StudioPress and the Genesis framework provide you with a range of features and services from themes, security, or optimization solutions, so your website runs smoothly. To make it clear, StudioPress is taking care of the design elements of your website, but we will come closer to this throughout the article.
When talking about the world’s most popular website builder, most probably, WordPress is what comes to your mind. And it is true. In fact, 42% of the websites ever created were built on WordPress.
When it comes to choosing a theme for a WordPress website, it really is about each user’s preferences. We are starting to see that themes like Divi by Elegant Themes are on the rise. Divi, unlike StudioPress and the Genesis framework, is a multipurpose WordPress theme.
The fact of the matter is that with a multipurpose theme, you can build any kind of website, whereas, with StudioPress, you choose the plugins and features that are necessary for your specific website. It brings some benefits to the place, such as potentially fast loading times of a website.
Now it is time to dive into StudioPress itself by exploring its top features, advantages, disadvantages, and much more!
Let’s get started.
What is StudioPress?
When building a website with WordPress, you have numerous theme options to choose from. How does then StudioPress differ from the other theme providers?
There might be a bit of confusion among the different terms – Genesis Framework, StudioPress, WordPress. Let us break it down a little to make sure we are on the same page.
First of all, if you decide to choose a StudioPress theme, you need to make sure Genesis Framework is already installed – it goes hand in hand.
To explain the differences, StudioPress uses an analogy of a car to a website. If you think of a car, WordPress would be the engine. Genesis Framework would be the body of the car – dealing with SEO, security, and the primary design. Finally, StudioPress child themes take care of the visuals, and its essence lies purely in design elements.
Broadly speaking, we can say StudioPress child themes are the cherries on the top of the websites built with WordPress.
You can also think of the Genesis Framework as a foundation, without which the StudioPress child themes would be inapplicable.
As previously outlined, StudioPress does the paint job. By now, it should be more-less clear what StudioPress is, but you might find yourself wondering why the term ”child theme” is being used.
According to an explanation by StudioPress, a child theme is a layer of code on the top of Genesis Framework. And this is really good news for the users – this way, when dealing with the final design of a website, the underlying code remains untouched and the overall functionality of the website is not affected.
The StudioPress themes that are currently available were designed either by the StudioPress team or by third parties. Moreover, certainly only the child themes designed specifically for the Genesis Framework can be used with Genesis.
Pricing of StudioPress
Genesis and StudioPress themes pricing structure just recently went through some fundamental changes.
You have several pricing options to get access to StudioPress themes. At first, you indeed need to make sure Genesis Framework is running without any problems, and this can be done by either of the three following ways:
WP Engine, the creator behind Genesis and StudioPress is a provider of various hosting solutions offered on different plans. The prices differ depending on what is included in the package, ranging from $25/month up to $291/month. In addition to the hosting services, what applies to all the plans is that you get access to the Genesis Framework and the 10 best themes. Purchasing one of the Flywheel plans (as well by WP Engine) also comes with access to Genesis and the themes.
Another way is to purchase Genesis Pro, which costs $360/year, and you get access to the Genesis Framework and all the 35 StudioPress child themes. In contrast to the previous offer, you don’t have to host on WP Engine.
As of some newly released changes, Genesis Framework itself is now available for free.
There is no longer an option to buy a single theme. Every theme comes together with the Genesis Framework and the prices are on the scale from $49 to $129.
Reasons to Use StudioPress
- All themes are mobile responsive.
- Modern design.
- It is easy to switch between the child themes.
- Fast loading times.
- Security.
- Different languages are available.
- Great customer support.
- Clean code.
Top Features of StudioPress
1. Mobile Responsiveness
Nowadays, it is not a question of whether it is important to build a website that looks good on other devices than computers. Because, honestly, it really matters.
All the themes that StudioPress offers are mobile responsive so they look good on mobile devices. It means the overall layout of a website adapts to the screen – no additional zooming and adjusting are needed. The HTML5 makes it possible for a website to be mobile-friendly.
Having a mobile responsive design is not only essential because it looks good, but it also adds to the user’s experience in general.
Moreover, back in 2015, Google rolled out an update thanks to which mobile-friendly web pages are enriched with the possibility to rank higher. However, it should be noted that mobile-friendliness is not the only factor affecting the rankings, therefore, pages with great content can still rank higher, even if mobile-friendliness is missing.
2. Different Languages
One of the valuable features worth mentioning is that every theme comes with the possibility to choose out of around 30 supported languages, even RTL languages.
All the themes are compatible with the WordPress Multilingual plugin that allows users to run multilingual websites. In addition, the sites are search engine optimized and the translations are linked together. This way, it also assures you to get the right traffic, depending on the language of the website.
3. Wide Range of Plugins
Even though the StudioPress child themes are of high quality, there is a possibility to take your website to another level. Multiple plugin options offered by StudioPress allow people to add on functionality and user-friendliness to a website.
Whether you want to improve your visibility by displaying social media icons, integrate WooCommerce with Genesis, or simply track outbound links from your website, you will definitely find a good fit suitable for your demands.
