Lensa

WooTube

WooTube is a video theme with a similar style to the popular Fresh News and Busy Bee themes. The theme’s navigation is handled by a sliding carousel list in the sidebar. The integrated post rating option and video embed link provides interactivity and value for visitors.

Features:

• Automatic videos resizing
• Video embed code is displayed
• Integration of the WP-PostRatings plugin
• Widgetized sidebar
• Custom widgets included – no third party widgets required
• 7 colour schemes
• Integrated Theme Options
• Threaded Comments for WordPress 2.7
• Custom Page Templates for Archives & Sitemap
• Gravatar Support for Comments
• 3 ad spaces for image banner ads or AdSense embeds

Demo | Purchase | Single License: $70 | Developer License: $150 or Join the WooThemes Club

Survey Bucket

WPSN

WPSN by StyleWP is a news portal theme inspired by the popular ESPN sports site.

StyleWP kindly provided me with a copy of the theme to try out, and I was pleased to note WPSN’s impressive capabilities and ease of use.

In addition to the actual theme files, WPSN comes packaged with several optional plugins (Ozh Admin Menu, Semilogic Author Image, WP-Email, WP-Polls, WP-Print and WP Related Posts); Photoshop and font files to enable easy tweaking of the logo, poll area and promotional content; the Last RSS feed parser for the news ticker; and a pdf user’s guide.

The foolproof user’s guide explains how to install the theme, add images to articles with the appropriate custom field, set up the news ticker, build the dropdown menus, add a featured video to the homepage and manage adverts in the theme control panel.

The theme control panel contains 91 settings which control general site settings (like meta keywords and description for search engines, copyright notice, google analytics code), advertisements, and the homepage promotion content, etc. View a screenshot of the WPSN theme control panel to get an idea of the incredible attention to detail demonstrated in the creation of this theme.

The top header menu contains useful links for site members which would be helpful for community sites or blogs with several guest bloggers. The main header provides space for a 728×90 banner ad; to the right is a search bar with suggested search terms which are configured in the theme control panel. The news ticker section features headlines from recent posts. A couple of menus for pages and categories follow; dropdown menus are automatically produced where child pages or categories are found.

The homepage is divided into three main sections: the left section provides thumbnails and post excerpts for the three most recent posts, a list of static links, three smaller post excerpts from categories specified in the control panel and space for a 336×280 ad. The centre column provides a list of recent posts, two promotional blocks and another three ad areas. The right column features a poll (integrated with the WP-Polls plugin), an optional video, and up to five optional ad areas.

The majority of the eleven ad sections only appear on the homepage; however, ad#4 also appears in the sidebar of blog pages, posts and ad#11 doesn’t appear on the homepage at all — it only appears below single blog posts — so it would be ideal for adsense or other contextual ads.

WPSN makes sports blogging easy, fun and profitable. It’s amazing value at only $38, plus if you purchase this theme before the end of January you can choose another StyleWP theme FREE.

Features:

• Comprehensive theme control panel
• Dynamic drop-down menus
• Integrated RSS news ticker
• Multiple built-in promotional blocks
• Built-in banner management (Adsense optimised)
• PDF User’s Guide
• Major browser compatible
• Full source PSD & font files supplied

Demo | Purchase | Multiple-Use/Developer: $38

Cubicle

Cubicle is a business CMS/blog theme by iThemes aimed at insurance agents, law firms, financial advisors, and other service providers. It features their popular flashfader image gallery on the homepage, which could be used to promote business services or special offers, etc.

Blog view

Features:

• WordPress 2.7 ready
• Custom Image Header Uploader
• Featured Image Uploader
• Flash-fader rotating graphics on homepage
• Theme Options that allow you to easily paste tracking code and enable features

Demo | Purchase | Single License: $79.95 | Multiple-Use/Developer: $149.95

Retro Hero

Retro Hero is a gorgeous personal blog theme by WordPress Designers with a grungy retro background. The homepage and category archive view provides excerpts of recent posts with automatically resized thumbnail images.

Individual blog posts include a social networking/media area which matches the main theme appearance.

