We’re announcing the release of an amazing new theme called Revolution Pro as part of StudioPress’ rich heritage in leading in innovative WordPress experiences.
The original Revolution theme introduced a whole new realm of possibilities for WordPress and fundamentally changed the way people all around the world use WordPress which has had a lasting impact even to this day.
We feel Revolution Pro honors that history by invoking a new era of possibility with the new Gutenberg block editor in WordPress core. Before I tell you all about Revolution Pro, let me first tell you how we got here…
In 2007, I was working as a project manager for an architectural firm, estimating projects and coordinating installations. It was a job that I was good at, and one with decent benefits. But it wasn’t the job I wanted, and I knew it was a means to an end.
At the same time, I started blogging about life—mainly out of boredom with my job, but also because I was interested in the software I was using. After a short stint on Blogger, I came across something called WordPress.
I learned very quickly just how much I enjoyed “tinkering” with the theme I was using. It was called Pool, designed by Borja Fernandez.
Perfectionism is something I struggle with—and at times, to a fault. I have to admit it got the best of me when I opened up the Pool theme files because I saw code that wasn’t very organized.
Everything to me was “code” back then because I honestly didn’t know what else to call it. Of course, I know today that PHP and CSS are two different things and that they serve two different purposes, but back then it was a foreign language to me.
The WordPress Revolution
I became proficient with WordPress, customizing themes, and I was moonlighting as a freelancer which brought in “vacation money” while I maintained my day job.
Everything changed when a real estate agent from Boston rejected a custom design I had done for him. That design started a revolution.
It became the original Revolution Theme, which arguably started the premium theme movement within WordPress. Read the full story here.
Shortly after that, Jason Schuller (of Press 75) and I came together and created Revolution Two. This partnership was a result of Revolution fully embracing its open source roots, and everything we made went 100% GPL.
Back in 2009, I rebranded Revolution to StudioPress, and my entrepreneurial journey began. From a message I sent to customers:
“The first (and most important) thing is that nothing will change to the business model and theme licensing. This change only applies to the branding of the themes, which means the pricing, packages, etc. will remain unaffected. More than anything, the rebranding of Revolution to StudioPress is my way of committing myself to the future of my theme development and support.”
Revolution Pro
Here we are, nearly ten years to the date, and I couldn’t be any happier to announce the release of Revolution Pro—the third generation of digital excellence.
The original Revolution theme helped illustrate the capabilities of WordPress as a true CMS—debunking the myth that it was just a blogging platform. The success Revolution had in the early days proved that online publishers wanted to build full websites with WordPress—and with Revolution they were able to do that.
Since then, WordPress has evolved greatly thanks to its open source nature. Core developers all over the globe have pushed the technology forward, creating an even richer experience for content producers and full website developers.
Revolution Pro, paired with our Atomic Blocks plugin and our One-Click Demo Install, delivers a more modular, easy to use, and much simpler set up experience—way better than it ever has been. With the addition of reusable blocks, building a website beyond just a custom homepage is now something that anyone can do—without the need for custom code.
Watch this demo of the new block editor experience using Revolution Pro to see just how easy it is to customize experiences and get your voice to the world even faster.
Staying true to my affinity of minimalism, I designed the Revolution Pro theme in a way that provides the perfect canvas for showcasing photography and text. The white space allows all of the content to breathe, and the use of Playfair Display puts a spotlight on headlines and blockquotes.
If you take a look at the Revolution Pro demo, you’ll notice there are five homepage examples—each one showcasing a unique use-case for the theme.
Included: Agency, Lifestyle, Personal Branding, Photographer, and Small Business.
We have recently updated some of our existing themes to be Gutenberg-optimized, and Revolution Pro is the first new StudioPress theme with full compatibility.
In addition to that, the Revolution Pro theme includes custom styles that integrate WooCommerce and shop functionality seamlessly with the design of your website.
Genesis 2.8 and One-Click Demo Install
With the release of Genesis 2.8, users can now take advantage of the One-Click Demo Install feature that will accelerate the setup process when the theme is activated, reducing the time to load demo content and dependent plugins from hours, days, or weeks to minutes.
The Revolution Pro theme takes advantage of the Configuration API, which is also new to Genesis 2.8. This helps theme developers organize configuration information such as Gutenberg color palettes and font sizes in one place, and improves the readability and maintainability of child themes.
Watch this demo of the new One-Click demo install features that makes Revolution Pro one of the easiest themes to use when setting up a new site.
It’s time to take your website to the next level. We’ve done the heavy lifting for you, and building a website will take you a fraction of the time it used to.