Thesis 1.6 has hit the websphere and as expected, there are high value add design features and controls that makes it the most popular and widely used templating frameworks in todays times. Thesis is SEO compliant right out of the box and gives you slick control over the presentation layer. For the average blogger who would not be conversant with PHP to a great degree, Thesis capabilities facilitates experimentation with design and font without altering any basic code. And if you do know to code, the possibilities with Thesis Hooks are limitless.
Check out a few simple thesis customization tips that can help you get started towards creating a high impact site. You would need your custom.css and custom_functions.php files.
1. Make the tag line and title disappear
Add the following code to the custom.css file
.custom #header #logo, .custom #header #tagline { text-indent: -9999px; }
2. Kill all borders in your thesis theme
Add the following code to the custom.css file
.custom #header, .custom .post, .custom .teasers_box, .custom #footer, .custom #footer a, .custom #footer a:active, .custom #archive_info, .custom .prev_next, .custom #comment_list, .custom #comment_list dd, .custom #commentform, .custom #sidebar_1, .custom #sidebar_2, .custom #comment_list dt.comment, .custom #comment_list dd.comment, .custom #comment_list dl .bypostauthor .format_text, .custom #trackback_list {
border-bottom: 0px;
border-top: 0px;
border-right: 0px;
border-left: 0px;
}
.custom #content_box, .custom #column_wrap { background: none;}
3. Implement unique background colors for authors in comments
Add the following code to the custom.css file
dl#comment_list dt.bypostauthor, .custom dl#comment_list dd.bypostauthor>div {background: #DCCE9A
none repeat scroll 0 0; padding-top:20px;}
4. Get rid of “Comments are closed” statements on pages
Add the following code to the custom.css file
.custom .comments_closed p {display: none ;}
5. Move top menu navigation to below the header
Add the following code to the custom_functions.php file
remove_action(’thesis_hook_before_header’, ‘thesis_nav_menu’);
add_action(’thesis_hook_after_header’, ‘thesis_nav_menu’);
6. Remove Category Titles from Category Pages
Add the following code to the custom.css file
#archive_info {display:none;}
7. Modify the Background Color
Add the following code to the custom.css file
body.custom {
background: #DCCE9A;
}
.custom #container {
margin-top: 2em;
margin-bottom: 2em;
padding: 0.3em;
background: #33332f;
border: 0.4em solid #3e3e3a;
}
.custom #page {
background: #fff;
}
8. Customize Copyright in the footer
Add the following code to the custom_functions.php file
function custom_footer() {
?>Copyright © 2009 .
All rights reserved.}
add_action(‘thesis_hook_footer’, ‘custom_footer’);
add_action(‘thesis_hook_footer’, ‘custom_footer’);
9. Change case of the sidebar heading to lowercase
Add the following code to the custom.css file
.custom h3 { font-variant: normal ; }
10. Remove the outlines of your links
Add the following code to the custom.css file
.custom a {outline: none;}