and villas in mind, we knew that rental prices vary from season to season. For this reason we have created the ability to define custom periods of time, and set different rates for these periods. So now you can easily set different prices for your Low/Medium/High seasons without editing a single line of code.”

With this new functionality, your webmaster can easily insert various tariffs and rates that coincide with peak guest entry and slow dates. To take this a step further, you can even do the same by placing different price tables on hotel-sponsored restaurants and services.

Dumitru Brinzan, who is the founder and lead developer at both Hermes Themes and WPZoom, has made a special effort to cater to a growing rental market with representative who want to take their business online or improve an existing website.

Castello Theme Details

It is extremely easy to download and install the Castello theme once it has been bought from Hermes. All you have to do after downloading is go to the Appearance > Themes tab within your WordPress dashboard and activate Castello after it has been uploaded. The purchase price includes full support as well as several other features such as a full width homepage slider and testimonials module for getting the word out regarding your hotel by utilizing quotes from past guests.

You can also easily insert advertisement banners to manage your own campaign and generate revenue from sponsors. To find out more about the new Castello WordPress theme, visit the Official Product Page.

Co-founding Mojo Marketplace was J.R. Farr, who has been involved in other Mojo-branded sites like Mojo Themes and Mojo Code. WPHub sat down with Farr for a four-part interview series focusing on the ins and outs of building what is sure to be a major hit. Here’s Part 1.

WPHub: Talk about the various websites you worked with prior to co-founding Mojo Marketplace.

J.R.: I am one of the two founders of Mojo Marketplace. Previously, we launched Mojo Themes, which was for theme templates. We wanted a big platform that was different than just selling themes. We wanted a place where designers and sellers could sell their work, so we launched a marketplace concept in 2009. We launched Mojo Code in 2011 and got acquired by a company called EIG in December 2012.

We have now joined EIG and are just about to launch Mojo Marketplace out of beta. EIG owns a lot of the biggest web hosting companies in the world. They wanted to buy the marketplace, take the team, and do what the iPhone did with the App Store. EIG wanted to do that for their large hosting account subscriber base, so we will have a very substantial customer base to start with.

Additionally, we have teamed up with SimpleScripts, which is a one-click installer, and are using their functionality in the marketplace. You can click from your hosting panel and automatically log into the marketplace. We’ll have all of your information and you can one-click install WordPress. When you’re done, you can shop the marketplace and install themes, plugins, logos, and graphics.

We have actually hired a bunch of new guys with the integration with EIG. There are about 15 or 20 of us in the company right now.

WPHub: Speaking of the company, can you talk about what your workers do, where they are located, and how Mojo is set up?

J.R.: We are originally from Salt Lake City, so they kept us all here. We have an office space built out. Even with EIG being such a big corporation, they wanted to keep the startup feel with our company. We have a really cool office with a ping pong table, an Xbox, and a foosball table. We have operations and support people, development people, and product managers. Brady (the other founder) and I oversee everything. We make sure that the other sites are continuing to grow and that we successfully complete the integration of Mojo Marketplace.

It’s interesting too because we’ve kept that startup feel. For example, on the new marketplace, I did all of the design work. Also, I did all of the copyrighting. Brady does a lot of the front end and development stuff. Everything is done in-house.

WPHub: What have been some of the key obstacles for Mojo to overcome over the years?

J.R.: It’s hard to start a marketplace. We have seen people try to do it. You have to have advertising going and have sellers motivated to list their products. It has been a bit easier this time around because everyone knows who we are. For example, we are the featured marketplace on WordPress.org. We have a lot of momentum right now and people are motivated to upload their themes and products to our site. A marketplace is one of the hardest types of businesses to create. You have to make sure your platform works for both buyers and sellers.

WPHub: Next week, we’ll talk about J.R.’s background. Spoiler alert: J.R. and Brady have known each other since they were kids and Brady once studied Arabic. How did that background lead the pair to Mojo Marketplace? Stay tuned to find out.

Four Post Formats

Although the upcoming release of WordPress 3.6 won’t feature a new User Interface for custom post formats (this will be released as a separate plugin according to Lead Developer Mark Jaquith), the new Fable theme comes with a total of four post formats: Article, Gallery, Video and Quote. Post formats can play a major role in distinguishing your content and setting entries apart from each other, especially in a blogging theme. Below, you can see that the Quote format can be placed within the homepage or a separate feed; complete with its own slider to rotate material.

Articles are displayed differently, as are Gallery and Video entries.

Responsive Layout With Shortcodes

As with all of Elegant Themes’ 2013 releases, Fable includes a fully responsive design that is capable of automatically adjusting the size and format of your content to fit each and every screen size; regardless of whether your website is being viewed from a Samsung Galaxy, iPhone, iPad, Nokia smart phone, tablet computer or large desktop monitor.

The benefit of having a theme with a responsive design is that mobile devices won’t have to unnecessarily thumb scroll and pinch their way horizontally through pages. Having this feature means that visitors who are on the go are much more likely to remain on your site; reading your content comfortably.

Fable also includes a full shortcodes collection for inserting enhancements within your content such as columned text, alert boxes and more.

Fable Theme Features

Upon purchasing the Fable theme (there is an all inclusive plan from Elegant Themes that includes access to all premium downloads for $39 per year), you will be granted the privilege of perpetual updates. Complete localization means that all themes are easily translated into languages other than English, while cross browser compatibility allows your website to be viewed correctly from Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Netscape, Safari and Opera. The products marketed by Elegant Themes all include full support as well as independently tested code to ensure your WordPress website remains secure. Finally, the Fable theme allows webmasters to use an unlimited amount of color schemes.

Fable Theme Summary

For WordPress website owners who are looking for a premium theme specifically designed for blogging (personal or business), Fable is an attractive option. Roach stated earlier this week that “Fable puts an emphasis on typography, and the theme comes with some great font options as well. You can quickly select and preview dozens of fonts from within the Theme Customizer. Just click the gear customization icon when browsing the demo to get a preview of the great options that are available.”

Although there is no featured content slider, entries are very easy to view and come with an arrow icon that can be clicked on to immediately go through to the full post. The top navigation bar boasts drop down menus whenever sub categories are used, and the back end Options Panel is easily managed without ever having to work with code. To find out more about the new Fable WordPress theme, visit the Live Demo or official product page.