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Genesis Framework To Become Free, StudioPress Announces Changes

Yesterday, StudioPress announced several changes to its themes and marketplace coming on or around June 8. For those outside its community, the company will be making its Genesis Framework available for free. The company is overhauling its marketplace, no longer selling individual themes.

StudioPress’s selection of themes will soon be available only through a Genesis Pro, WP Engine hosting, or Flywheel hosting account. The company’s ProPlus customers will gain access to the Genesis Blocks Pro and Genesis Custom Blocks Pro plugins.

The theme shop has been shifting gears since its acquisition in 2018 by WP Engine. While it still caters to freelancers and agencies, its audience has grown to include a more diverse user base. One year ago, WP Engine launched a Genesis Pro Add-On, offering a suite of StudioPress’s Genesis products to its customers.

Chris Garret, the StudioPress Marketing Director at WP Engine, wrote in the article that one of the reasons for these changes was aimed at “focusing our product and engineering efforts on preparing the Genesis community for Full Site Editing with the Gutenberg block editor in WordPress Core.”

Last fall, StudioPress launched an open beta of its upcoming Genesis Block Theme. While there has been little news of it lately, it is expected to land sometime this year alongside WordPress’s block-based theming system. In 2020, the company also rebranded an earlier plugin acquisition, Atomic Blocks, to Genesis Blocks. It later released a developer-centric Genesis Custom Blocks plugin.

The company is also retiring all but its top 10 most popular child themes. Retired themes will be archived and still available to existing customers, and the development team will issue security updates if and when necessary.

“As we have discussed in the past, there are big changes coming to WordPress with the introduction of Full Site Editing themes,” wrote Garret. “While this new way of building themes will be optional (especially at first), we’ve decided to focus most of our product and engineering efforts for Genesis related products on preparing to take advantage of these new capabilities.”

Releasing the Genesis theme for free will open a larger audience for StudioPress and ease some friction points.

“This has been one of the biggest asks in all of Genesis and beyond,” wrote Garret. “Gating Genesis Framework and Sample Theme behind a pay-wall causes confusion for people buying Genesis [child] themes from 3rd party theme providers and limits the number of people who can build with Genesis Framework.”

The team is also dropping its marketplace fees for third-party creators. Vendors, while still being listed, will need to handle payment processing on their own. The “buy” button on StudioPress will redirect customers to the vendor sites.

In the past, the Genesis community has been a bit of a walled garden. While there are still commercial plans, these changes can potentially bring in fresh creative talent who might not have chosen to build on top of Genesis in the past — payments are always barriers to entry for some. Genesis has always been the foundation, but the value non-developer customers will see is in the child themes and plugin add-ons.

With the loosening of the review guidelines in the coming months, I would like to see Genesis land in the free theme directory. It would not pass the current rules, but there may not be any holdups a bit down the road. If it will be free anyway, why not? It would be a gesture of goodwill toward the community while offering a robust and mature product into the directory. From the business end, it is sure to drive more customers to the StudioPress commercial offerings. It could be a win for everyone.

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Genesis Block Theme Beta, StudioPress Pursuing a Block-First Future

On November 11, StudioPress announced an open beta for its Genesis Block Theme. This is a pivotal moment, or at least one moment in a series of significant moments, for adoption of the block editor. Feel free to call me on this in a year or two if it does not pan out.

The original Genesis theme is the foundational tool that 1,000s of developers use to build many 1,000s more websites across the web. Over the past decade, StudioPress has remained one of the top-tier commercial WordPress theme companies, and it has done so on the back of its Genesis product. It has also remained an important part of the company’s offering since WP Engine acquired it in 2018.

While WP Engine and StudioPress have bet big on the block editor with products like Genesis Blocks, the Genesis Block Theme will be a game-changer when it launches as a finished product, likely sometime next year.

This is not necessarily because StudioPress will offer a better product than what many others are creating. It is about one of the largest theme development companies shifting toward a block-first approach. Others will fall in line. Or be left behind.

