Let me start off by saying that I’m not easily impressed by the huge number of “premium WordPress themes” out there. Sure, some of them are really good looking, but in terms of customization, most lack that something that would make me say: “OK, this one I can easily adjust to my needs!”

It seems that almost every premium theme out there focuses to much on delivering a top-notch design, that would make it hard to non design-savvy people to tweak to their own liking. This is where the new Thesis 1.5 theme makes a huge difference.

Options galore

With the huge amount of work I have to deal with daily, designing one of my non-profit blogs would take too much time that I could invest in client work or in Blogsessive. So, I’ve decided to give Thesis a spin for this future blog and I instantly fell in love with the options panel.

Those of you that have tested my Simple Balance theme know that I have a thing for easy layout customization and enough options to cover basically every need people might have.

Well, for the $87 personal license or $164 developer license, Thesis takes this customization to a whole new realm with:

• SEO settings;
• Layout settings: number of columns, position of columns, width of columns;
• Layout styles: Classic blog layout, magazine style layout;
• Typography settings: You can easily adjust the fonts used by almost every important element on your blog;
• Expert, clean written HTML, CSS, PHP code;
• And many more amazingly useful options.

Check out this 12 minute video by its creator – Chris Pearson – and see for yourself what awaits you inside the administration panel.

Working the magic

It’s no wonder that famous bloggers chose Thesis for their main or side projects. Here are some samples of what can be achieved with Thesis:

• Brian Clark’s Copyblogger
• Darren Rowse’s TwitTip
• Chris Brogan’s blog
• and one of my favorites, Blogussion’s recent Thesis redesign by Alex Fraiser.

I for one can’t wait to find that bit of free time to setup Thesis on my side blog. I feel like a kid getting a brand new shiny toy!

So, if you need a really premium WordPress theme that is guaranteed to do the job, you’d better get Thesis version 1.5. Worth every penny!

Disclaimer:This is not a sponsored post. The above post contains affiliate links. I would never use affiliate links or recommend products or services that I do not believe in, so rest assured that the above is my true opinion about Thesis.

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive

When launching a new blog or website there are many things one needs to consider, like choosing a good domain name, choosing the best (or the cheapest) web hosting company, finding the right designer/developer or simply gathering information on how to create and maintain a website.

One such place to help you in the early (and not only) stages of your online journey is Web Hosting Search. According to the Wayback Machine, their history dates back to the year 2000, but only in late 2006, WebHostingSearch.com switched its presentation format to that of a review and information website, which definitely was a wise choice. In late 2007, with a bit of design tweaks, they managed to create a useful web hosting information guide.

Looking for the right domain name?

Then look no further. Web Hosting Search helps you find available domain names through its domain name search tool. You can either input your desired name (like MyWebsite.com) or a keyword around which you’d like to get suggestions of names. Either way, the results will tell you if your initial search is available as a domain name and also present you with a list of available alternatives, based on variations of keywords, synonyms and concepts similar to those you’ve first provided.

Screenshot illustrating a query for the keyword “design”.

Until now, this tool has helped me twice. Once to come up with some of those available names for bloggers I’m offering on Blogsessive, and once to not only suggest a good domain name for a project, but actually the idea of the project itself. I’ll tell you more about this new project when things will start shaping up.

Domain secured, but what about the hosting?

Whatever you’re looking for when it comes to hosting, you’re bound to find with their help. Are you looking for cheap web hosting, WordPress hosting, eCommerce hosting, reseller plans, VPS or dedicated servers? They have the right information, easy to access, well structured, reviewed and rated, split across continents and countries.

Screenshot illustrating a list of WordPress hosting providers.

Each hosting company in the database has a dedicated page covering general company information including up to date contacts, hosting plans with complete features, WHS’ grade and a useful PROs and CONs section.

The only thing I could think of that it’s not implemented on these review pages is a user based rating system. Sure, there’s a section where you could ad your own testimonial, but let’s be honest, how many of us are really willing to type that much? A simple rating system would be more than enough and it could run in parallel with WHS’ own rating like:

WHS Rating: 94%
User Rating: 89% (with option to add own rating)

If all this information is not enough for you to make a decision, you could always try the advanced web hosting search, and believe me, it really is an advanced form, covering almost every imaginable feature, from hosting platforms to additional tools like forums, CMS and blogging platforms and many more.

Considering the fact that there are thousands of blogs in the blogosphere covering the web hosting tipc, a nice addition to their “offer” would be a blog widget, similar to CrunchBase’s, a widget that would display a short text along with the company name, the rating and links to WHS’ own review database. This kind of widget would be a great tool for bloggers writing about those specific hosting companies.

Domain? Checked. Hosting? Checked. I need a designer!

Now that the domain name and hosting are secured, you need to look for a designer or developer to help you build you future website. Web Hosting Search has created a directory of small design companies and freelancers across the globe from where you could take your pick.

The great thing about it is that it’s not an open directory. Companies and freelancers need to ask for inclusion and because of this there’s a better chance of finding a serious provider.

Considering that directory submission are subject to editorial approval, I would have expected that each company would have a dedicated page with a small review and list of provided services, along with a user based rating system for those who previously worked with them.

Also, at this time, the directory is too small to actually give you enough choices for your design needs, and it’s mostly built around US companies, but I’m sure that the WHS’ marketing department is currently looking for ways to promote their website and its features. This review stands as proof for that.

A source for information, that’s what it is

Sharp and straight to the point, easy to navigate and with a clean layout, WebHostingSearch gives you all the information you need to build your online presence from scratch and to find web hosting for your new website. Domain names, hosting options and designers aside, their articles and editor blogs are a good way to learn more about the online environment and are definitely two more places to look for on WHS.

Now, all they need to do is to grow their website, to promote it and add more interactive options and I’m positive that when this is done, they’ll have a powerful word in the informational/review market.

Visit WebHostingSearch.com now!

Free PDF eBook: Corporate Blogging Guide by Blogsessive