Features:

• Easy to setup in less than five minutes
• Flickr Sidebar Integration
• Widgetised sidebar
• Gravatar comments
• Auto Image resizing

Demo | Purchase | Single License: $25

RebelCool

HypeQuest

Not a Niche

Technology Theme

Technology Theme is an attractive CMS theme by iThemes designed for running a business site and blog.

Blog View

Features:

• Featured image slideshow on the home page
• Blog page template
• Contact form page template
• Widgetized home page areas
• Logo Uploader
• Background selector
• WordPress 2.7 ready
• Threaded Comments
• Theme Options for pasting tracking code and enabling features

Demo | Purchase | Single License: $79.95 | Multiple-Use/Developer: $149.95

First Day Black

The Beeb

The Beeb is an accurate clone of the BBC News site. Almost every element of the theme is controlled via the comprehensive theme options page, which contains 132 settings.

StyleWP are offering a buy one, get one free promotion this month, so it’s a great time to purchase a couple of their themes.

Features:

• RSS news ticker integration
• Multiple built-in promotional blocks
• 4 Widgetised sidebars
• Gravatars
• Integrated social links
• Valid CSS & Major browser compatible
• PDF Users guide
• Full source PSD & font files supplied

Demo | Purchase | $35

Brad Ruggles

Calculating Cook

KP Studios

Modslider

Hot on the heels of Modfolio is Modslider, another free child theme for the Modularity theme framework.

Modslider features a minimalist monochrome appearance, similar to several other Graph Paper Press themes, and offers a huge JQuery content slider on the homepage to scroll through recent posts. The demo site (pictured above) displays one possible homepage layout option, but other layouts may be chosen from the theme options page.

Demo | Download

Stitches

UPDATE: This theme has been re-released as a free theme.

Stitches is a cute magazine theme from ForTheLose.org. It uses a dotted motif to evoke the effect of stitching and a light gradient pattern for some added visual interest.

The theme creator is currently offering an introductory price of $49, and intends to increase the price to $89 shortly. To be honest, although Stitches is a very nice theme I’m not sure that $89 is a reasonable price compared to the price of other themes on the market. Hopefully he’ll keep the price at $49 for the long term.

Features:

• Five Theme Colour Styles
• Fully-Layered .PSD of Each Color Style for Modifications
• Built-in Twitter widget
• Built-in Flickr plugin
• Featured Post on Homepage
• Wordpress 2.6+ Ready
• Widget Ready
• Gravatar Ready
• Cross-browser Compatible (IE6/7, FF, Safari, Opera, Netscape)
• Styled Optional Calendar Widget
• Detailed Theme Options Page
• Separated Comments and Trackbacks
• Complementary Sidebar Tabs Styling
• Easily Editable CSS – Fully Commented

Demo | Theme Info

Spotlight

Spotlight is the first theme from Theme Sphere; it’s an attractive blog theme which promises to help bloggers to gain optimum search engine ranking , social media success and advertising optimization.

I particularly like the featured video footer, which is something I haven’t seen on a theme before, and would be great for video bloggers or those who frequently use external videos in their blogs.

Features:

• WordPress 2.7 ready
• Paginated pages
• Paginated and threaded comments
• Featured post slideshow
• Featured videos footer
• Theme options panel
• Ad management panel

Demo | Purchase | $30

Transfert Foot

Architect

iThemes’ first theme of 2009 is Architect, an elegant cms/blog theme which is ideal for a business site. I really like its uncluttered styling.

Architect features the flashflader image gallery which has been included in a few other recent iThemes releases. Its homepage also contains two widget areas and a list of recent blog posts to entice visitors to visit the blog area.

Features:

• Logo image uploader
• Random image slideshow and Flickr photo gallery option
• Menu Builder for choosing menu options
• Bespoke Theme Options (insert stats codes, etc.)
• WordPress 2.7 ready

Demo | Purchase | Single-Use: $79.95 | Multiple-Use/Developer: $149.95 or Sign up for the 2009 Theme Club for $399.95