Check Out the Lifestyle Theme for WordPress

Whether you’re a one-person shop at a kitchen table, or the next Rupert Murdoch (or both), you need to start thinking like a media business.

Say you want to run an online magazine. Or maybe you’re a personal publisher executing on myriad ideas that need more options than a simple blog post can provide.

You’re covering multiple topics, in multiple formats.

You’ve got video, you’ve got text, you’ve got photos … You’ve got the idea.

How do you organize and layout all that content in a meaningful and attractive way for your readers?

Let’s take a look at the Lifestyle theme for WordPress from Copyblogger Media’s StudioPress division.

Lifestyle, simply put, is an elegant frame for everything you’re publishing. Particularly if you’re publishing everything.

Effortless design and layout

Organization and layout of various forms of content is easily the biggest headache facing the magazine publisher.

It’s true that you could drop everything into a traditional blog theme and run with it. But what if you could comfortably create and maintain a magazine-style site that was comparable to the biggest players around?

And what if that site was built on one of the most secure and stable foundations available?

The Lifestyle child theme powered by the Genesis framework delivers just that with your content.

In Lifestyle you’ll find, with a few clicks, just what you need to organize your growing new media presence:

Simple widgets to control and support your video, photography, and in-depth articlesQuick-change between five different color schemes without touching a line of codeEvolve with your site’s growth using six different page layout optionsPowerfully simple navigation control allows you to highlight your most important workLogical category layout that lets your readers get to what they want

Best part is, we’ve only been talking about the skin of your site here.

Let’s move on to the breakthrough that’ll put you into an elite class of hackers and SEOs, without spending a single minute sweating inside a computer science class…

Simplicity and stability

If you’re building a website these days, you’re in luck. The idea of a “framework” has revolutionized the ease and power of what a website (or blog) can do and be.

Genesis is much more than a mere WordPress theme. It’s an underlying framework of immaculate code that’s been built to achieve two general objectives:

1. Spoon-feed Google your content. If you know anything about how SEO works (don’t worry if you don’t, Genesis will take care of a lot of it for you), you know that Google hands out brownie points for clean code. As amazing as search engine are, they’re not as smart or grown-up as you might think. Present them with an orderly, squeaky clean page of code, and you’re well on your way to a solid ranking for your chosen words.

2. Erase the headaches of constant, stressful updates. Everything changes. Nowhere more quickly than on the web. Unless you’re a rockstar developer, being up-to-date on the latest SEO, WordPress, and security developments can be a full-time gig. The Genesis framework responds and adapts to these constant advancements.

So, the power of a framework lies in its simplicity, spotlessness and stability.

With one click of that update button, Genesis handles the fickle problems of SEO and security for you.

And it does all of this without going near the design of your site, which is taken care of entirely through the use of “child themes”.

Uh, what’s a child theme and why should I care?

Think of Genesis (the framework) as your car, including the engine, the transmission and the thousands of parts that make it run.

Lifestyle (and the 30 other child themes from Studiopress) are the paint job that make your car so damn hot. You pick the color, the stripes, and an airbrushed coyote howling at the desert moon (if that’s your thing).

Here’s where the car analogy breaks down (as if it hadn’t already): the really cool thing about using child themes is the ability to change the “paint job” of your site in minutes, without trashing the underlying engine that powers your site.

Want to focus on your photography this year? Drop in Landscape and start snapping away.Bootstrapping a new startup? Easily skin your site in Venture, and then get on with generating revenue.Prefer point-and-click design control over your theme elements? Pick up Prose and unleash your creativity without code.

Whether you’re building a new site, or revamping a classic, child themes allow you the freedom to re-invent yourself without ever touching the critical code underneath.

Website security ain’t easy, until now …

There’s no way around the fact that some very talented, very bad folks are out there hacking away at blogs and websites every day.

Question: when was the last time you updated your WordPress software, or your particular theme’s software?

If you’re anything like me, it’s been a while. You think, “Eh, I can let it go for a bit, can’t be that important…”

Maybe you’re worried that all the work you’ve put into the design and customization of your site will disappear into the digital ether as soon as you punch that ominous “upgrade” button.

