thesis customize category pages

Art of Blog has launched a brand new re-design built by Your’s Truly on Thesis, and packed with a plethora of new features including post summary boxes, custom category and author pages, popular posts with thumbnails, and a brand new homepage layout to highlight the latest featured content. The Evolution Before we get into the good stuff, let’s hop in the way back machine for a second and check out the evolution of Art of Blog: Version 1.0 Circa August 2006 Version 2.0 Circa April 2007 Version 3.0 Circa November 2009 Features Alright, alright on to the goodies :) The Homepage Where do I begin? This homepage is absolutely packed with a ton of features (and some complex code humming along in the background). First of all, there are three featured articles at the top. These represent three of the latest and greatest articles you’ll find on the blog. They have custom excerpt lengths, and they’re filtered from teasers featured in the main column. Oh, and did I mention those titles are overlayed with CSS? That’s right. No clunky plugins here ;) Secondly, the teaser images are created using the post thumbnail system that is new WordPress 2.9. So are the popular and favorite post thumbnails. Oh, and so are the featured posts. The best part? There’s only one image to upload for each post. WordPress does all of the resizing automatically. The Thesis post image system is great, but this is a whole new dimension. I’m excited to see if Mr. Pearson comes out with something better in Thesis 2.0! The Sidebars There isn’t quite as much to yell and scream about here, but those favorite and popular post lists are done without plugins. And the styling is extremely flexible. Did I mention that its all done with hooks? No widgets cluttering this database! Single Posts This is where the new skin really delivers the goods! This is where the new skin really delivers the goods! Nick and I.
If you’ve followed my advice over the last few years, then you already know how to use WordPress categories effectively.But now that you’re using categories in a meaningful way, do you know how to get your category pages to rank well and dominate in the search engines?Using this tip that I’m going to share with you today, you’ll be able to do just that.However, before we begin, I need to let you in on a little secret—by default, WordPress does not provide you with the controls necessary to create category pages that have maximum SEO juice.Fortunately, this is where I come in :D Add a Unique Headline and Content to Your WordPress Category PagesHere’s the trick: All you need to do to get your category pages to slay in the search engines is to add a unique headline and some unique content.Jaw-droppingly simple? Yep.Possible with a default installation of WordPress? Nope.But it is possible with the Thesis Website Framework, which adds these essential SEO controls to “edit category” pages in the WordPress interface:See the Introductory Headline and Introductory Content fields in the image above?By adding unique content to those fields on each of your category pages, you will make your WordPress category pages rank better in search engines.How Sugarrae Uses Thesis to Build Category Pages that RankWithout a doubt, my favorite example of someone who uses Thesis category controls to rank like crazy is Sugarrae.Check out her affiliate marketing category page, which consistently ranks in the top 10 for the hyper-competitive term “affiliate marketing.”See the introductory content before the list of posts? It ain’t just sexy, folks—it is essential for getting the maximum SEO benefit from your category pages, and Thesis makes it all possible.With Thesis, you can take your site to new heights by employing the same strategies as professionals like Sugarrae.If you’ve never checked it.
When you create a category page, your theme, by default, lists all of your articles marked with that category. Some themes show post titles, other themes show full articles, and Thesis gives you the power to change it at will with just a few clicks. However, if you truly want to make your WordPress category pages both people and search engine friendly, here’s what you can do next: Create Introductory Content for Category Pages When people click to your category page, do they really want you to bombard them with all of your articles at once? Absolutely not. No one likes to feel overwhelmed on a website. And worse, the overwhelming feeling of clutter triggers immediate distrust. To solve this, you must create introductory content on your WordPress category pages. I’ll explain. Instead of throwing people head first into your content, you set expectations. You tell people what to expect, and what they can learn from the articles in your category. As an example, let’s say you had a category page all about real estate investing. On your page, you’d introduce the main ideas behind real estate investing, and the types of articles people will find on your site. Then, you should list your articles. Think about it. From a usability standpoint, people who hit your category page would feel welcomed instead of assaulted. (Note, adding that content to each category page can be difficult, but I have a simple solution for you later in this article) Why Introductory Content is Great for Search Engine Optimization You know the deal. Google wants to show the BEST pages in their search results because it creates a great user experience for their searchers. Now, do you think a list of links to your posts is a useful page? Again, absolutely not. Google wants to send people to the information, not to a list of links. When you include introductory content, you turn your category pages from a.