The Beginner’s Guide to Learn Almost Everything About WordPress

So you’ve been blogging for quite sometime now and you’ve been posting random personal and business stuff on one of those free hosted sites. Everything has been going on well so far until one day this free hosted site suddenly announces that it is shutting down and all your content including all your contacts, posts and thousands of images will no longer be available after a certain date. Horrors! You now scramble to download every last post you’ve made and backup all your data before the clock strikes twelve or else everything disappears forever. Have you ever had that happen to you?

And then you stumbled upon WordPress. The thing is you know very little about it and so you start googling about it which is also probably why you ended up here and you are now reading this post. You want to know more.

Below are some useful resources to help jumpstart your WordPress journey. These resources are mainly aimed towards the novice or beginner level so WordPress savvy professionals might find some of these a bit elementary. Nevertheless, these references can someday come in handy whether you are a beginner or a true blue WordPress guru. We would also like to ask our readers to join the conversation by leaving a comment, any helpful suggestions or additional resources to add to our list.

For those who are about to begin their WordPress journey, check out these resources we have compiled to help you get started:

Websites to Bookmark

  • WordPress.com – A blog web hosting service (free) powered by the open source WordPress software. A good starting point on how to learn the how WordPress actually works at the backend and also to familiarize yourself with running a WordPress site. You can always upgrade to Premium status once you know your way.
  • wpmu.org – The number one source for WordPress news, tips, plugins, and theme reviews.
  • WPBeginner.com – A WordPress resource site providing quality tips, tricks, hacks and other resources for the WordPress community.
  • Speckyboy.com – Web design magazine that offers tutorials, time-saving techniques, inspiration, and useful resources for the web including WordPress.
  • wp.tutsplus.com – A site dedicated to teaching people how to use WordPress, develop widgets, plugins and themes.

Books to Read

Channels/Videos to Watch

  • WordPress.tv – A visual resource for all things WordPress including tutorials, updates, and the latest news.
  • WordCamp.tv – Presentations, highlights, and behind-the-scenes look at WordCamps around the world.
  • Lynda.com – Online courses and tutorials on anything WordPress.
  • StudioPress.tv – Step by step video tutorials for the Genesis Framework for WordPress.
  • Youtube WordPress tutorials

Authors/Developers to Follow

Straight from the Source

  • WordPress.org – the ultimate source for all things WordPress.

There are so many resources out there and so many tutorials that can help you get started. These are just a few to help point you in the right direction.


35 of the Best eCommerce WordPress Themes 2013

Believe it or not, 2013 is right around the corner, and we want you to be prepared. Thanks to some big advancements in eCommerce functionality for WordPress in 2012, the Best eCommerce Themes of 2013 are sure to be amazing. eCommerce is simply the commerce conducted through the Internet. With millions of websites, blogs, and Internet users, more and more businesses are taking their products online. The successes of sites like Amazon and Ebay has dispelled all skepticism about eCommerce websites – not to mention the scores of “mom and pop” operations selling everything from ebooks to digital hugs…yes…some people are making money selling completely made up things.

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Nimble Theme: Coming Soon from Elegant Themes

Elegant Themes recently gave a sneak peak of their upcoming Nimble Theme. Nimble is a business theme described to be simple, flexible, and balanced. It will be interesting to see how Nick Roach pulls this one off – balancing bold and colorful design without going over the top. Nimble will also be responsive and will definitely be generously packed with features and functionality, as is characteristic of each and every Elegant Theme.

A quick look at the theme’s snapshot shows that this theme has a carousel style slider prominently placed on the homepage. Elegant themes has stated that this is to give business websites a platform to present a call to action. The slider can be enabled or disabled if so desired. The slider is followed by 3 sections and a footer. The first section is a place to put product and service summaries which lead to pages that describe business offerings in detail. The second section is for news and update summaries to give your visitors a good idea of how things are going in the business. The third section is a place to put projects that can be linked to portfolio or gallery pages.

The theme has been well received by most of those who left comments. There have be a handful who feel that Elegant Themes should veer away from themes that spend a significant chunk of the homepage on sliders or big images. Elegant Themes has responded that this design approach has been what business clients have been looking for and leads to greater conversion rates for the clients.