The bad news is that not upgrading software is one of the most common reasons websites and blogs get hacked.

The good news is that Brian Gardner has worked like a dog on your behalf, to make the Genesis framework upgrade process a piece of cake.

Painless. Future-proof. Easy.

If you’re more worried about upgrades breaking your site than you are hackers breaking in, you’ve got the wrong theme.

Keep your site (and your readers) safe…

Get Lifestyle + Genesis todayLifestyle’s color and widget design controls to layout your content the way you wantA great-looking magazine-style theme that puts a laser focus on your contentThe considerable SEO and security benefits of the rock-solid Genesis FrameworkUnlimited updates and support (you’re not alone)The go ahead to use Lifestyle on as many sites as you want (no developer surcharge)

Pick up Lifestyle powered by Genesis today.

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s resident raconteur, copywriter, and regular-guy attache for the Genesis framework.

Share--> Copyblogger runs on the Genesis Framework

Genesis empowers you to quickly build incredible websites with WordPress. Whether you're a novice or advanced developer, Genesis provides the secure and search-optimized foundation that takes WordPress to places you never thought it could go.

Take advantage of the 6 default layout options, comprehensive SEO settings, rock-solid security, flexible theme options, cool custom widgets, custom design hooks, and a huge selection of child themes ("skins") that make your Genesis site look the way you want it to. With automatic theme updates and world-class support included, Genesis is the smart choice for your WordPress website or blog.

Find out more about the framework featuresCheck out the Genesis demo and the variety of child themesSee example designs in the Genesis design showcaseBookmark and Promote!Like this post on FacebookSubscribe to CopybloggerBookmark on del.icio.usDigg this postStumble this postFurther ReadingThe Copyblogger WordPress Theme Now Comes in Three ColumnsCopyblogger Weekly WrapThe Copyblogger Theme for WordPressJoin Our StudioPress Affiliate Program and Earn 40% CommissionsA WordPress Theme for Serious Online PublishersSites That Link to this PostNew Theme: Beach « LeituraSemanal | January 18, 2011 Copyblogger Weekly Wrap | Copyblogger | January 22, 2011 CommentsDan @ CustomThemes.net says: January 18, 2011 at 9:03 am

This theme is probably one of the most flexible themes around, we’ve used it for magazines and static business sites all the time. Just look at SalesVeteran.com – it’s using the older version of that theme, and it was all customized to fit those specific needs.

Now that I see this though, I’m reminded that I need to post more articles on that site. OOPS!

Dan

ReplydotCOMreport says: January 18, 2011 at 11:21 am

The Genesis framework has made blogging less stressful. Finding the right theme can be really hectic – until the Genesis framework came along.

ReplyDevin Day says: January 18, 2011 at 9:35 pm

@dan and @dotcomreport I totally agree. It used to take me a lot of time (weeks) customizing themes. Genesis has cut this time for me down to days. I finished TheEntrepreneursBlog in 3 days. I actually used the Prose theme from studiopress, but save just as much time when using the Lifestyle theme.

ReplyRadu Tyrsina says: January 18, 2011 at 9:08 am

The theme looks very freshy!

Replyrunbei says: January 18, 2011 at 9:33 am

I’m a non-programmer who resents any need to tweak CSS/HTML code inside a WordPress theme. And that’s been a fault of CopyBlogger’s previous themes – they claim to do the work, but in fact you do have to dive into code to get what you want. I would gladly acquire and use the Genesis framework if it would let me make nearly all changes through a GUI – like the free Atahualpa theme does. The reason I would even consider switching to Genesis, and it’s a big reason, is the automatic updates. Atahualpa requires me to re-load a good deal of my content manually whenever the theme gets an update – e.g., I have many, many static pages that must be specified by a code number in WordPress/Atahualpa in order to have WordPress handle them correctly. And I fear that all these numbers would change during an update. Etc., etc.

So – can someone assure me that updates in Genesis ARE handled automatically, and that there is NO (or very little) need to tweak code in order to shift items on the home page, etc. I essentially am looking for a sophisticated WordPress theme for stupid or lazy people who just don’t want to bother. (And I do know HTML/CSS.)

