Thesis 2.0 vs Genesis: The Battle for Premium WordPress Theme Dominance

Today we’re going to settle the debate between Thesis vs Genesis for premium WordPress theme dominance.

But before we get there, let’s recap why a premium WordPress theme like Thesis or Genesis is a necessity to running a quality WordPress blog.

When creating your WordPress blog, one of the most important decisions you’ll make is the theme framework on which to build it.

Think of your WordPress theme as the literal foundation of your blog, on top of which all the shiny features and functions you enjoy will be placed.

Why Premium WordPress Theme?

It’s very easy to fall into the “Free theme” trap.

You just paid for hosting and a domain name and questions begin to pop into your head, like:

Why do I need a premium WordPress theme?

What could possibly be so great that I need to spend more money?

Premium WordPress themes seem more like the luxury of successful bloggers?

And then you start convincing yourself you don’t need a premium WordPress theme.

I’ll just start with a free theme and buy a premium theme once I get going.

Look at Seth Godin, he still uses blogspot.

I’m going to let my content do the talking, no one cares what my site looks like.

STOP.

You wouldn’t wear sweatpants to a job interview, would you?

Think of every visitor who finds your site as a job interview.

The professional look of your website matters… a lot!

There is a ton of content on the Internet, which means people have choices.

If you decide to rock a bush league looking website, that’s your choice, but understand it sends the message you are NOT serious about what you’re doing.

If you’re going to put time and effort into creating a blog, spend a few extra bucks and look like a professional.

There are also site speed and SEO benefits to working with a premium WordPress theme as well.

You absolutely cannot go wrong choosing to build your blog on either of the Thesis or Genesis WordPress frameworks.

Let’s choose a winner anyway.

Thesis 2.0 vs Genesis WordPress Theme

Let’s start with Thesis 2.0.

For a long time, in many respects, the Thesis WordPress theme was quite similar to Genesis WordPress theme.

There was a base framework, which you built upon or you could purchase a skin that sat on top of the base framework, which added additional features.

I’m sure that programmers and developers would be able to shed light on specific differences, but to the average blogger, the Thesis vs Genesis debate was more semantics.

However, that changed with the release of Thesis 2.0 and its drag and drop site editor.

What the Thesis team did was create a blog platform that allowed the average blogger to build the site they wanted without having the burden of programming knowledge.

With Thesis, you don’t have to know how to program to build blogs like a programmer.

 Advantages of Thesis 2.0

1. The ability to customize and widgetize every aspect of your blog.

Custom homepage feature box for capturing subscribers

The great part about Thesis 2.0 is you are not limited to the constraints of a specific theme.

You build the site you want, the way you want it.

In this case I’m able to place a very strong call-to-action on the homepage of my own custom design {see for yourself here}.

Reduced height feature box for blog posts

Thesis 2.0 allows you to completely customize every page type.

In this case, I’m able to create a separate call-to-action for blog posts.

Widgetize any area you choose

Again, you can add widget areas to any portion of your site that you choose and easily associate that with whatever page style you choose.

In my case, I created this capture area which shows at the bottom of blog posts only and not on pages, the homepage, or landing pages.

If I was so inclined, I could add different capture areas depending on what category the post was created in.

2. Thesis WordPress is built with very light weight, SEO friendly code

Out of the box, Thesis 2.0 is very fast and allows for easy indexing by search engines.

Additionally, built into Thesis 2.0 for those of us not SEO inclined is a home page SEO optimizer feature.

You simply fill in the boxes with corresponding information and Thesis 2.0 makes sure your site is getting found for the terms you choose.

Thesis 2.0 is also the first WordPress theme to add one-click Schema markup, a new SEO industry standard in search marketing.

3. Clean integration with Google+ Authorship and Google Analytics

You no longer have to worry about placing your Google+ Authorship markup and Google Analytics javascript code in the correct places.

Thesis 2.0 takes care of both of these, very crucial functions for you.

This is not a unique characteristic of Thesis 2.0, but it is a function I find to be very valuable.

Disadvantages to Thesis 2.0

1. If you don’t think like a programmer, it’s easy to get lost

The launch of Thesis 2.0 birthed an entirely new way to create WordPress blogs.

For that reason, the drag and drop customization, though easy and amazing once you get the hang of it, can be a pain in the ass to figure out at first.

I know more than a few people who have gotten frustrated and gone (back) to Genesis.

That doesn’t mean I agree with their decision.  It just means there will be a learning curve.

2. There are only a few skins available for Thesis 2.0

Thesis 2.0 does have skins that add even more features to your site.

Unfortunately, they are few and far between.

My only recommendation at this time is Thesis Awesome.

There may be others, but I know for a fact programmers and developers are experiencing the same learning curve discussed in #1.

This means that more added features will come, but you may have to wait.

