Just in – Thesis Theme HQ upgrades to Thesis 1.4.2 and transforms its format using new teasers and features!
We recently successfully upgraded our site Beyond 2012 HQ to Thesis 1.4.2. We liked the new format so much we decided to showcase features and teasers on Thesis Theme HQ as well.
If you would like to read more about teasers read our post Thesis Teasers Give You That Magazine Feeling.
Fiddling With Features & Teasers
It’s really straight-forward. After you upgrade to Thesis 1.4.2
1. Go directly to the Thesis Options panel…
Scroll down about half-way in the Display Options column
- Under Archives - select the box for Teasers.
- Click the Big Ass Save Button.
2. Go to the Design Options panel…
In the middle column, scroll down to Home Page Layout and Content 
- Select Features & Teasers in the drop-down box.
- Select the number of featured posts to show
- Select what information you would like to display for your teasers
In the right column, under Feature Box
- Choose where you want your feature box to display
- Select your Post Images and Thumbnail settings
This upgraded function is fantastic for teasers, features and archived posts. You don’t need to worry about additional plugins to do this for you anymore.
- Click the Big Ass Save Button.
HINT #1:
The number of posts displayed on your home page (and your entire site if you choose Features sitewide) depends on how many posts you choose to display in Reading under the Settings panel.
- Let’s say you want to display 2 feature posts and 4 teasers. You will need to set the number of posts displayed under Reading to 6 posts.
HINT #2:
If you choose to display a single feature post and an even number of teasers (say 1 feature and 4 teasers – for a total of 5 posts), your archive pages (when the readers clicks “previous entries”) will have an odd number of posts displayed – the total number selected in reading settings – in this case 5 posts.
The Issue:
Your archive pages will display 5 teaser posts and give you a blank spot in the bottom right of your content column.
This could give the reader the impression that
- there aren’t any more posts to look for, and
- your site only has two pages of posts [not even].
Screenshots = Not so good
1 feature, 4 teasers – total 5 posts (as selected in reading settings).
- Note how the second page has a blank spot?
Screenshots = Better
2 features, 4 teasers – total 5 posts (as selected in reading settings).
- Note how it looks like the page is full and the previous entries link is more obvious?
- Your reader is more likely to think that there are more articles – and can clearly see that there are.
My Suggestion:
Avoid the blank spot. Aim for an even number of total posts.
That’s it – you’re done. Preview your site and make any changes.
What is your opinion of the Features and Teasers options in Thesis 1.4.2?
We’d love to highlight great use of this new option.
- Please leave your site link with your comment below.
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I am running Thesis 1.4.2 and I just don’t see anyway to allow more than 1 featured post.
Never mind. My error. I had set the “Reading” setting to just 3. Duh!
is it possible to customize the teasers so that they display one under the other instead of the current 2 column display? thanks!
Not just yet but I will keep an eye on the forum and the next update of Thesis. If you are a Thesis Theme user and have any suggestions, make sure you add it to the appropriate place for suggestions. Chris and the rest of his development team work very hard to incorporate as many suggestions for improvement as possible to make Thesis Theme cutting edge and with or ahead of the best.