General ques on customizing a theme (Expose Pro) and getting consultant support

[jsf]

Hi,

I have a couple of sites that I set up but I'm no WP, PHP, or CSS expert. Mostly what I did was follow directions and not try to make any changes, only select options.

I set up a site with Expose Pro to show some photos. I might not have been careful enough selecting the right theme because after setting it up, I noticed some things I would like to change. The navigation menu only appears after scrolling down 100 pixels. Maybe there is a purpose to that but it seems kind of gimmicky to me. I did ask Support and got a reply describing how I could change it to keep the menu visible, but might have to make some other formatting changes as a result. I hesitate to do that because I'm concerned about other possible impacts, especially on a variety of mobile devices that might be used to visit the site. I'm also concerned that after I make any change, updating to future releases of the theme would become complicated.

The other thing I'd like to do is select based on Categories, but this theme does not appear to support that, again without customization.

My general question is it best to avoid customizing unless you are highly experienced. Do most people find a theme that is closest to their needs and use it as is?

Another question: I see a list of recommended consultants, but from reading descriptions I get the impression that they want to take over the development of a site completely. I would like to keep my hand it the development but be able to turn to someone for specific help. That would even include an occasional chat on the phone. Do such consultants exist who could help with fine-tuning or customizing a site?

Thanks,

John

[nutsandbolts]

Hi John,

In my experience as a mod here on the forums, most end users find the closest possible child theme and adapt it to their needs. In my experience as a dev, all the child themes are just skins and are interchangeable - to me they are all the same. But I do understand why people become frustrated at times when they want to make certain changes and are afraid to.

Not to pimp my own services too much, but I do offer training specifically for designers, dabblers, etc. who want to learn to customize Genesis. Usually this involves a specific project and using screen sharing, email, phone, etc. to walk the person through step by step. If you'd like to chat about it, feel free to contact me through the link in my signature.

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Andrea Whitmer, Owner/Developer, Nuts and Bolts Media
I provide development and training services for designers • Find me on Twitter and Google+

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