3. In a straight up comparison against Genesis, Thesis 2.0 has a higher price tag

As we discussed before, it’s all about making our blog look professional.

To that extent, I don’t think either Thesis 2.0 or Genesis have a price tag that makes them anything other than a complete bargain.

But since this is a comparison post, you are going to spend about $50 more for Thesis 2.0 than you will for Genesis.

Advantages of Genesis WordPress Theme

1. Genesis skins make website design as easy as one-click

When you purchase the Genesis framework for the first time, you receive two items:

1. the framework itself and
2. a skin (or child theme as Studiopress, the creator of Genesis refers to them).  

There are many Genesis skins both created by Studiopress and skins created by approved 3rd parties.

The skin you choose will ultimately define the general shape and functionality of your blog.

2. You do not have to be a programmer or think like a programmer to customize Genesis

The brilliance of Genesis is that each skin is created with a specific look and feel.

All you need to do is fill in the information as it pertains to your blog and/or business.

You don’t have to worry about any custom coding.

Choose a color pattern, fill in the widget areas, upload your logo, and you’re off.

3. Clean integration with Google+ Authorship and Google Analytics

Just like Thesis 2.0, you do not have to worry about placing your Google+ Authorship markup and Google Analytics javascript code in the correct places.

Genesis takes care of both of these, very crucial functions for you.

One additional benefit of Genesis, and this is especially important if you have multiple authors or guest authors is Google+ Authorship, is added through WordPress profiles.

This means creating authorship on a per post basis is very easy to do and a huge benefit to potential guest authors.

Disadvantages of Genesis Theme

Your site will look similar to other blogs with the same child theme

A little over a year ago, I used Genesis and was one of the first bloggers to grab onto the Eleven40 child theme.

I loved how sleek and simple it was.

To my dismay, I began to find sites that looked very similar to mine.  Not exact mind you, but similar and that just didn’t sit well with me.

If you don’t care about this or feel your logo and branding will make your site unique enough, then this is a not a huge disadvantage.

Honestly, that’s the only real disadvantage I see with the Genesis framework.

Genesis is amazing premium WordPress theme that I ran my site on for almost two years and I highly recommend it to everyone that asks.

Why I Switched From Genesis to Thesis 2.0

So if I loved Genesis so much, why did I switch from Genesis to Thesis 2.0 back in November?

Great question.

The answer is simple.

I wanted my own space.

There was no way I could ever be content building my blog in a space that I knew looked similar to a number of other blogs.

To me, blogging is an art form and I want my art to be mine.

I also believe that future customization capabilities of Thesis 2.0 are going to allow me to create projects I would need a designer for in Genesis.

What I’m talking about is advanced stuff like custom landing pages and lead magnet CTAs directed at certain post categories.

I’m actually in the process of creating a podcast site, which will be built with the Genesis Minimum child theme.

So I have no aversion to Genesis.

Truth be told, if you’re a new blogger or aren’t comfortable with programming, I’d recommend the Genesis framework first.

For those of you who have a programming mind or like to tinker, then Thesis 2.0 is probably a better option for you.

Either way, in the battle for premium WordPress theme dominance between Thesis 2.0 vs Genesis the winner is always YOU.

Thank you and good luck,

Ryan Hanley

Ryan Hanley is the Director of Marketing for the Murray Group Insurance Services, Inc, located in Albany, NY. You can connect with Ryan on Google+, visit his content marketing blog or learn to win the battle for attention online by listening to the Content Warfare Podcast.

Note from Ana: What Does Traffic Generation Café Run on?

When I first started Traffic Generation Café, I did try some free Worpress themes first.

However, I quickly realized that it was nearly impossible to

1. Find the layout I liked (most free WordPress themes have very few customization features),
2. PLUS, offer the kind of SEO features I was looking for (SEO-friendly theme is your first step to being found and ranked by the search engines),
3. PLUS, had clean code (the more coding errors a theme has, the harder it is to get ranked with it).

After wasting a couple of months going back and forth between several free themes, I finally came to my senses and bought Thesis.

Loved it ever since.

I created my first design without knowing  a lick of coding.

I bartered for my first professional design about a year after that.

Eventually, I was lucky enough to meet my current designer, Ian Belanger from IMGraphicDesigns.com, who is the wizard behind everything you currently see at Traffic Generation Café.

Premium WordPress Theme Bottom Line:

Every worthy endeavor is worth doing right from the start.

I’d say your business should be the primary example of that.

Don’t skimp on your design or your potential readers will skimp on you.

Whether it’s Thesis WordPress theme or Genesis WordPress theme you end up going with, make sure your blog design reflects the kind of authority and expertise you want your readers to associate you with.

If you like this post and think it would be valuable to your followers, share the ish out of it for me, would you?