According to Nick Roach:

Most corporate sites do indeed need to convey a message, and it is important for that message to be big, bold and in front of the users right when he/she lands on the page. Giving a clear call to action with a single image, large header and a button is what I have found converts the best and results in the lowest bounce rates. It works because it is easy to understand. In almost every occasion, simplicity is what wins out over clutter. Having too much “stuff” in view when you land on the page can confuse the user. It’s better to lead them on a clear path.

Coming from someone who has been doing this for so many years, and who by now, knows and understands this market pretty well, it’s safe to assume that this new theme, considering all other factors, has been well-thought out and designed.

For now, we all just have to be content with twiddling our thumbs and waiting for Nimble to be fully released and then make our conclusions thereafter.

Check Out the Nimble Theme

Elegant Themes Shortcodes: Now Responsive!

With the advent of mobile platforms, WordPress themes have to adapt to the demands of this steadily growing user base. It can really be quite frustrating to read articles from any major newspaper’s website on iPhone or Android and get all the content mish mashed. Theme developers and web designers need to move more and more toward this emerging trend towards responsive themes.

It is a welcome development that Elegant Themes recently released its responsive shortcodes. While Elegant Themes has been churning out responsive themes for quite a while, the shortcodes were left out. It took 10 responsive themes before mobile friendly shortcodes were released. Great news, indeed!

So how do these new shortcodes, improve mobile browsing experience? Elegant Themes’ blog cites two examples of their improvement strategy. Tabs have always been an issue when websites typically viewed on a 960px wide screen to a 320px width. No matter what you do, having 10 tabs will alway come out cramped. Solution: Tabs turn into a slider when switching to mobile mode. It just makes sense to have sliders rather than have unreadable tab labels. Another example cited was the case of columns. As the content width gets narrower, text in columns become a bunch of flying letters. Solution: the new shortcodes convert columns into boxes when switching to mobile screens. Brilliant isn’t it? Regarding the new shortcodes, Elegant Themes has declared them to be fluid width giving them the capacity to shrink and expand according to screen size.

Web design and the emerging technology innovation and trends are accelerating even faster. More and more mobile users prefer to access the web through their devices and WordPress Themes providers need to step up their game. For loyal subscribers of Elegant Themes, these concrete steps towards updating and upgrading all Elegant Themes products is always welcome and appreciated.

Congratulations to Elegant Themes for taking WordPress theme development one step further and fully embracing the future of WordPress.

See Elegant Themes’ Responsive Shortcodes

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StudioPress Review: The Good, Bad, & Ugly About StudioPress.com

StudioPress, the brain-child of CoppyBlogger’s own Brian Gardner, is quickly becoming one of the most popular Theme Clubs, and we want to show you why (and how you can save over $600 by joining their all-access wordpress theme club).

If you are interested in learning more about Studio Press and the Genesis Framework, be sure to read this entire review. From theme by theme reviews to tips and trick to maximize your StudioPress Theme’s impact, we’re excited to take you behind the scenes at StudioPress.com.


What Is A WordPress Framework?

Each and every wordpress theme in the StudioPress Club is running the Geneis Framework with version 1.6 currently in beta. Now for those not familiar with a framework, the best way to think of this is like a dashboard for your dashboard.

In a nutshell, frameworks allow for fast and quick development by creating a “framework” that people can use to quickly build in the features they desire.

To be certain, the true definition of framework is about as varied as the sites you visit trying to explain it, but if you take WordPress’ definition, they conclude, “A Theme framework is a Theme designed to be a flexible foundation for quicker WordPress development, usually serving as a robust Parent Theme for Child Themes. Some Theme frameworks can also make theme development more accessible, removing the need for programming or design knowledge with options pages.” Cool, right?

Well…kind of. The problem with frameworks is often the same problem with WordPress Themes. In theory, they are simple enough and serve a purpose. In reality, their usefulness is only as good as the coding that goes into them.


What Makes The Genesis Framework Different?

Automatic Updates – So much goes into creating your site, blog (or client’s site or blog). The last thing you want is for a new WordPress core update to completely crash the jumbled mash of code and plugins you’ve rigged together to call a site. Genesis helps take the guessing game out by using automatic updates so your code is always state of the art and fully optimized for search engines.