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 11:12 am

Thanks for the comments and inquiry. The Genesis Framework and it’s child themes do require CSS knoweldge to customize. However, we do have the Prose child theme which has design point and click controls. As for the updates, yes – Genesis has one-click updates, similar to the way WordPress handles it. You’ll receive a notification in your dashboard that there is an update and from there can update.

ReplyCoffee. Cupcakes. Cards. Oh My! says: January 18, 2011 at 9:36 am

I’ve only been blogging since September and I chose to use the Lifestyle theme for my blog.

Whilst my short blogging journey has been an exciting learning curve, I have been amazed at how easy and adaptable Lifestyle is. Now, mine is basic, but the mind boggles at what an experienced blogger could do with a theme like this!

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 9:46 am

Natalie – thanks so much for the comment and kind words. It’s amazing how popular the Lifestyle theme became, especially in the Mommyblogger world. It’s fun to click through links on the internet and end up on sites built on Lifestyle. (great job on your site, by the way!)

ReplyCoffee. Cupcakes. Cards. Oh My! says: January 19, 2011 at 6:24 am

Hey Brian, thanks for taking the time to check out my blog and reply. I appreciate it. Keep up the great work!

Oh, and further to Runbel’s comment above… if you did implement some ‘point and click’ update controls, I’d love ya even more )

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 19, 2011 at 6:56 am

I hear ya – although very hard to implement design point and click across 31 different themes all of which have different CSS to control.

ReplyTrafficColeman says: January 18, 2011 at 9:55 am

Building an blog has not been this easy in years..these new software’s are making life easier for the newbies to jump board..great product..

“Black Seo Guy “Signing Off”

ReplyLes Sheppard says: January 18, 2011 at 10:05 am

If anyone’s teetering on the edge of buying (this one, or any of the other themes), I can 100% assure you that you won’t regret the investment. We’ve had ALL the benefits claimed, and we’re already using three child themes on our sites with no technical challenges whatsoever. Take the plunge!

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 11:45 am

Hey Les, thanks for coming by and dropping some encouraging words to potential users. VERY happy to hear you’ve deployed a number of child themes and have done it with ease!

ReplyMMello says: January 18, 2011 at 7:35 pm

I’ll take the ride here to ask Brian: can I use a theme for a part of a site and other (Genesis) theme for another part of the same site/blog (for instance: corporate home and internal blog/articles)?

ReplyDevin Day says: January 18, 2011 at 9:08 pm

Lifestyle theme was the theme that originally attracted me to studiopress looong before they transitioned to the Genesis framework. I loved it then and love it more now!

Before the large genesis community, Brian helped me personally on many questions I had with Lifestyle when I first bought it. Class act and developer.

I have also added many other themes to my collection. The very customizable “prose” theme being one of those.

But I have to say what attracts me to studiopress almost as much as Genesis is the Support. You literally have dozens of wordpress pro’s in the forum who are so helpful (SOZO (one of my favorites), Daisy, NicktheGreek, GaryJ, Kris and many more). Not just helpful, it’s more than that. I have so many custom functions I have collected from them creating them for me OR from all the amazing tutorials on the site. This support forum alone could almost be a paid upgrade (you didn’t hear that brian )

I won’t use any other themes – even if I love the design. With security and support of studiopress, it’s just not worth it. I would rather just get a custom theme made on top of Genesis.

I just finished http://theentrepreneursblog.com using the prose theme. Copyblogger was my inspiration for the site because of it’s clean and simplistic style.

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 9:42 pm

Devin, gosh – I don’t even know where to start. Well first off, great job on the Entrepreneur’s Blog design… just gave you some Twitter love on that one. Also, thanks for speaking such kind words about our moderator team on the forums. Ever since I was young I valued customer service, and the StudioPress forum is a reflection of the values that I personally have. It’s always my pleasure to help out as many people as I can – on some day’s it’s not as much as I would like, but on others I make up for it.

The bottom line is that it’s great to hear such feedback from you – mostly about our community. With StudioPress, you don’t buy a theme. You buy entrance to a place to call home.

ReplyDevin Day says: January 18, 2011 at 11:14 pm

Hey Brian, thanks for the twitter love I totally agree with your last statement.

