Unfortunately, page builder plugins have been hammered into the brains of WordPress users through relentless advertising, evangelists, and supporters that have claimed they are a necessity.

Don’t get me wrong. WordPress page builders have served a need in the ecosystem for many years. However, their “need” is coming to an end. The introduction of full site editing and block themes within WordPress 6+ renders most page builders obsolete — when using the right theme.

Don’t worry. Page builders won’t go quietly into the night. They are too engrained within the psyche and workflows of too many WordPress users to simply disappear. And they shouldn’t disappear. The users that love their page builders should continue to keep using them. But I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss using WordPress blocks and a block-based theme without the use of a page builder.

A customer recently approached us, confused about switching themes and abandoning their beloved builder plugin. They wanted to simplify their WordPress page building experience. I proceeded to explain that we have a block-based version of the theme they were using — the Natural Theme.

However, they were struggling with the concept of no longer using their page builder. So, I proceeded to explain by providing the following response:

I’ll try to provide some clarification regarding page builders. If you’re using the latest version of WordPress (Version 6+), and a block theme like our previously suggested Natural Block theme, a page builder plugin is entirely unnecessary.
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​As of WordPress version 6, a new way of customizing a theme’s design and page layouts was introduced using the full-site editor in combination with a block-based theme. As a result, every aspect of a block-based theme can be customized directly in WordPress — without the need for a page builder plugin.
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​Unfortunately, there are not many block-based themes available yet in the ecosystem because this new approach to building WordPress themes is so different when compared to the way that themes have been constructed for the past 15+ years. Since the WordPress ecosystem is comprised of many third-party product developers (like ourselves), many companies that have aligned themselves with a builder plugin are reluctant to switch to this new way of constructing themes because it means changing their entire business model — and probably rebuilding all their products.
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Since ​we never aligned ourselves with any builders other than our own, we have remained more flexible in this regard. As a result, all our focus is now being poured into block-based themes and the new WordPress editor.
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​In truth, the new way of building pages in the block editor is superior to using a builder plugin. Essentially, builder plugins rose to popularity over the past 8+ years because a solution for customizing every aspect of a theme did not exist within the WordPress platform itself. However, that has all changed with the recent versions of WordPress. Plus, it’s getting better with every new update.
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​Builder plugins should still technically “work” with block-based themes and the latest versions of WordPress. And some still offer unique functionality you can’t find using blocks — yet. However, most builder plugins are unnecessary. In my opinion, they just confuse the process of customizing a WordPress theme by introducing a different user experience. I think the best way to simplify the page building experience in WordPress is to stop using a page builder plugin, and start using the WordPress block editor in combination with a block-based theme.

I wanted to share my response because I believe this a common misunderstanding amongst so many WordPress users. Like most things in our world these days, there is an overwhelming amount of information and misinformation regarding this topic.

Gutenberg, the full-site editor, block-based themes — they are all relatively new introductions to WordPress. And honestly, the introduction of these new features and technologies has created a rocky transition for many users, developers, and product providers like ourselves. Change is hard. However, as somebody who has been intimately involved in designing and developing WordPress products for nearly 15 years, I approached this transition with an open mind. I’ve discovered the new solutions are great, and they keep getting better. So, it might be time to abandon that clunky old page builder, and try a block-based theme.

Our latest theme was created for sharing the finer things in life. Luxury features a sophisticated design with a strong focus on elegant typography and content layout. The theme is an excellent solution as a blog or business site catering to a luxurious lifestyle — such as travel, weddings and fashion.

As for the functionality, Luxury follows suit with the Swell Theme. The theme displays a blog instead of a home page upon activation. The home page template can be set within the WordPress Reading settings or the Customizer. In addition, the theme utilizes Jetpack features such as Infinite Scroll, Featured Content and the Portfolio Custom Post Type. Our new themes and updates will place a heavier emphasis on the powerful Jetpack plugin and it’s suite of helpful WordPress tools. This should make for an easier transition for our customers between WordPress.org, WordPress.com and between all Organic Themes.

With the Luxury Theme, we have abandoned the Featured Video function and custom field in favor of automatically featuring the first video applied to a post. We believe this will be more intuitive and save our customers the extra steps of finding and pasting video embed codes. In addition, similar functionality is used for the Link and Audio Post Formats within the theme.

In addition, Luxury features some unique design and functionality. The featured content slider for the theme displays 3 featured posts at a time, and can be displayed on the Home and Featured Content Page Templates. The theme was designed to display a central logo, with a menu displayed on the left and right sides of the logo. These menus can be managed within the Appearance > Menus section of the WordPress admin.

Overall, Luxury is a classy addition to our theme collection that improves upon every aspect of our previous themes. It’s perfect for anybody that places an emphasis on elegance and sophistication in their website or brand.

Once upon a time, there existed an internet. An internet unlike that of today. It was filled with funky fresh space background patterns, random animated GIF’s, empty tables, 3D rotating pentagrams, blinding link and border colors, annoying background MIDI music and floating content devoid of any structure or design.

