Eileen Lonergan

Last week I got an email out of the blue from someone I had never heard of, asking me if I would be interested in designing some websites in Thesis.  This got me thinking, why did the sites have to be in Thesis?  The Expand2Web Small Business WordPress theme was the very first theme I used for my very first WordPress site. I choose the theme because it was built by a friend from high school and he said he would help me if I got stuck during the building process (what more could I ask for!).

After building a couple of sites I branched into using Thesis, an enormously popular WordPress theme, I built my site in it, and used it for many clients, I found it versatile enough for both my biggest client and my smallest.  For a while I was a Thesis Queen.   I switched back to the Small Business theme by Expand2Web, in March and have nearly finished my fifth site in a row with the Theme, I thought I would share what I like about both Themes.

Why I like the Small Business Theme:

• The Options Panel is an actual To-Do list of everything I need to do for a client.  The features are heavy on SEO, which is fantastic for all sites!   This includes homepage title tags, meta descriptions, keywords, Google Analytics and webmaster tools.  This list serves not only as a reminder of best practices while I am building, but there are actually links to the specific pages where you create your Google map, analytics and webmaster tools.  With one click I am able to generate the needed code and pop back into the theme to continue work.
• There are eleven options for design layouts,  some of which allow for the use of video or slideshows on your homepage, along with feature boxes that you customize with content that best represent your business.
• The Theme comes enabled for a mobile. This means you can customize a specific pages for people who come to your site via a smart phone, iPad or iPod. See my mobile websites page for further details and samples.
• The SmallBiz theme comes with a Facebook Application which allows you to create custom Facebook Pages.  See my Customized Facebook Pages portfolio for samples.
• Font choices & size and color choice for Headers, Menu’s, paragraphs & footers.
• The connection with social media.  I heard Mitch Joel mention in a recent podcast that breaking into the top 10 of search results on Google could become less important if you are successfully using social media.   Facebook, Twitter & YouTube are all excellent, effective tools to spread the message of your business.  The Expand2Web Small Business theme already has the icons built into the sidebar of the  page, all you need to do is customize the links.
• Support.   Don Campbell, President of Expand2Web or one of his two dedicated team members will help you through any and all questions.  Don has a YouTube channel devoted to instructional videos, his blog is loaded with tips and tutorials, and there is even a FAQ page with step by step instructions.  If you are looking for more coaching you can register for one of his online classes or join his Member Forum.
• You can upload a background image or change the background color.
• There are six templates for pages with different sidebar widgets.
• The theme comes with a Home page, Find Us page, Contact form, Business Hours and built in blog.

Why I like Thesis:

• The design.  It is very clean and simple – you can decide if you want your layout to have one, two or three columns and how wide each should be.
• Customizing the colors and fonts.  It is a one step process to change the background color, the nav bar colors and borders.  For clients that are very visual it is easy to flip around with color schemes so they can see their options.
• The Options panel.  While it isn’t as robust as Expand2Web, you do have a command central which allows you to configure your title pages, drag and drop your navigation menu, and insert your Analytics Code.
• I like the options for setting your blog in Thesis.
• Multi-Media box – you can use images or embed a video into the site quite easily.
• Open Hook – personally I don’t quite understand what Open Hook is all about, but everyone else is raving, so I am obligated to mention it here!

There are loads of WordPress Themes out there, making it hard to choose which is best to build in, but for me, at this moment, I am delighted with the Small Business Theme, I think it is a terrific platform for building a robust website that is seo and user friendly.

PS You may enjoy this article Is Facebook Getting Bigger Than Google.

Links to sites I have built using the WordPress Small Business Theme by Expand2Web, or see my full WordPress Websites Portfolio:

• LynHoopes.com
• GildaJoyce.com/blog
• GildaJoyce.de
• ElizabethTaberLibrary.org
• NotYourAverageCollegeTour.com
• FlourGirlsBakingCo.com
• BridgeWaterLawn.com
• ChristineFantoni.com
• LoftSchool.org
• ANVZ.org
• DiasPlumbing.com

I would love to see how other people are customizing their sites using either Thesis or with SmallBiz, please use the comment form below!

Tags: Don Campbell, Eileen Lonergan, Expand2Web, facebook, Google, Marion MA web design, search engine optimization, Twitter, web desgin, You Tube

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 19th, 2010 at 5:14 pm and is filed under Expand2Web Small Business Theme, Thesis WordPress Theme, web design. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.