WP Engine and StudioPress have done this slowly and strategically, thoughtfully transitioning their user base into the block world. With WP Engine’s acquisition of Atomic Blocks (now Genesis Blocks) and bringing on the Block Lab team earlier this year, the company is setting itself up to continue pushing what developers and users can do with WordPress’s block system. The Genesis Block Theme is the next step in what I am assuming is a long list of product ideas the company is pursuing.

Editing a layout in the editor while using the Genesis Block theme beta.
Using the Genesis Blocks plugin with the Genesis Block Theme beta.

Typical Genesis-based child themes, at least those directly sold by the StudioPress team, have always catered to those who prefer a more minimalist-get-out-of-the-user’s-way approach to design. Many of them should make an easy transition to the block editor. Add a few style adjustments here, make a few tweaks there, and, you have a theme that is fully capable of handling the block editor. It is a testament to the company’s design chops when it does not really matter what WordPress is doing under the hood. The theme designs hold up regardless.

Times are changing, however. The StudioPress team is looking at WordPress 5.7, which is expected to land in the spring of 2021, and getting ready to handle the launch of the WordPress site editor.

David Vogelpohl, the VP of Web Strategy for WP Engine, left specific instructions on how to test the Genesis Block Theme beta in the announcement. One of the key items in that list is to skip modifying the theme directly or using the customizer settings. The goal is to identify pain points when approaching site design via blocks. It is good to start shifting how the Genesis user base approaches building sites in general.

He also asks testers to install the Genesis Blocks plugin. It is a library of various blocks, sections, and layouts for building block-based content. This will help both developers and users become more accustomed to the shift in building with the company’s key product.

Vogelpohl teased a “Genesis X” project in May that would focus on pushing the boundaries of the block editor and, eventually, full-site editing. Deciding against launching a separate product, the team has been pushing features from this project into Genesis Blocks. Three weeks ago, StudioPress launched its new Collections feature, which was born from Genesis X.

“You can think of Collections like a theme’s block-based demo content, but available on-demand as you build out content vs. only during one-click-theme-setup features within the framework today,” said Vogelpohl.

Popup overlay to select from a Genesis Blocks collection.
The Slate Collection from the Genesis Blocks plugin.

Collections are essentially categorized page sections or entire layouts that share a similar design aesthetic. Genesis Blocks currently has one Collection titled Slate available for free. In practice, a user can already build out nearly an entire site with just this single Collection. This seems to be the direction that Genesis and its line of products are heading. Everything is pretty much plug-and-play. Select a few layouts for various pages. Click a few buttons. Customize the content. And, voilà — a turnkey system for building websites.

StudioPress must wait for the site editor to land in WordPress 5.7 before it can handle everything. Site headers, footers, and sidebars still require customization outside of the block editor.

Right now, the Genesis Block Theme beta is nothing out of the ordinary. It is essentially a base theme that allows the accompanying Genesis Blocks plugin to shine. It will also allow the development team to test ideas based on user feedback in the coming weeks and months. Vogelpohl said they will eventually tackle full-site editing based on what they learn from the beta run’s feedback.

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WP Engine Launches Genesis Pro Add-On for Customers, More Features in the Works

Managed web hosting company WP Engine launched the new Genesis Pro add-on for customers of its hosting service today. The add-on brings additional block editor features for users who are using a Genesis-based WordPress theme.

Genesis is a parent theme developed by StudioPress. WP Engine acquired the theme development company in 2018. Later that year, the company took the first steps toward adding compatibility with the block editor for Genesis customers, becoming an early adopter of the new editing experience.

“Beyond just being ‘compatible,’ Genesis will play a big role in being Gutenberg-First,” Jason Cohen, CTO of WP Engine, said of future plans nearly two years ago. “That means not only supporting the software and ideals of Gutenberg but using them for new features. In doing so, it’s our intention to light the way for the countless agencies and developers who use WordPress to fuel incredible digital experiences that are made even easier with Gutenberg.”

Today’s Genesis Pro launch is another step on that journey. WP Engine is currently rolling out the add-on as part of its managed hosting service. The cost is $30/month ($360/year) for an unlimited number of sites.

The current plan is to also make the Genesis Pro plugin available via the StudioPress website in the early summer. The company is not formally committing to that timeframe yet, but users not on WP Engine’s hosting service should expect it this year. The price for Genesis Pro will be available for $360/year, which is at the same rate as the hosting add-on.

