Choosing a child theme

[unklee]

I am about to purchase Genesis Framework (I think) and am struggling to decide which child theme. I wonder if anyone here could offer me a little advice please.

1. Is it the case that all themes can be modified in the same ways, so that if we are skilled and persistent enough, whatever theme we choose can be modified to what we want, it's just that some will be closer to what we want than others, and so they will take less time?

For example, all themes can have widget areas in the sidebar, text or footer if we want them?
All themes can have sidebar left or right or full width?
All themes can have post or page thumbnails wherever we want to add links?
All themes can have related post & related page widgets?
All themes can have column widths changed?

2. If there are any significant differences in capability (not just appearance), is there anywhere these differences are listed please?

Thanks for helping a newbie.

[Susan]

For example, all themes can have widget areas in the sidebar, text or footer if we want them? - Yes; most themes have three footer widgets; some have two, while others have four. Some may have them disabled, but they can be re-enabled.

All themes can have sidebar left or right or full width? Generally speaking, yes. Some may have that functionality disabled on the home page, if it takes advantage of home page widgets. Again, it can be modified.

All themes can have post or page thumbnails wherever we want to add links? Yes.

All themes can have related post & related page widgets? Yes - these are usually done with plugins.

All themes can have column widths changed? Technically, yes, but this would generally require coding.

[unklee]

Hi Susan, thanks for your reply.

I thought it would be pretty flexible, but I wanted to check. I am not worried about doing a little coding, but I want to make sure I get the "right" child theme. My first choice is Ambiance Pro, because it looks beautiful and minimal, but:

(1) there is only one example in the Showcase so I have little to go on,
(2) searching the forum for this theme seemed to show that few who asked a question about it ended up using it, which is a slight concern,
(3) it is supposed to be a photography theme, whereas I want to use it as a normal website & blog theme with some "related post/page" links with thumbnails to facilitate navigation to important pages, and
(4) I want to have a static home page with links to other pages, then a blog front page with links to both latest and most important blog posts, and I wasn't sure if all themes could do that.

But from what you have said, I should be able to manage it. The alternative is to use a magazine theme and simplify it slightly, but I think that would be more work.

Thanks again.

[unklee]

PS I have just read a review of Ambiance Pro which says it doesn't have a sidebar option. Is that so?

[MoodyRiviera]

@unklee,

Looks like that's the case...as StudioPress themselves say, "...once visitors click into a page the header expands, and the absence of a sidebar or other bells and whistles places each visitor directly into a private conversation with you."

The idea seems to be distraction-free viewing of your content.

There are probably ways to get a sidebar working in the theme, but if you like the other aspects of the Ambiance Pro theme, you could probably save yourself a lot of trouble by finding a different theme with a similar look and feel that does include sidebars.

*MoodyRiviera*

[unklee]

Hi Moody, thanks for your thoughts. That confirms what I'd been thinking overnight. It's a pity, because the Ambiance theme looks great with its attractive fonts and minimalist look, but I'll find something else. I think StudioPress could provide a little more information on what options and features are available with each theme, as it took me quite a while to find this out about Ambiance, and I was almost going to buy it. Anyway, thanks again.

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