Site note: I would love to have a video based theme for the genesis framework (like some of the press75 vid themes). Any plans coming up for a video centric theme?

Brian Gardner says: January 19, 2011 at 6:58 am

You must be reading our minds because we have a video theme that is 60% through development right now. Hold tight.

Mike says: January 20, 2011 at 12:47 pm

Hey Devin,

I’ll be that 999 other people besides myself would PAY for a step by step guide showing how you took the basic Prose theme to that incredible look that you have today

Hint, hint, hint, hint, hint …

ReplyVivek Parmar says: January 18, 2011 at 10:34 am

Theme is pretty good. content slider+perfect way to use categories.
One thing i like to add this still need some modification like
Tabbed widget in sidebar (which shows popular posts+recent posts + recent comments, tags, etc).
Social Bookmarking icons + footer (extended footer)
Hope after adding these theme, it works a gold coin for anyone

ReplyDonny Gamble says: January 18, 2011 at 11:49 am

I definitely will take a look at this theme because it looks like it offers a lot of flexibility in terms of modifying the theme and streamlined user navigation.

ReplyVert Studios says: January 18, 2011 at 11:52 am

There’s not really a correlation between good code and good rankings. Common sense semantics like “This sounds like a headline…let’s make it a header!” do help search engines. When it comes to site structure, internal navigation and their respective anchor text is what’s really important. If XHTML Strict validation boosted your rankings, I’d be #1 over all my competitors who still use tables.

ReplyBrian Clark says: January 18, 2011 at 4:13 pm

It’s more accurate to say there’s a correlation between bad code and bad search engine rankings. You sound like you run a smart design shop, so I don’t need to tell you that a bunch of the so-called competition out there is slapping together poor designs (and free WordPress themes) that are horribly coded.

The other aspect is the SEO controls built in to Genesis, such as controlling title and meta description tags and other search-related options that would normally require code or even htaccess tweaks. This is not something a normal person knows how to do.

Finally, there’s the stability that comes from separating the underlying HTML from design elements when you change designs. Again, you likely handle that with your work, and I bet you’re expensive because of it.

ReplyVert Studios says: January 18, 2011 at 4:23 pm

I agree with what you’ve said. Actually, I forgot that I have to use a plugin to tweak my title tags and description. It’s strange that the feature isn’t hard-coded into WordPress in the first place. But hey, when you’re using open source, you can’t complain

ReplyMel says: January 18, 2011 at 2:59 pm

This theme looks awesome!

ReplyPaul says: January 18, 2011 at 3:31 pm

Theme looks really robust as does the fraemwork itself. I’ll be purchasing the Pro Plus All-Theme very shortly. One questions though, how easy is it to create a new coloured theme (if at all)? I would really be able to use the lifestyle theme in red.

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 4:21 pm

Glad to hear that Paul. If you’re looking to change a color scheme, all you need to do is replace some hexcodes that are found in the child theme’s style.css file.

ReplySpygearGadgets says: January 18, 2011 at 4:44 pm

Everyone should read and re-read the section about blog security. Same goes for Windows updates for your computer…those updates help keep you safe from the latest hackers who are trying to hack into your blog (or PC). It’s something so simple that can help you avoid a huge potential headache.

ReplyNatan Hajdu says: January 18, 2011 at 5:06 pm

I’m seriously considering this theme. I’ve been pretty happy with the Thrilling Theme so far and I’m wondering how one stacks up against the other or, rather, if there’s a significant enough reason to make the switch. This hacker stuff is news to me, so forgive my ignorance if I’m completely oblivious here.

ReplyDan Thornton says: January 18, 2011 at 5:23 pm

Cool – I’ve been using the Metro theme which Studiopress used to produce on a couple of sites for quite a while now and still really like it, but I’ve been waiting for an updated version on the Genesis framework. I guess I’ve got the excuse to spend some cash upgrading now!

ReplyRalph Kooi says: January 18, 2011 at 5:34 pm

Now I don’t run it on my current website http://www.hothitmedia.com, but thinking about it.
A while ago there was a great deal on problogger which had all theme’s for a great price.. so I got convinced and bought that one.

