1stwebdesigner

---

25 Free and Premium Barebone WordPress Themes for Easy Customizing Posted: 26 Feb 2012 02:00 AM PST If you design and develop themes for WordPress, chances are you probably already know the importance of theme frameworks or skeleton themes. To put it simply, these are minimal versions of themes, stripped of all additional functionality, giving you just the bare minimum level of code that you can work with and base your projects on. Needless to say, such frameworks and skeleton themes can save a lot of time and effort by giving developers a ready-made starting ground (consider this: you’re building a house, but you need not lay the foundation, as it’s already there. You simple shoot off with the main building). Such themes are known by various names – bare-bones, stripped themes, blank themes, etc. Whatever it be, at the end of the day, all of them serve one purpose – help developers create awesome themes! We shall now take a look at some of the major WordPress theme frameworks and skeleton themes. Before we proceed, it should be worth noting that certain themes mentioned below, such as TwentyTen Five, are not skeletons as such, but they make an awesome starting point for your project anyway! *Pricing for paid/premium themes is mentioned adjacent to their respective names. Themes/frameworks with no pricing are free. 1. Elemental (Basic license $59.99) Major Features: Custom control panel that lets you edit typography, navigation and other sections Four widgetized areas 12 custom page templates for sitemaps, contact forms, etc. Custom widgets for social networking sites Custom admin bar Localization and translation support Elemental Demo | Download 2. Toolbox Major Features: Supports HTML5 Ultra minimal Custom page templates One of the most well-known blank themes Toolbox Demo | Download 3. Bones Major Features: Built around the HTML5 Boilerplate Organized CSS Files Custom page templates Available in two formats for WP: Classic, Responsive Also available in HTML version for projects Bones Demo | Download 4. HTML5 WP Shell Major Features: Custom page templates Dynamic sidebars 404 and 503 error pages iPhone detection HTML5 WP Shell Demo | Download 5. Genesis (Standard License: $59.95) Major Features: Support for multiple columns and sidebars Both full- and flexible-width templates Excellent SEO Unlimited support from the developers Genesis Demo | Download 6. WordPress Theme Framework (Pricing: $6) Major Features: Built-in social media integration related posts breadcrumbs WordPress Theme Framework Demo | Download 7. Thematic Major Features: 13 widget-ready areas Grid-based layout samples Modular CSS with pre-packaged resets and basic typography Support for most WP plugins Wiki-editable guide for customization Thematic Demo | Download 8. Roots Major Features: Clean URLs Based on HTML5 boilerplate Additional styling for Gravity Forms plugin Multilingual (roughly 10 languages) Roots Demo | Download 9. Whiteboard Major Features: Totally free and open source More dynamic classes and IDs than any other WP framework CSS3 animations Flexible div structure Fallback mechanism for older versions of WP Whiteboard Demo | Download 10. Starkers Major Features: No non-semantic markups Totally blank, ideal for developing your theme based on it Starkers Demo | Download 11. Standard Theme (Standard License: $49) Major Features: Customizable layout Floating Sharing buttons Affiliate program Standard Theme Demo | Download 12. HTML5 Reset Major Features: Semantic HTML5 Markup Widget-ready sidebar Built-in support for jQuery, Modernizr and Analytics HTML5 Reset Demo | Download 13. The Buffet Framework Major Features: SEO options such as breadcrumbs, headings and canonical URLs Action and Filter hooks Compatible with microformats Ready for translation The Buffet Framework Demo | Download 14. Ashford (Professional License: $49; Free version also available) Major Features: Can create over 250 page variations Fully customizable web fonts and color styles Mobile friendly Ashford Demo | Download 15. Catalyst (Basic License: $77) Major Features: 800+ design options Unlimited layout options SEO-friendly Catalyst Demo | Download 16. Simon WP Framework Major Features: Flexible and free Widget-ready Simon WP Framework Demo | Download 17. PageLines Platform Pro (Professional License: $197) Major Features: Drag and drop framework Extensions Marketplace (version 2.0) PageLines Platform Pro Demo | Download 18. ATOM Framework Major Features: Context-aware layout selection Custom tabbed widgets Short codes, Ad Management, Gallery slides Easily extendable code base ATOM Framework Demo | Download 19. Thesis (Personal License: $87) Major Features: Easy to use options’ panel Excellent Premium Support Flexible and SEO-friendly Thesis Download 20. The Constellation Major Features: Responsive design Based on HTML5 Boilerplate SEO-friendly The Constellation Demo | Download 21. TwentyTen Five Major Features: An HTML5 upgrade of the default TwentyTen theme Responsive design TwentyTen Five Demo | Download 22. Sandbox Major Features: Semantic classes Dynamic functions and microformats Sandbox Demo | Download 23. Hybrid Core Major Features: Modular Framework with a solid PHP code base Breadcrumbs and custom shortcodes Loop pagination Translation-friendly Post templates Hybrid Core Demo | Download 24. Prototype Major Features: Custom Page templates and backgrounds Breadcrumbs and threaded comments Post layout and stylesheets Translation-ready Prototype Demo | Download 25. Modularity (Standard Club Membership $99 per annum) Major Features: Homepage apps for slideshow and video Special layouts for magazine sites Simple Color Picker Tool for customizable colors Support for video on iPhone and iPad Fully widgetized Translation-ready Modularity Demo | Download With that, we come to the end of this round-up. Do share your thoughts in the comments!

You are subscribed to email updates from 1stwebdesigner - Graphic and Web Design Blog To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610