Several weeks ago, I wrote an article about a theme that I’ve been working on that I’ll be using in place of Standard once development has actually been completed.
When it comes to working on project, I think it’s fair to say that sometimes we start off talking about certain things that we’re working on, get sidetracked on something new, and never end up coming back to it.
So in an effort to not only keep myself accountable, but also to continue to give a bit more information on the theme, I thought I’d provide additional updates as to its status, potential release date, how I’ll be rolling it out, and all that fun stuff.
My Upcoming WordPress Theme
As previously mentioned:
It’s specifically targeting people who typically write long form content.
Relatively vague, isn’t it?
In short, I’m building the theme first and foremost for myself. I’ve a laundry list of features that are must-haves, that are nice-to-haves, and have a roadmap that I’m following in order to make sure development moves along with milestones to be reached for its first release and its following releases.
To that end, it’s primary market is for single-author blogs written by the established blogger (where “established” is defined by someone who blogs regularly) who frequently writes long form content.
Decisions, Not Options
One of the core WordPress philosophies is decision, not options. This is something that can – and has been, and continues to be – debated, but when it comes to software, I’m a fan of opinionated development.
Specifically, I like making decisions about how the software will function and leaving it at that (though don’t misread me: that doesn’t mean I’m not willing to change if something better is available or offered).
Thinking of the User
As such, there are no options outside of the Theme Customizer that will allow you to modify the blog. This means that any customization work that you do – outside of child themes – is done within the Theme Customizer, and will be available for you to see as soon as you toggle the option.
This greatly closes the gap between what the user expects to happen, and what actually happens – they are able to see the result in real time.
Scratching My Own Itch
Secondly, because I’m scratching my own itch with this theme, I’m not incorporating anything into it that I wouldn’t use myself.
This means that it’s going to including only the features that I use regularly when blogging, and none of the extra things that may come in handy.
Sure, those features may be implemented in the form of plugins that I may make available – who knows – but the core theme itself is going to be a very focused offering only the things that I use on a daily basis.
And since its something that I’ll be using, this means that I’ll be dogfooding this theme prior to public release. I’ll be able to test it out, put it to the test against my own workflow, as well as garner critique and feedback from those of you who will be reading the content through the theme.
Support For WordPress 3.8 (And Other Plugins)
I’ve been working on the theme since prior to WordPress 3.7 and have been keeping development up to par with WordPress as it’s undergone development up through the current version.
Because of that, I’m able to make sure that all of the code is up to par with the latest WordPress standards and that the theme feels as natural as possible given the platform on which it’s running.
In addition to that, I’m also using things like:
- Theme Check
- Log Deprecated Notices
- `WP_DEBUG`
- `SAVEQUERIES`
- Experience that comes with having a theme audited by Automattic prior to releasing it to WordPress.com
- WP Test
- …and much more to make sure it is as robust as possible.
Finally, there a number of plugins that bloggers use – such as WordPress SEO – for which this will also play nicely out-of-the-box.
It’s Name?
Of course, what’s a theme without a name?
Though I’ll have more to share about this theme – such as screenshots, a full feature-listing, and so on – as it becomes available, I figure now’s as good as time as any to share its name: Mayer.
The Release Date
Right now, I’m hoping to begin using it for this blog by January 2014 and have it available for sale within the first quarter of next year, as well.
With all of that said, if you have comments, questions, or any other feedback, feel free to let me know in the comments. I’ll continue to provide updates as the theme comes along.
But until then, this is all I’ve got.
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