Enter our latest theme — the Retro Theme. It’s designed with all the pizazz of a 1996 GeoCities website! Just visit the demo and let the aura of nostalgia wash over you like a Double Dare slime bath.

Despite the putrid appearance, the code for the Retro Theme is actually quite solid. The theme is fully responsive and features some slick WordPress customizer options, like the “Stop The DAMN Music!!!” option. Retro is a fully functional WordPress blog, and it’s totally free to download and unleash upon an unsuspecting world. Maybe you can use it as a practical joke when setting up a blog for a friend. Perhaps you have a client with an old HTML FrontPage website that wants to upgrade to WordPress, but still loves the design of their awful 1997 website. Maybe you’re just crazy, and you actually dig this theme.

Retro is a totally rad WordPress theme! Bodacious even! The web design styles of the past are like a fine wine — Who am I kidding? This is an ugly ass theme!  But it’s probably the most elaborate April Fool’s joke ever conceived by a WordPress theme company.

Many years ago, Organic Themes founders Jeff Milone and myself, David Morgan, attended high school together in Lakeland, Florida. During our Algebra 2 classes we devised a way to pass the time by playing video games on our TI-85 scientific calculators. We enjoyed these calculator games so much that we created the nerdiest GeoCities website ever constructed in which we reviewed all the games we had played. After school we’d sit in front of the computer and code basic HTML, find ridiculous animated GIF’s and background images, and write reviews of calculator games while listening to Hootie and the Blowfish. Ah, the nineties…

Today, we surprisingly use a lot of those same skills to create some of the best WordPress themes available on the market. Our skills have gotten slightly better, and we have gotten slightly less nerdy over the years. The Retro Theme is part April Fool’s joke, and part homage to our roots in web design and development. Creating websites has always been fun for us. So let’s all raise a glass of Sunny D to the internet. We’ve grown up surfing your waves for a long time old friend.

The Swell Theme is a landmark theme in the Organic Themes arsenal — with a free and premium version.

Swell was crafted to be even more inline with the development standards of WordPress.com. The premium version features an abundance of page templates, shortcodes, post formats, a portfolio custom post type, slideshows and much more. Support and auto updates are only offered for the premium version of the theme.

Swell differs from most Organic Themes to date in the sense that it displays a blog instead of a home page by default. However, the home page template can be set within the WordPress Reading settings. In addition, the theme utilizes Jetpack features such as Infinite Scroll, Featured Content and the Portfolio Custom Post Type. We have made these changes so that users may transition between WP.com and WP.org more efficiently with the theme. We believe Jetpack will play a more significant role in WordPress in the near future, and Organic Themes will be utilizing the power of Jetpack in more themes to come.

Every other aspect of the theme features the qualities you’ve come to know and love with Organic Themes, beautiful design and finely crafted, well commented code. We hope you enjoy this Swell Theme.

We’re stoked to announce the release of a free theme, Swell Lite!

Swell Lite was created as a way to give back to our loyal customers at Organic Themes that have supported us over the years. It’s a basic blogging theme designed and developed to perfection. The theme was crafted with WordPress.com standards in mind. Swell Lite boasts an ultra clean design and extremely well commented and formatted code. The theme is ridiculously easy to setup using the WordPress customizer, making it an excellent solution for bloggers. Budding theme designers and developers may appreciate picking this theme apart to see how we construct our Organic Themes.

Support is not included with Swell Lite, but there is a premium version of Swell available for sale on our site that includes support, documentation, several additional page templates, features and options.

You can also download Swell Lite from the Swell Theme site or directly from Github.

Update: The theme has been released in the WordPress.org repository here.

Mahalo and Happy New Year from your friends at Organic Themes!

Purpose is our latest theme to be released on the WordPress.com marketplace. It’s a beautifully designed modern theme for bloggers, businesses and artists!

The theme is packed with features! It’s fully responsive and displays beautifully on mobile devices. The theme utilizes the Jetpack portfolio custom post type for displaying your projects. The home template featured slideshow uses Post Formats to display slides in a variety of layouts. The header containing the logo and navigation is fixed, and scales upon scrolling down the page. Purpose uses the WordPress customizer for theme options — making it simple to setup.

Give Purpose to your WordPress.com site!

The WordPress.org version of the theme for a self-hosted site is available on our site here.

We have recently released our 6th theme on the WordPress.com marketplace — Connect.

Connect is your virtual business card! Share your name, title, contact info, a brief bio and your social media links with ease using Connect. In addition, the theme includes several page templates, including a Resume, Portfolio and a Vertically Centered page template. It also utilizes post formats for the blog for displaying different types of posts such as quotes, links, images, video and more.

The theme is fully responsive and displays beautifully on mobile devices. Connect features a minimal design that’s perfect for sharing your professional profile online. The Home and Vertically Centered page templates are centered vertically and horizontally within the browser window — so your site will look fantastic even on large displays! Using the WordPress customizer, Connect is simple to setup and launch within a matter of minutes!

If you’re looking for the WordPress.org version of the theme for a self-hosted site, it’s available on our site here.