Turnkey Designs – When you purchase the full StudioPress membership, you get access to all of the dozens and dozens of Premium WordPress Themes ever created (both now and in the future) for a reasonable one-time price.

Unlimited – You can use the StudioPress WordPress Themes on an unlimited number of sites (no “developer” price to pay), you get access to unlimited support (for any questions or help), and you get unlimited updates for any and all code changes, future releases, new themes, all of it. When StudioPress says Unlimited, they mean it!

Security – StudioPress brought in one of WordPress’ leading developers to make sure each and every StudioPress Theme has the best security possible.

Easy Customization (Really) – It seems that every developer these days says that customizing there themes are easy. That is most certainly not the case. If you are looking for themes that are both HIGHLY customizable without getting into the code while still allowing you to build in extremely high-end and custom functions, StudioPress is not just a good choice, they are probably the best.


StudioPress Themes

While we could go on forever about even more reasons why StudioPress creates some of the absolute best WordPress Themes in 2011 (through features like: My Tweets, User Profiles, eNews/Updates and more), we now want to show you all the themes you’ll receive when you join StudioPress today.

Fabric Theme: If you are looking for a modern and pastel colored theme then Fabric is the perfect fit for your personal or business site. Coming with all the functions you know from the StudioPress framework you can’t go wrong with this template.

Demo Fabric

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Generate Theme: This theme is targeted towards marketing people who would like to get their message across. Bright colors make this theme stand out of the crowd which gives you the option for easy call to action texts.

Demo Generate

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Eleven40 Theme: When looking at this theme you instantly notice the focus on content which makes this template perfect for all bloggers out there. Write and share your content with your audience anytime, anywhere!

Demo Eleven40

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Balance Theme: Balance is a minimalistic theme which is the perfect solution for people who like to put the attention on their content rather than having fancy distracting graphic elements on their site.

Demo Balance

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Blissfull Theme: Need a homepage for your wedding? No problem! Blissfull makes it easy to setup a dedicated site for your wedding or other celebrations.

Demo Blissfull

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Decor Theme: This theme is fully responsive and looks samazing on your tablets or smartphone. If you are looking for an elegant solution for your website you can’t go wrong with this beauty.

Demo Decor

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Associate Theme: This business orientated template is the perfect theme for your company. If you want to have a professional looking website which is easy to edit and add new content then WordPress and this oustanding design from StudioPress will satisfy you.

Demo Associate

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Apparition Theme: Is a very basic template which is perfect to showcase your recent pictures or stories that you want to share with friends or your followers. A simple front page layout gives the viewers all the information they need.

Demo Apparition

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Backcountry Theme: Backcountry is a multi-purpose theme which you can use for any genre of site that you want. The dakr color scheme of Backcountry makes it perfect for nearly any website.

Demo Backcountry

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Luscious Theme: Colorful and bright that’s what makes this theme stand out. If you want to go against the minimalistic theme trend and want to shock your viewers with colors that make them never forget your site this template is perfect for you.

Demo Luscious

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Metro Theme: Wether you use this theme for your magazine website or personal blog it always gives your visitors the impression of a professional and quality site. With minimalstic approach but still some contrast in the header this is one of the best StudioPress themes.

Demo Metro

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Mindstream Theme: Share your thoughts and stories with your audience. Simple, stylistish and modern. Enough said.

Demo Mindstream

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Minimum Theme: When you love white then you’ll love this theme. While some people might call this template boring others believe in simple is more. It is up to you if you like or hate this design but the trend is going towards minimalistic themes like this one.

Demo Minimum

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Modern Theme: Modern and easy to use. StudioPress created a clean and modern design which is useable on a broad variety of sites.

Demo Modern

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Pretty Pictures Theme: If you have pretty pictures that you want to showcase then Pretty Pictures is as the name states the perfect solution for you. Showcasing photos and videos within seconds make this theme even for beginners a good choice.

Demo Pretty Pictures

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Scribble Theme: Scribble focuses on content and typography. People who rather write than post pictures will love this template. It is all about your content and what you want to share with the world.