The reason behind the early launch for web hosting clients seems to be twofold based on the announcement post. David Vogelpohl, VP of Web Strategy for WP Engine, said the company could launch the product faster and increment with the launch for its hosting customers. They are also able to make sure the payment system scales, which StudioPress now uses.

“Genesis Pro’s capabilities are expressed in a single plugin today, but may be provided in multiple plugins, WP adjacent services, or other means in the future based on architectural decisions of any particular feature,” said Vogelpohl.

Watch a quick video on Genesis Pro:

Genesis Pro Features

Screenshot of a image and text layout from Genesis Pro.
Example layout from the Genesis Pro add-on.

The add-on includes a robust set of options that are primarily aimed at helping users build their webpages with custom blocks and designs. The following features are the foundation of the add-on:

  • Block Library: Includes 17 custom blocks, such as a testimonial and pricing block.
  • Page Layouts: Offers 22 full layouts for product, portfolio, team, and other pages.
  • Content Sections: Adds 38 customizable content sections.
  • Permissions System: Allows admins to set editing permissions on a per-block basis.
  • Customization: Users can create and share custom sections and layouts with content creators.

Most of the options seem to be under a pop-up modal on the post-editing screen that should allow users to insert blocks directly into their post or page content. More blocks, sections, layouts, and other content-creation tools are currently in the works.

Screenshot of the Genesis Pro block editor modal.
Layout selector from the Genesis Pro add-on.

The add-on features are mostly standard fare in comparison to many of the block libraries and suites available throughout the WordPress ecosystem. Of course, these will have the StudioPress spin on them and likely be of high quality based if past work is any indication. With the launch out of the way and the foundation in place, it should be much easier for the team to churn out more customization options for end-users.

The most unique feature is probably around the block permissions system, which few companies have truly tackled. For site administrators who work with multiple creators, setting up editing permissions for individual blocks can be useful. If the user experience for this system works well, it will be a huge selling point for some site owners.

Screenshot of the block permissions settings for Genesis Pro.
Block permissions settings for Genesis Pro.

Genesis X

Vogelpohl teased another project the team has been working on titled “Genesis X,” which is separate from the Genesis Pro project. It is an experimental plugin version of Genesis that will be available to StudioPress customers at no additional charge. The work thus far has centered on what Genesis will look like in a world where full-site editing is available through WordPress itself.

“The current version of Genesis X focuses on helping site creators easily manage global styles across their site, customize and manage blocks, as well as other capabilities to help users win with full-site editing in WordPress core,” said Vogelpohl. “Genesis X is being built core-adjacent and is not a replacement for the block editor. It is designed to work with the block editor.”

Vogelpohl said the first objective of the project is to provide analogs for features in Genesis that would not work in a parent theme structure within the full-site editing context. “After achieving that parity in ways that make sense, we will be focused on the advanced block capabilities as well as other features currently on our roadmap,” he said.

The company is putting a lot of weight and resources behind the transition from pre-block WordPress and the upcoming features that WordPress will offer via the block system. Right now, they have a team of 15 employees working on solutions with Genesis.

“The overarching theme is that Genesis X is being architected not to just help the Genesis community adapt to full-site editing in core, but for any user of WordPress to adopt full-site editing in a way that sets them up for the best chance of success,” said Vogelpohl.

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Brian Gardner Steps Down From StudioPress

Photograph of Brian Gardner at a coffee bar with his laptop open.

Brian Gardner announced he was stepping down from his role with StudioPress this past Friday. Last year, WP Engine acquired StudioPress. After staying on board for the remainder of his contract, Gardner stepped down from his role with the company.

“The past 15 months have gone by quickly, and it sometimes feels like yesterday that we made the announcement,” Gardner said in his post. “In the same breath, it has also felt like forever.”

For many in the WordPress community, Gardner needs no introduction. He’s the founder of StudioPress and co-created Genesis with Nathan Rice, one of the most popular WordPress themes today. In many ways, he’s the father of the modern professional WordPress theme ecosystem, becoming one of the first theme authors to figure out that you could make a living by providing WordPress products.