For one of my affiliate sites (which I had build) the guy used an old version of lifestyle and I wasn’t happy so now I want to redo the whole thing myself. And eventually set up hothitmedia (and others) on the genesis framework.

ReplyMartyn Chamberlin says: January 18, 2011 at 5:44 pm

Hey Robert,

Almost thou persuadest me…

Having an awesome parent theme / child skin isn’t enough. We still need a designer to make it tops. Any recommendations? (Base your thoughts in relation to Copyblogger, because this is the best designed blog on the planet).

ReplyRobert Bruce says: January 18, 2011 at 8:00 pm

Hey Martyn,

Yep, if you want a lot of detailed customization, you’re right. And if you want to get that done, here’s a great group of folks to start with:

http://dev.studiopress.com/developers

ReplyJason Abney says: January 18, 2011 at 7:00 pm

I have used Genesis and the Lifestyle theme on several websites and I can’t recommend it enough. The StudioPress crew rocks and Lifestyle is one of my favorite themes. UltimateHalloweenGuide.com & ShopMadHatterCostumes.com are two of my sites using this theme.

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 18, 2011 at 7:45 pm

Hey Jason – thanks for dropping by and sharing your positive feedback. Definitely appreciate that!

ReplyGraphicDesignBoss says: January 18, 2011 at 11:55 pm

Hey Brian,

I was a “teeterer” for a while but because I couldn’t find any real comparison charts on the benefits for buying any StudioPress themes I didn’t go with it and chose another premium theme Standard Theme for my Graphic Design blog which is to help those who are thinking about starting their own design business. Hence the name

Anyway back to my point. As a graphic designer – I’m used to being sold on tangible solid comparative benefits – usually on proprietary CMS’s vs their competitors. Whereas you and the others in your gang sell me on proof of expert – eg if copyblogger, problogger uses it then it must be good. I’m not against that as you all believe in the product you are selling, but I just think you loose people like me who are used to seeing how you stack up against your competitors – does that make sense?

I’m not being negative or troll like, I’m simply trying to demonstrate that I think there is a HUGE opportunity out there for you with people like me. It must be a reasonable market share I would imagine.

Anyway, hope that helps….

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 19, 2011 at 11:10 am

Thanks for the comment and honesty with it. I personally appreciate the suggestion you’ve made in terms of a comparative chart – definitely something to look into from our marketing team.

ReplyBrian Clark says: January 19, 2011 at 11:37 am

All of the features and benefits of Genesis can be found on the StudioPress home page and the Genesis features page. This blog post is just to provide basic information so you can head over and decide for yourself if Genesis and one of our turn-key designs is right for you.

And sorry Gardner, but I’m not a big fan of Pepsi Challenge marketing.

ReplyRalph says: January 19, 2011 at 1:49 am

Hi Brian,

I’ve been wondering, is there a theme coming out which focuses on sport? I’ve a website currently on an (i believe) old version of lifestyle but I like the rough, edgy look of the Amped theme.
I know you can customize a lot but was wondering if there is something like that coming out?

ReplyBrian Gardner says: January 19, 2011 at 11:09 am

Ralph – at this point, no there isn’t. Most of the themes we have can be turned into a Sport site fairly quickly qith a custom header and a few css changes. Check out the Showcase for samples of sites that were built for niches that are different from what our demos show.

ReplyLeon says: January 19, 2011 at 3:34 am

I am not very happy with my current theme and the support that I am getting. I am looking around and the Studiopress themes look great. I just have to look through the features again and then decide on the one that is right for me. Great post.

ReplyCheryl says: January 19, 2011 at 7:39 am

I am very new to the blogging world and love the Genesis l
Lifestyles theme, is this something I can do myself? Any advice for a complete novice?

Replydesignexpertise says: January 21, 2011 at 4:22 pm

Very clean, user-friendly and it looks great – I really like it!

ReplyJanice says: January 21, 2011 at 7:47 pm

I haven’t yet been able to figure out whether you mean that getting Genesis would require getting an entirely new site, or whether it would help me improve what I have.
I enjoy reading copyblogger for the useful information and thought-provoking articles; thank you.

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