Demo Scribble

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Quattro Theme: Quattro is a basic blog theme. Nothing special but has it to be always special? Sometimes something solid can be the perfect choice. If you share this opinion check out this template.

Demo Quattro

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Stretch Theme: This theme is very creative and due the fact that you can set a full-width background it is very customizeable. Besides those options you have a wide range of page templates which will help you to publish your content faster.

Demo Stretch

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Bee Crafty Theme: Bee Crafty will display your wonders to the world. Snap in your own handmade header, stitch together a beautiful photo showcase home page, or draw up a unique and wonderful blog.

Demo Bee Crafty

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Agency Theme: When you’ve got lots of content and you need a professional way to show it off, Agency is the theme for you. Use it to showcase your company, services and what you can offer.

Demo Agency

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AgentPress Theme: The AgentPress theme is an ideal solution for real estate agents looking to market themselves and rise above competition. AgentPress includes multiple page templates that can be used to create a complete real estate website. From single property templates to a custom homepage, AgentPress is right for you.

Demo AgentPress

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Amped Theme: You’re busy touring, writing, and signing autographs on everything put in front of you. You shouldn’t have to worry about the nuts and bolts of your website. Amped was built to spotlight your latest video, showcase your music and the show dates you need to promote… all at your fingertips and built on the rock-solid Genesis Framework for WordPress.

Demo Amped

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Church Theme: Got lots of magazine-style content and need a stylish frame? The Church theme is a great choice for sites that have a lot to say. Choose from StudioPress’ content-friendly soft color schemes and widgets that support everything from video to in-depth articles to great photography.

Demo Church

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Corporate Theme: The Corporate WordPress theme for the Genesis Framework is a corporate-style theme that will provide a professional look for your business website. When you’ve got lots of content and you need a professional way to show it off, Corporate is the theme for you. Use it to showcase your company, services, and what you can offer.

Demo Corporate

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Crystal Theme: Got lots of portfolio-style content and need a stylish frame? Crystal’s a great choice for sites that want to showcase work. When you have a lot of content and you need a professional way to show it off, Crystal is the theme for you. Use it to showcase your company, services, and what you can offer.

Demo Crystal

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Delicious Theme: Easily create a dynamic portrait of your company or project for your customers. You’ll bring them inside, before they step in the door. Delicious effortlessly projects the exact image you desire, and allows you to focus on other content as well.

Demo Delicious

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Education Theme: Your institution has a great deal of information to convey in a short period of time. Text, audio, video, curricula, and more. Help students, faculty and press find what they need fast, without the homework.

Demo Education

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Enterprise Theme: The Enterprise child theme for the Genesis Framework is a corporate-style theme that will provide a professional look for your business website.

Demo Enterprise

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Executive Theme: Looking for a high-end corporate look? The Executive WordPress Theme is a corporate-style theme that will provide a professional look for your business’ internet address.

Demo Executive

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Expose Theme: When you come in from the field, you want to effortlessly create a stunning display of your photographic work. With a few clicks, Expose will give you the perfect WordPress Theme to exhibit your passion worldwide.

Demo Expose

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Family Tree Theme: Your full life never stops making priceless memories… where do you put all those stories? Family Tree is a safe and imaginative home for your family’s unforgettable moments.

Demo Family Tree

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Freelance Theme: You’ve got enough to do with building and marketing your business. You shouldn’t have to worry about your website. Freelance places a strong, professional face on your business, so you can get back to work.

Demo Freelance

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Focus Theme: We’re living in the Age of Distraction, with unlimited options pulling your readers in countless directions. It’s time to focus. The Focus Theme was built to bring your words, pictures and videos into sharp relief. It’s a clean and powerful theme with one critical objective: concentrating your priceless reader’s attention.

Demo Focus

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Going Green Theme: Maybe you want to save the earth. Maybe you want to save your neighborhood. Going Green is the clean and stable platform you can tell the world from. Make a difference with your website, and get the Going Green Theme.

Demo Going Green

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Landscape Theme: It’s a great big world out there, and you want to shoot it all. Shouldn’t your work have an exceptional home? The Landscape WordPress Theme is sophisticated and invisible enough to reveal the beauty in your pictures.