He’s unafraid of letting his personal geek flag fly in his online life. He quotes Sarah McLachlan, is a self-affirmed Starbucks addict, runs marathons, and loves family trips to Disney World.

For many theme authors in the WordPress community, he’s an inspiration. Even as a former business competitor, I’ve always admired his work. More than that, I’ve admired how he runs his business. He never needed to be flashy. He never needed to create controversy for PR. He, almost quietly, built up a successful company. The splashes he made came from the products he and his company released.

In 2007, Gardner released the Revolution WordPress theme to the public for sale. Some may argue that Revolution was the catalyst for the commercial WordPress themes ecosystem. There were several theme business startups around the same time. Revolution at least played a pivotal role in the market’s early growth.

Gardner launched the Revolution business in 2008, but quickly rebranded to StudioPress in 2009 after some legal issues with the name. By late 2010, StudioPress merged with Copyblogger.

Hindsight: The Biggest Regrets After 12 Years

When building a successful company, it’s easy to look back on things that could’ve been handled differently. There are deals passed up, ideas that flopped, and products that didn’t scale.

“My biggest regret was not starting with (or switching to) a recurring business model,” said Gardner. “I think I left a lot of money on the table by not doing that, but once I merged StudioPress into Copyblogger Media, we decided to leave it as is and use the former as a doorway into our company’s ecosystem.”

Many theme companies in the early days had lifetime sales. It’s unlikely many could foretell how they’d need to scale for 10 or 20 years down the line. The concept was relatively new in the WordPress space. Gardner kept up with the model despite most theme shops moving to subscription-based sales, which typically scale better in the long term.

From a personal standpoint, I think I could have done better. There were a few seasons (some short and others a bit longer) where I strayed away from my involvement at StudioPress. While I justified it by thinking that it was OK to pursue side projects and other things, I realize looking back that jeopardized the trust our customers had in the brand. I think I may have leaned too heavily on the fact that we had a team, but in the same breath, I think it was necessary for StudioPress to outgrow the label of ‘Brian Gardner themes.’ This emphasis really helped with the transition after WP Engine acquired StudioPress.

Building a Community Over Software

“Without a doubt, it’s the Genesis community,” Gardner said when asked what he’s most proud of with his time at StudioPress. “When Nathan Rice and I set out to build Genesis (the framework), we were trying to solve a software problem and bring a better user experience for our customers.”

Instead of building software, he learned what he was building was a community. After creating a showcase page for people using the Genesis theme, he kept getting requests for people to build child themes. This led to the creation of the Genesis Developers page, which provided a way for people within the community to earn a living.

“While community has always been important to me,” Gardner said, “I didn’t realize the ripple effect that creating a solid piece of software would have.”

Gardner said the developers page created a way to pay it forward to the people who had helped him build a successful company. The idea has remained a success, and there are many designers within the larger WordPress community who list custom Genesis design work in their credentials.

“I have had the pleasure of being able to meet and spend time with members of the community—from talking about their success to future plans,” said Gardner. “This past year at WordCamp US in Nashville, I was able to fully comprehend the level in which lives had been changed by what we had done—and those are the moments I could not be any prouder of what I built.”

What’s on the Horizon?

“Heh. The million-dollar question, right?” responded Gardner to whether he plans to continue building themes. He doesn’t have any plans to create a new theme business, and any themes that he does build will be built for Genesis and made available from his website.

“Over the past few years, I have developed a particular love for minimalist design, and I want to spend some of my time and creative energy there.”

Gardner is currently available for hire as a website designer through Authentik, a design and development studio that he founded. Authentik specializes in branding and growth/audience building. The team builds everything from landing pages to more complex multi-system environments.

However, there may be more to come from Gardner in the future. “I have created some personal space to pursue collaborations and consulting,” he said. “I have a renewed focus on my blog and want to spend more time consuming content—reading books, listening to podcasts, and meeting up with folks locally. My heart to help fellow creators is as strong as ever, and I feel there are some really interesting opportunities to do that.”

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30 Great Genesis Child Themes For WordPress

Have you ever visited a website that dazzled you? All the colors and functionality. The way the page scrolls. And the way a button dances when you place your cursor over it. An impressive website can turn visitors into customers […]