I am looking at building a WP site for the small nonprofit I work for. I have taken a couple of DW courses and have basic HTML/CSS knowledge. I'm very new to WP and I am still trying to figure everything out. I learn programs fairly easily and want to be able to grow once I begin using WP. I just don't want to get a product that will be too advanced to the point I won't be able to use it. This is what I am looking for initially:
1) Build a website with static pages and pages for posts
2) Edit/control the layout and look of the site through the admin panel (all contained through wordpress.org)
3) Add a tabbed widget for features like upcoming events and news
4) Add a calendar plug-in and have a page dedicated to events
5) Add video and photo gallery
6) Include links to our Facebook page and email opt-in (vertical response)
7) Have a selection of navigation menu styles/options
I'm trying to understand themes/child themes as well. With builder can you take a theme, create a child theme and alter it or do you have to start from scratch, build your theme and then make the child? When you build a theme does builder create all of the required files that go along with a theme? What are the ins and outs regarding upgrading to a new version of WP when using a theme created in Builder.
Also, do you have a list of features for Flexx and Builder? That would really help me figure out the differences/features.
Thanks!

Edited by Jennifer, 06 January 2010 - 12:24 PM.

Hi There,

I just thought I'd reply to your question - please note that I don't work for IThemes & I'm not a programmer. I had reviewed & researched themes & actually thought I had decided on one - a competitor to iThemes. I actually bought that theme & it was a good theme, but over my head.
I'm not saying iThemes is elementary by any means, but I do know (from recent experience from buying it) that the Flexx theme may handle what you're looking for. The Flexx theme seems to be extremely customizable for the person w/a little WP experience, but if you're an experienced coder, it can accomadate you as well (just go into the css/php & edit yourself). From what you said, you might be somewhere in the middle.
I would highly recommend watching the Flexx tour video - I will caution you that it's LONG, but WELL WORTH IT!!!! Here's a link: http://ithemes.com/purchase/flexx-theme-wordpress-blog-themes/ . It should answer all your questions & make you feel pretty confident about purchasing it.
That's my two cents. I normally don't get involved in forums, but it proved helpful in my search for a good theme for my site.

Good luck & take care.

Scott

Jennifer,
It's really difficult to tell you if iThemes products is right for you.  It sounds as though you have a basic understanding of how things work on the web and have HTML/CSS knowledge - which is a plus!
I can tell you that when I started with iThemes a year ago that I had NO idea about CSS  (I'm not a traditional web deisgner or programmer) but I learned CSS hacks from Cory and now I can customize any of our themes and do what I need to do to make a great website.  Our team has strived to build our products for people like me who are progamming challenged. :)
Builder is the greatest thing we have when it comes to full layout customization and when we start releasing child themes, it will give you more of a graphical design to start from.  It does take some learning but the new features we are working on are going to cut learning it (I think) in half.  Flexx is also awesome in that you can adjust the layouts in a variety of ways.
I would recommend watching some of our tutorials to get a grasp of how they and WP works.  It's different from DreamWeaver for sure.
Hope this helps you some!

Thank you Scott and James for your responses. I appreciate you taking time to help me out. I'm going to go back and view the videos on Flexx and Builder again and will post again if I have any other questions. Thanks!