Demo Landscape

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Lexicon Theme: You might be a journalist striking out on your own. Maybe you’re going to create the next big celeb blog. Whatever the story you want to cover, do it in style, cover it in Lexicon.

Demo Lexicon

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Lifestyle Theme: Got lots of magazine-style content and need a stylish frame? Lifestyle’s a great choice for sites that have a lot to say. Choose from five content-friendly soft color schemes and widgets that support everything from video to in-depth articles to great photography.

Demo Lifestyle

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Magazine Theme: When you’ve got lots of content and you need a magazine-style format to show it off, Magazine is the theme for you. Magazine is sleek, up-to-date, and always cutting-edge… just like your content.

Demo Magazine

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Manhattan Theme: When you’ve got lots of content and you need a professional way to show it off, Manhattan is the theme for you.

Demo Manhattan

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Metric Theme: Thankfully, the days of the starched, buttoned-down corporate website are over. You’ve got a way to build exactly what you need. Metric delivers a warm new media professionalism to your online customers.

Demo Metric

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Mocha Theme: Mocha is the perfect theme for fashion, music, and style blogs… or anyone who craves stylish design. Mocha’s sophisticated design, upscale color scheme, and uncluttered layout always deliver a delicious experience for your audience.

Demo Mocha

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News Theme: Got lots of news-style content and need a stylish frame? The News theme is a great choice for sites that have a lot to say. Enjoy using the featured areas and custom widgets that support everything from video to in-depth articles to great photography.

Demo News

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Outreach Theme: A church is one of the most information intensive organizations on earth. Don’t let your message get lost. Outreach gives you the framework you want, so you can give your people the message they need.

Demo Outreach

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Pixel Happy Theme: Looking for a bright, modern-looking theme that showcases great images? Pixel Happy is the perfect choice. Pixel Happy’s sophisticated color scheme, generous white space, and slideshow and gallery functionality make the perfect framework for photography and other image-heavy sites.

Demo Pixel Happy

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Platinum Theme: Have a great story to tell? An incredible show to put on and to let people know about it? How about showcasing your vocal skills? Let the modern Platinum theme take the back seat while you take the stage. It’s your time to shine.

Demo Platinum

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Pretty Young Thing Theme: There’s a fresh, vibrant generation out there, and you’re a part of it. Pretty Young Thing can capture the essence of your experience and reflect it back to a world that badly needs a dose of youthful exuberance!

Demo Pretty Young Thing

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Prose Theme: Prose is an elegant theme with point-and-click design controls. With Prose, you can easily change things about the appearance of your site (like colors and fonts) without knowing anything about code. Maybe your readers prefer a larger font. You probably have certain colors you’ve chosen to reflect your individual brand. If you can point-and-click, you can customize Prose.

Demo Prose

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Serenity Theme: Got lots of magazine-style content and need a stylish frame? Serenity’s a great choice for sites that have a lot to say. Choose from an amazing selection of widgets that support everything from video to in-depth articles.

Demo Serenity

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Sleek Theme: There was a time when the gadget-inclined were relegated to the basement. Those days are long gone and now you can show that. Get your geek on with Sleek, bring your brilliance to the world.

Demo Sleek

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Social Eyes Theme: One of the great benefits of Social Media is the ability to meet people where they are. On Facebook? Over at Twitter? No problem. Social Eyes is an elegant and easy way to assemble a stunning home for all of your Social Media work, and to expand it with your own unique take on what’s going on.

Demo Social Eyes

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Streamline Theme: Your website shouldn’t get in the way of your stories. Here’s your chance to tell it like it is. Streamline throws light on your work, letting you get back to what’s important. Focus on the things that really matter.

Demo Streamline

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Tapestry Theme: You take pictures, you write stories and opinions, you make videos, you link to cool stuff all the time. Tapestry takes everything you make online, and makes perfect, beautiful sense of it.

Demo Tapestry

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Venture Theme: You’re not playing a game. You’re in business, and you’ve got the numbers to prove it. Venture is as stylish and bold as you are, ready to show the world what you’re made of.

Demo Venture

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If you’ve been counting, that’s nearly 40 Premium WordPress Themes plus all the bonuses, support, and lifetime updates you simply won’t find elsewhere. Join StudioPress Today.

 


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