Market, the Latest Child Theme for Builder

Like Depot (another eCommerce Builder child theme), Market features integration with three different WordPress eCommerce plugins: Shopp, Cart66 and WP-Ecommerce. Simply visit the Market demo home page to select your preferred plugin to view the specific Market styling for each.

Check out Market’s cool shop and product page:

The Market Shop

Keep customers up to date with your news, featured by Market’s blog design:

Market's blog styling

Market is available for immediate download, included with nearly 60 other child themes, in the iThemes Developer Pack, the All Access Theme Pass, or the 3-in-1 Web Designer’s Toolkit. Get Market stand-alone (bundled with Builder Theme Core), too.

Get Market now.

I do this because we want to be a transparent and personable company … we also want you to know where we are heading so you can join with us. (You can see last year’s State of iThemes webinar replay here and my 2011 Year in Review post here.)

We don’t want to just be a company that has a transactional relationship with you. We want to be more. We want to be a partner and friend to you. That’s why we say you are part of our “customer community” not simply just customers. And why we also launched our Friends of iThemes customer ambassador club (to let those of you who want an even closer relationship with our team and business to have the opportunity to do so).

This year, our annual theme is “Make Waves.” We have several campaign initiatives around this and I’m super excited to unpack them for you at the 2012 State of iThemes webinar on Feb. 22 at 6 p.m. Central Standard Time. (I hope this time is the best time for the most attendance.)

I hope you’ll join me for this special time as I point the way our ship is heading this year … and enlist you on the journey!

2012 State of iThemes Webinar
Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012
6 p.m. Central Standard Time

Signup for the 2012 State of iThemes Webinar here:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/222585554

Kepler Light includes several specific post styles to focus on featured images, all with a unique custom date stamp to add interest to your blog:

A Beautiful Feature Image Post

Featured Image Less Than 960px Wide

Featured Image Greater Than 960px

To see all of Kepler Light’s portfolio-related features, check out this free Kepler overview webinar from WebDesign.com. You’ll walk through all of the theme features, plus a step-by-step tutorial on how to use Kepler Light to showcase images and other visual web type elements.  You’ll also learn how to use Builder’s layout engine and image grid extension with Kepler.

With Kepler Light and Builder, you’ll have the perfect foundation for creating awesome WordPress photography sites. Kepler Light also partners perfectly with DisplayBuddy, a collection of plugins designed to showcase images, video, and text uniquely and easily.

Get Kepler Light stand-alone, bundled with over 50 other child themes in the Builder Developer Pack, or in our All Access Theme Pass.

Get Kepler Light today.

These Best Practices of Web Development Instruction include tips and ideas for:

• Getting started
• Engaging and connecting with students
• Teaching methods and techniques
• Assignments, class projects, and tests
• Pointers for teaching different age groups
• Practical tips to help you day-in, day-out

If you’re not already a participant in the iThemes Education Program, you’re invited to join us in our efforts to expand and improve web design education for the next generation of web designers.  If you’re a full-time student interested in, or simply curious about web development and WordPress web design, check out the recently-released Student Edition of the Web Designer’s Toolkit–the perfect opportunity to access professional tools and gain premium training.

A special thanks go to the educators and team members who contributed to this ebook: Benjamin Bradley, Cherish Flieder, Christy Sooter, Kathy Gill, Steve Cunningham, Tami Frascht, Kevin Hendricks, Nina East, and Brad Ulrich.

The bad news is … they will come back with brand new clothes, a shiny new name, and more teeth soon. In fact, they could come back with a venegeance because of the forces behind them.

Millions of people rallied together to tell those who represent us that we will fight to protect our freedom on the Web — the greatest communications tool ever invented.

These are historic times. People coming together to present a unified voice. I am inspired. I think we all are.

The protests were billed as the largest online protests in history with sites blacking out. WOW!

I know this for a fact though: People will come together only when something seeks to destroy what they hold dear.

SOPA and PIPA did that for those of us who enjoy, respect and cherish our web freedom. It rallied us all together.

But the fight is not over.

YOU, like us, must be ready to let your voice be heard …. and the power of your vote known to those who represent us. The message must be clear:

Seek to take away our web freedoms by legislating crappy bills, and we’re going to put you on the unemployment line.

Looking at these numbers … I think some people in Washington started to take notice.

We can and we will vote them straight out of office. So I hope the lobbyists helping to create these flawed bills have a job open for them when that happens.

So this week is an epic week, a historic week … one we cannot forget. They will simply wait for our fervor to die down, and sneak something sleazy in again.

We must be ready for the next wave.

In the meantime, here’s a quick thought for the industries who have sought to buy (I mean “lobby”) the votes to get this legislation created and passed:

Instead of protecting your once cash cow, now withering business models and spending millions of dollars to legislate it back to relevance … HOW ABOUT REINVENTING IT INSTEAD?!

Make [whatever you produce] BETTER for the world. Not just your pocketbook.

Think about value instead of how fat your vault is.

For examples, please look to iTunes for the music industry. Netflix for the video rental industry. And Google for the entire advertising industry.

If you don’t … we’ll continue to vote you out of business with our pocketbooks … and as you recently saw, the people who represent you.

The Student Edition of the WordPress Web Designer’s ToolKit is now available to qualifying students attending high school, college, technical and/or web design schools. If you are a full-time student interested in, or simply curious about, web development and WordPress web design, this is the perfect opportunity for you to access professional tools and gain premium training.

The Web Designer’s ToolKit is the flagship offering at iThemes, including all themes, plugins, and membership at WebDesign.com.

