For most of my blogÂging “career,” I used Pagelines Platform which is, in my opinÂion, the best and easÂiÂest free wordÂpress theme availÂable. If you want an easy, free theme, I highly recÂomÂmend Pagelines.
However, in early 2012 I spent the money to upgrade to a preÂmium theme. Here's why.
Photo by Steven Depolo
1. Page Load Speed
Before I switched themes, my blog was slow. Really slow.
Speed is imporÂtant if you want to keep readÂers on your blog, as this New York Times artiÂcle can tell you, and my page load times were someÂtimes in the 30 secÂond range. Miserable.
Unfortunately, for all its ease, Pagelines was driÂving my readÂers away because of its speed. It was time to upgrade.
The Genesis Framework is among the fastest themes on the marÂket, and I don't have to worry about 30 secÂond load times anyÂmore. On top of that, Genesis is the theme of choice for some of the biggest blogs on the interÂnet, includÂing Copyblogger, Problogger, Chris Brogan, and others.
2. Google Friendly
On top of that, Genesis does an excelÂlent job helpÂing me get to the top of Google. The out of the box SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools make it very easy.
3. Tribe
The most imporÂtant part of your platÂform is your list of fans. Your goal should be, in your platÂform buildÂing, to creÂate a list of hardÂcore, rabid fans who will read anyÂthing you ever write (and then share it with their friends). And the Tribe theme is an effecÂtive way of buildÂing that list.
I started using the Tribe theme after my friend, Jeff Goins, recÂomÂmended it. Tribe enables you to turn your readÂers into subÂscribers easÂier. In fact, it could improve your rate of sign ups by 50%.
Why is this imporÂtant? Because someÂday you're going to pubÂlish a book, and when you do, you'll want to send an email to your most faithÂful fans letÂting them know. Tribe will highly increase the amount of peoÂple who get that email.
It's a fairly simple decision, if you ask me.
Genesis Framework for WordPress.
Since upgradÂing to Genesis, I've been impressed with how fast it is and how simÂple it makes manÂagÂing SEO. Get Genesis for $59.95.
Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris, a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).
Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.
I use PageLines Platform Pro (not free) and have long been frustrated with slow load speeds. Wonder if PageLines is causing it? Probably so since I have stripped everything else down as far as I can. Maybe I SHOULD consider Genesis?
Nice, Beth. Your blog looks great. What’s of the post pop up plugin you’re using?
nRelate Flyout I’ve been really pleased with it.
Hmm… I have nRelate popular posts and love it. I’ll have to give it a shot. Thanks Beth 🙂
If pagelines is running slow could be the use of a bloated functions file. Start by removing unused code… If scared to touch the code… Take Joe’s advice.. Or hire a pro..
Yeah that would be more than I could handle. PHP confuses the heck out of me.
Isn’t it PURE IRONY that I am in the middle of this process as you post this? You are right. You are absolutely on all of this Joe.
Thanks Jim. Good luck with the move. Let me know if I can help (of course).
Thanks buddy. I think I’m in good hands right now, but that doesn’t mean I won’t need help down the road..haha 😉
I just switched to Blog Simple. Love it!
I’m not sure about this, but shouldn’t it be “Tribe enables you to turn your readers into subscribers more easily?” 🙂
Good question, Mark. I think that would be true if “easier” wasn’t a real word. In this case it is. I could be wrong, though.
Ooh, just googled it and found this, FWIW:Â http://bit.ly/MeIkJS
Just curious if anyone has opinions on TemplateToaster ? For reference, it’s located here: http://goo.gl/V29mTk
Clicked on the TRIBE hyperlink…no longer available?
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