Watch my video on how I’m changing my approach with Thesis to include a lot more Focus.
When I launched Thesis 2 in October of 2012, my goal was to create something that could serve as the foundation for any WordPress design.
That’s why I spent the next 2 years working on Skins, which are simply different designs that run on top of Thesis.
And lemme tell ya—Thesis Skins are just awesome:
- They’re incredibly efficient;
- They share functionality that makes them easy to learn and use; and
- They provide users with lots of non-destructive customization options.
There’s just one little problem, though—almost nobody uses them the right way.
Too many Skins…
The issue with Thesis Skins is the same issue that plagues WordPress Themes—there are too damn many of ’em!
Over the last 6 years, DIYthemes has released 6 official Skins and also maintained two others that have never seen the light of day.
Because of this, I’ve mostly had to spend my time on routine maintenance and compatibility updates instead of “going deep” into any one Skin and creating something truly remarkable.
I had always thought I wanted to lead a burgeoning Thesis ecosystem that would be flush with Skins, Boxes, and anything else you might need to crush it online.
It took me 6 years to realize the end result of that approach would simply turn Thesis into WordPress-lite.
It also took me 6 years to realize I simply don’t have any passion for a quantitative approach to product development.
I only want to Focus on quality!
For the last 8 years, every bit of my work besides Thesis has been qualitative in nature.
The Golden Ratio Typography Calculator, for example, is all about perfect typesetting in any environment (digital or print!). It is a highly focused project with infinite applicability. Quality.
But because of the nature of Skins, my work with Thesis has morphed into this quantitative drudgery that feels a lot more like running a marathon than exploring the wonders of the universe.
No more.
From now on, I’m only going to Focus on the remarkable leverage I can provide for your website.