Theme Transition

[mrjWells]

I currently run a large blog at: http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/ It is built in the Thesis 1.85 framework and has over 400 posts and many pages. I would like to transition to a responsive framework like Flexform or Dante, but it looks like a ton of work. I experimented doing this with a smaller blog and it would require working on every post (reloading images, etc.). Is there a simpler way to approach this process? I’ve become a big fan of flexform when it comes to building a site from scratch and would really like to make this transition.

[Kyle – SUPPORT]

Hi

Does the current theme have any theme specific data? If it is just the text and the featured image it should be no problem.

– Kyle

[mrjWells]

It has a lot of custom css, but that doesn’t seem to transfer to the new theme. The biggest problem I see is that the post images are all lost when I switch to flexform on the smaller test blog. I thesis the images are not embedded in the post but are added to a section below the post called “post image and thumbnail” (see attached screen shot). This adds them to the image and creates a thumbnail to go with the excerpt on the front page. I have so many posts and images that it would be a lot to sort through so I could add the images back in.

[Kyle – SUPPORT]

I’m afraid it will not be possible to easily change it over and keep the images. If it was using the featured image it would be fine, as that is a default WordPress table in the database, however the ‘post image and thumbnail’ options in Thesis Framework will be stored in it’s own table, which will not be used with out theme. Therefore you would need to manually add the images yourself

– Kyle

[mrjWells]

That’s what I was afraid of. So, now I am trying to come up with a transition plan that will minimize down time. Here’s what I am thinking.

What if I go through each post in the current theme and move the image out of “post image” and embed it in the post? Then when I change themes the images will all be there. The big drawback to this is that it won’t generate a thumbnail.

How would you handle the move from Thesis to Flexform to make the transition as smooth as possible? I wish there was a source for more detailed “how to” on the blog features of Flexform. I’ve built a lot of pages with this theme, but haven’t done any posts before now.

URL is http://advancedlifeskills.com/blog/

[Kyle – SUPPORT]

Hi
Rather than moving the image from the “post image” to the post content, move it to the ‘featured image’ as this will generate a thumbnail when you make the transition

– Kyle

[mrjWells]

I don’t see anything that supports a “featured image” in Thesis and I was looking for a way to attach the image to the post before switching themes so They would move together. Keeping them together during the move is my biggest challenge.

Also, is there a way to control the size of the featured image in flexform so it is only as wide as the content and stops at the side column?

[Kyle – SUPPORT]

Hi

That is strange, the featured image is default WordPress. I’m afraid there’s not going to be any easy way.

And yes you can: http://flexform.swiftideas.net/2013/03/12/page-builder-post-1/

– Kyle

[mrjWells]

I am working on a couple of options. The first two are plugins that might simplify the process. The third is adding the wp “featured image” feature to my current theme via php. functions. This works, but requires that I set the featured images in each post individually before changing themes which is a lot of work. If you are interested, here’s the code that adds “featured images” to a theme that doesn’t have that functionality built in.

/** Add featured Image Support in Thesis */
add_theme_support(‘post-thumbnails’);
set_post_thumbnail_size( 150, 150, true );
add_image_size( ‘single-post-thumbnail’, 600, 400 );

[Mohammad – SUPPORT]

Hi,
Kyle, my colleague will assist you very soon .

Thanks 🙂
With Best Regards
Swift Ideas