Tell me why I should stay? I really want to…

[blichtenwalner]

Hey gang, I've been running my site (ModernServantLeader.com) on Genesis for several years now. I enjoy the simplicity and speed the great folks behind it created. Now, it's time for a refresh and a more cutting edge look and feel. As I look around, I must be honest, I'm considering jumping ship.

I'm looking for HTML5 video, fly-ins, matching icon collections, psd files, and other dynamic effects. So I find myself looking at some competitor products, like the Avado and HighEnd themes. When I compare this to Parrallax Pro - the one I like most from StudioPress for my refresh - I fear I'd have to pay for a lot of customizations, on top of the theme.

My gut tells me I'm wrong, I should stick with Genesis. But my head says there's stuff missing.

Can somebody tell me why my head is wrong or what's around the corner to fill this gap?

http://modernservantleader.com

[Andykev]

My personal opinion: Themes like Avada are showy, and therefore distracting. Some of the best websites are minimalistic and show just your intended content. A website should not be a "show"; it should rather showcase your work, content, product, or service. It should also be well laid out, uncluttered, and easy to navigate. Like Apple.com. Clean.

Genesis has a vast community of support, such as on this site, and others....where you can find answers to .css, or other code questions. There are countless examples and the theme/child is extremely customizable.

I do not think you will find better support, or "cleaner" web designs.

We have five "clubs" within our organization, and three clubs use the Genesis themes for their websites. Those are fast, and well laid out. The other club uses Avada, and it loads slow, and is not well laid out. Now, granted this is due to their webmaster who simply purchased a "wow, look at that" theme from the internet, and took no further steps to learn a thing about what lies under the hood. Simply a "click, click, click" options for their whole configuration.

I prefer Genesis where I can wonder how someone did their website, study their .css and then apply it to my website. IMHO.

[Victor Font]

You should go with your gut. There's nothing missing in Genesis. In fact with schema.org and accessibility built-in, there's more in Genesis than you will find in Avada. I have a Federal Government site that I support that was originally built on the Avada theme. I would do anything to move them away from it and go with Genesis, but they don't have the budget.

All those fancy features you want are available through plugins, many of them are available at very low cost or for free. If you move away from Genesis, you'll end up being like the terminator, "I'll be back!"

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Regards,

Victor
https://victorfont.com/
Call us toll free: 844-VIC-FONT (842-3668)
Have you requested your free website audit yet?

[Derek]

Even if you don't want to pay a developer to do the needed customizations that you are after on your Genesis Framework theme, there are ton's of 3rd party StudioPress theme creators with amazing designs at affordable prices. I didn't make this list but check all those websites out on the list and all the themes they have.

https://list.ly/list/ZLH-third-party-genesis-child-theme-sellers (Most sites listed the owners provide customization side gigs)

You can do so much with a theme in regards to customizing it. Wish I had big money because all my idea's need a developer and I don't hire cheap people. lol

Stick around, the framework is in beta stage right now and going to be released soon. Then I'm sure developers will have more idea's when it comes to customizing a theme or developing a new one to sell online.

Personally (opinion) any slow loading blogs I visit, I leave and don't care how huge the company is. Crazy features seem nice but user experience is what I look for in a blog. I am on that blog because I want to be and want to read content, share comments or purchase products on the blog... Any useless junk not needed on the blog, I'll leave.

To me, content is more important that over-the-top features. Then again a developer can add these to a Genesis Framework theme. Have you looked at the developers work recently?

Genesis Developers

I just posted my oninion and now that I am done, I am going to make a cup of coffee and smoke a cig outside before starting dinner. That's prolly TMI. lol

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~’;’~

[blichtenwalner]

Thank you, Andykev, Victor, & Derek, for your input. To be honest, I somehow missed the many other Genesis Themes available that are not listed on studiopress's site. I suspect I will find what I need from one of them - allowing me the best of both worlds. For what it's worth and for feedback to Genesis developers, I agree simplicity is good. Still, it seems to me the trend online is still rapidly shifting to video and animation everywhere. As broadband proliferates more locations, more Studiopress clients will seek these features.

I think these early generations of HTML5 video embedded backgrounds and animations are just the beginning. I also think this trend will evolve very quickly. So I hope we see more Genesis child themes with these features soon.

I think I'm sticking around gang - thanks again for the great feedback!

[Author]

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