The Student Edition of the ToolKit includes:

• Access to all the themes at iThemes.com, plus updates and new releases during your membership year.
• Access to all of the plugins at PluginBuddy, plus updates and new releases during your membership year.
• Access to all the webinar training at WebDesign.com, including access to the training library with over 300 hours of training available on-demand, during your membership year.
• Access to the Student Community Forum where you can develop connections with other students interested in web design, helping each other learn these tools together.

At a 90% discount, this is a tremendous learning opportunity for students, preparing you for a career in web design and development when you graduate. We anticipate many students starting their own web design projects and even businesses prior to graduation.

“Our goal is to equip students with the tools they need in order to graduate ready to enter the work force or start their own entrepreneurial endeavors,” says Cory Miller, founder of iThemes Media.

For this initial beta period, the Student Edition of the ToolKit is available to students enrolled in schools in the United States and Canada.

*Please note, the Student Edition does not include access to the product support forums or the bonuses included in the professional version of the ToolKit. Students wishing to access the support forum should contact us for the student discount on individual products.

Students, apply today for the Student Edition here!

Visit the Web Designer’s ToolKit – Student Edition page to learn more about the program, get answers to commonly asked questions, and to complete your application TODAY. If you know of other students who may be interested, please share this information with them!

For Educators – if you haven’t signed up for our Educators Program, where you can get all of our products and support for no cost, do so today and we can work with you on offering the Web Designer’s Toolkit – Student Edition to your students.

They are Software Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and PROTECT IP Act.

And you should contact your senator and representative today to tell them you OPPOSE them.

Fight for Future has all the gory details (aka a great resource site) for learning more at AmericanCensorship.org.

What does this mean for you, really?

I haven’t been a politically vocal person, but when I see someone suggesting that I help kill a bill or stop some kind of new legislation, I always want to get past all the noise and right down to the rub … and that means answering what does it mean for me? How does it affect my life?

This is about freedom and the opposite of freedom — censorship — on the Web. And it can affect you.

These pieces of legislation have far reaching and dangerous consequences and costly ripple effects that can damage the amazing freedom we have on the Internet to do business, expression our opinions, and much much more.

And trust me … if even SOPA and PROPTECT IP get tabled … they will come back under new clothes.

Those of us who care about the web and our freedom on it need to rally together, with a single voice, and let those who represent us that we care enough to vote them out of office.

Make your voice heard … or you won’t have one to share it! Get in the fight!

[ Learn How to Stop American Censorship at AmericanCensorship.org ]

In the meantime, here are some graphics that you can post on your site by our designer Brad. Be sure to link to http://americancensorship.org.

Adept features:

• simple navigation with great button styling and secondary dropdown styles

Adept's navigation and dropdown style

• alternate module styles for navigation and widget modules to configure your site exactly to your specifications:

• styling for Gravity Forms to match the theme’s overall look and feel:

Adept's Gravity Forms style

• custom-styled search bar style:

  

Adept is available individually (bundled with Builder core) or in the Builder Developer Pack (along with over 50 other awesome child themes).

Start building with Adept!

This month, iThemes celebrates 4 years of serving our awesome customer community. In 2008, iThemes was launched out of the home office of our founder, Cory Miller. Since then, we’ve grown to over 20 employees around the US and globe, and staked out a surprisingly sizable portion of an office complex.

Over the years, we’ve learned that mottos are important.  We even had one cut out of foam (yes, it can be done) and installed in our lobby to greet us at the front door. We know it’s important that we never forget that we’re here to Make People’s Lives Awesome.

Throughout rapid growth and change, we’ve learned a lot along the way—and we’re marking these 4 years by showing our commitment to another important iThemes motto:

Learn and Grow, then Teach and Share.

Here are a few ways you can get involved:

1. Give to The Div and get a free t-shirt.

In 2011, we founded The Div as a non-profit technology education center in our hometown of Edmond, Oklahoma, as a way to give back to our local community. The Div offers free classes on a variety of tech topics and serves as a community center for coworking and collaboration.

With your donation of $20 (or more) to The Div through January 31st, 2012 (which is tax deductible), we’ll send you one of our My Blog Could Beat Up Your Blog t-shirts. Here’s how to get yours.

2. Download your copy of “The Entrepreneurial Adventure: Is It For You?,” by Cory Miller.

This just-released eBook offers Cory’s experiences as a startup entrepreneur and advice on aligning your life’s passions and purpose. It’s short enough to read in less than an hour and packed with lessons and resources extremely helpful for starting a business and preparing for the entrepreneurial climb.

Download your free PDF copy from your iThemes Member Panel, signup for the book community, or purchase the Kindle version.

3. Take our One-Question Customer Survey.

We considered having a long customer survey with more in-depth questions, but we decided that evaluating just one simple question will help us make sure we continue to get better and provide valuable tools.

Take our One-Question Customer Survey.

So thanks to you, our customer community, for 4 amazing years—you’re the reason we get to do what we love. Here’s to many more!

In addition to learning about privacy settings, filling out your profile – how and why you want to do this, how to access advanced options when creating posts and pages, how to insert custom characters and remove formatting, you’ll also learn a cool trick for creating an image gallery in a post or page easily and quickly – including adding captions and descriptions to each image.

Plus Benjamin will show you how to work with one of the best plugins every WordPress site should have – the Easy Theme and Plugin Upgrades Plugin.

WordPress 101 is a free video training series to help you learn – or review – the fundamentals of working with WordPress. Each week we cover a different topic. Check the WebDesign.com Events page to see the latest schedule of WordPress 101 webinars.