Genesis is one of the most popular frameworks for WordPress and the Genesis child themes are some of the best templates available both in terms of their appearance and underlying code.
However, if you want to take advantage of the power of this theme framework, and customize the existing child themes that are available for it, or even build your own custom child theme from scratch, then today we will be looking at the best resources for using and customizing Genesis and its child themes, in order to help you build a site that exactly meets your needs.
Genesis Resources for Getting the Most from This Framework
According to a study by the Hacker Target website, 20% of the top 500,000 websites are powered by WordPress, and on those sites Genesis was the most popular theme in use.
This means that by choosing Genesis you are not only picking the most widely used framework, but also one that is well supported by its community of users. To help you connect with that community and find the best resources for making the most of this framework, here are some great websites to take a look at.
The StudioPress Forums
It stands to reason that StudioPress, the creators of Genesis, and the producers of the largest number of Genesis child themes would have an active support forum for users of this framework. However, sometimes it’s easy to overlook the most obvious places to find support and for that reason it is worth highlighting this very helpful community of users.
Anyone can create an account at the StudioPress Community Forums and then begin asking for help, and hopefully responding to any questions when possible. The tutorials and code snippets sections are always worth checking out too.
There is also a good showcase and feedback section on the forums for getting inspiration for your custom designs, and getting feedback on your creations.
Visit the StudioPress Community Forums
WP Sites
WP Sites is run by WordPress contributor and consultant Brad Dalton. Brad shares his expertise in Genesis and its popular child themes by posting up regular tips and advice on customizing the platform to get the most from it.
There are 100s of useful pieces of code and information on the WP Sites blog, so whatever you are trying to achieve, there is likely to be a solution posted on the site.
Brad also offers a site setup service which includes WordPress, a theme, and plugin installation and configuration service to get your new site up and running as quickly as possible.
Visit WP Sites
Sridhar Katakam
Over at Sridhar Katakam’s website there’s a steady stream of Genesis tips and tutorials being posted in a regular basis. The content covers general Genesis customisations, as well as those for specific child themes, such as Magazine Pro, and also some more generic WordPress guides.
All the content is nicely tagged and categorised, making it easy to find related advice and more information on the topic you are interested in.
If you need more help beyond the free tutorials and guides, then you can hire Sridhar for some custom WordPress development work via his services page.
Visit Sridhar Katakam
Carrie Dils
Carrie Dils is a freelance web developer with many years’ experience in the game, who now focuses entirely on WordPress development using the Genesis Framework.
As well as offering her services for hire, Carrie’s blog contains lots of great advice on using the Genesis Framework, plus more general WordPress tips and guides. The Genesis Framework content is broken down into theme-specific tutorials, as well as more general Genesis Framework tips that will work on any child theme.
Visit Carrie Dils
Genesis Office Hours
Carrie Dils also runs a live weekly podcast answering questions about using this WordPress framework. Each week she is joined by other members from the Genesis user community and together they answer questions posted to Twitter using the #gohchat hashtag. Alternatively you can ask your questions in advance via the form on the Genesis Office Hours website
You can view the podcast archive here and join the community on Google+ to stay in touch, or subscribe to the podcast feed on iTunes.
Visit Genesis Office Hours
87 Studios
Kris runs the 87Studios WordPress blog which covers all the latest news for this platform, as well as a number of WordPress tutorials. He also offers a range of WordPress services at very affordable rates, which can save you a lot of time and effort when it comes to getting your Genesis site up and running, or modifying your existing design.
Kris also covers the fairly recently released Ghost blogging software, so if you want to know more about that platform, check out his site.
Visit 87 Studios
Rise Forums
Although still on the rise, and despite these now free forums being focused on internet marketing and working online in general, many of the members are fans of Genesis and there are some very helpful users who are willing to provide assistance when they can, on matters related to WordPress customizations.
If you want to join a community with a common goal and a shared appreciation for WordPress then Rise Forums is for you.
Join the Rise Forums
Other Resources for Genesis Users:
Here is a quick round-up of some other resources you might find useful for getting started with Genesis and customizing it to meet your needs:
WordPress Genesis for Beginners 2.0 Course by Kim Doyal aka the WordPress Chick
WordPress & The Genesis Framework (Kindle) by Kim Doyal
Genesis Design Framework by Copyblogger
Genesis Newbie StudioPress Tutorials by Philip Gledhill
Genesis Child Theme Tutorials by bobWP
Genesis Tutorials by Slick WP
Genesis Code Snippets by Greg Rickaby
Assorted Tutorials by Bill Erickson
StudioPress TV
If you know of any more good Genesis resources please leave a comment below.
Conclusion
As you can see, if you decide to go down the Genesis Framework route when it comes to setting up your WordPress site, you won’t be going it alone.
While some of the best-selling themes on popular marketplaces like ThemeForest might include more bells and whistles than your average Genesis child theme, the fact that they are so stuffed with features can result in slow loading websites, indecipherable code, and lacklustre support.
This means that in most cases you are better off going with a product from a tried and tested development team, with a strong community behind it providing backup and assistance, and the offerings from StudioPress certainly fall into that category.
It’s not only the themes for this framework that this applies to but also the number of great plugins for extending Genesis that make this a smart choice.
Which is your go to resource for getting support and advice on customizing Genesis and its child themes?
Last Updated: Monday, June 30, 2014