4. Fast Loading Times
The term user experience was already mentioned in the mobile responsiveness section. In addition, we can definitely say fast loading times only add to the experience users spend on your website.
Websites built on WordPress using the StudioPress themes are characterized by this beneficial feature. The fast loading times are achieved thanks to the fact that less code was used when creating the themes.
It is a fact of today that finding a perfect theme that is also fast requires quite a lot of time and research to do. There is always a risk that themes stuffed with lots of features will be slower. Contrarily, the child themes are fast and there is always an option to add a plugin depending on your needs.
5. Support
Purchasing a StudioPress theme for your WordPress website means getting some additional services in the package, such as support. It is completely normal that some doubts come along the way and in that case, there are professionals ready to assist you with your Genesis Framework and the StudioPress child themes.
In the table below, you can see an overview of what kind of support you can expect to get from StudioPress.
Simply put, you can expect that issues connected to practical things such as the installation of Genesis and StudioPress child themes come with full support. However, the support team will not assist you with writing CSS or PHP code, or the third-party child theme & third-party hosting platform errors.
In fact, there is a possibility to hire a developer or a designer to help you with specific requirements regarding customization or design.
And in case the issue is not that serious to reach out to the experts, you can rely on the StudioPress community to find out if there is someone with a similar issue.
6. Money-back Guarantee
It is not unusual that sometimes, a product doesn’t comply with your expectations or you simply realize it is a no-go for you. In that kind of situation, StudioPress assures you of a 60-day money-back guarantee when purchasing Genesis Pro.
7. Modern Design
Backend functionality undoubtedly plays a crucial role, but the design should not be underrated. Remember what is the primary purpose of StudioPress child themes? To take care of the final appearance of a website. And this central role is fulfilled excellently.
The themes have a fresh, modern design that allows you to use the website without that feeling of confusion. There is also a possibility to try demos when it comes to themes that caught your attention the most. This way, you can try out how it looks in practice, which will help you to make the right decision.
8. SEO & Security
Genesis Framework and the child themes also take care of the SEO foundation of your website. The themes were search optimized by an expert Greg Boser. Moreover, the Genesis Framework is being automatically updated so the code stays optimized.
On the other hand, Mark Jaquith put together his skills and knowledge to make Genesis Framework as secure as possible. We all know security is one of the critical aspects of the digital space in general, but sometimes we tend to underestimate it until something happens. It is therefore important to know that with Genesis & the child themes, it is taken care of the security.
9. It is Easy to Switch Between Different Themes
We previously mentioned that when dealing with the final design, the functionality of a website is not affected. It also applies to cases when you want completely switch to another theme – the body remains untouched, as it is an aspect within the Genesis Framework.
How to Get Started With StudioPress – Complete Guide:
As it can be seen in the pricing details section, you have an option to get access to StudioPress themes by choosing any of the hosting plans by WP engine or choosing the Genesis Pro, which is perhaps the most convenient option.
In the following guide, we will go step by step through the process of signing up for Genesis Pro as well as the installation process!
Step 1
The first step of getting started with Genesis Pro is to click on the ”Sign up” button on the main page of StudioPress.
Step 2
You will be redirected to the WP Engine website, where you are required to create an account along with providing your billing information. It really is an easy process and after this step, you are ready to start using the Genesis Framework & the child themes.
Step 3
Now the installation part comes into place. To install Genesis & the child themes from inside WordPress, first, you need to go to Appearance, Themes, and then click on ”Add new”.
Step 4
On the new page, click on ”Upload Theme”.
Step 5
The final step is to click on ”Choose File” and find the theme file saved on the computer. When this is done, you are ready to press the button ”Install Now”.
Step 6
After installing the Genesis Framework, you will also need to install a child theme. To do so, click on ”Return to Themes page” and repeat steps 3-5.
Advantages of StudioPress
StudioPress is providing you with elegant and modern themes for your website. We can definitely say that the fast loading time is one of the most valuable advantages, along with reliable security.
A responsive mobile-friendly layout can also be considered as a strength, that will only add to the value of your website, plus there are higher chances that users will perceive your site in a positive way.
In addition, there is the possibility to add various plugins to make the website according to your specific needs. Furthermore, the support team is ready to assist you and in case you want to try to solve the issue by yourself – you can do so with an aid of different tutorials and materials from StudioPress.
Disadvantages of StudioPress
When it comes to disadvantages, a lower degree of customization is definitely an issue for some users.
What is worth mentioning is that the themes might not be the right fit for complete beginners, since the website will probably require installing some extra plugins, to make ti final result look and function as you wish to.
Conclusion
Choosing the right theme for your WordPress website might become a lengthy and demanding process. What is important to stress is that the different themes do not only differ in the design, but also in the quality, smoothness, or speed.
StudioPress child themes and the Genesis Framework can definitely guarantee your ”basic” WordPress website will be equipped with modern design, fast loading times, search engine optimized body, and mobile-responsive layout. Moreover, there is no need to worry about security issues.
With so many options to go for these days, StudioPress child themes can be considered as one of the most practical and the best options in the business!
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