Original post
Posted from my from my blog on amarvyas.in/notes
WordPress themes on ClassicPress were a hit or miss in October 2020 when I wrote this draft originally. This post is companion post to “Which plugins from WordPress work well with ClassicPress?” Since I had written a post on the plugins, it made logical sense to write a separate blog post on themes. I largely tested with versions 1.3 and 1.2 of ClassicPress, which were the most recently released versions around that period. In addition to some popular themes, I found nearly twelve themes ranging from a simple blog to themes that showcase portfolio to work without many hiccups.
Introduction
While ClassicPress is designed to work seamlessly with most WordPress themes that support version 4.9, certain themes may not function properly. Therefore, it is crucial for website owners and developers to choose themes that are fully compatible with ClassicPress in order to ensure a smooth and hassle-free experience. In this blog post, we will explore some of WordPress themes that are compatible with ClassicPress as on October 2020. I will cover a range of themes, from multipurpose themes to niche-specific themes, that provide a variety of customizable options for users. It’s important for website owners to ensure that they are choosing compatible themes for their new website. With so many WordPress themes available in the popular CMS market, it can be challenging to know which ones will work seamlessly with ClassicPress.
Update July 2023 The world has moved on (in the right direction!) since I wrote this original post. You can find a wider list of Themes for ClassicPress in this discussion.
हिंदी में सारांश
यह पोस्ट मूल रूप से 2020 के अक्टूबर में “वे कौन से प्लगइन्स हैं जो WordPress के साथ अच्छी तरह से काम करते हैं?” शीर्षक वाली एक ब्लॉग पोस्ट के साथी पोस्ट के रूप में लिखी गई थी। चूंकि मैंने प्लगइन्स पर एक पोस्ट लिखा था, इसलिए थीम पर एक अलग ब्लॉग पोस्ट लिखना तर्कसंगत था। मैंने उस समय के आसपास सबसे हाल ही में जारी किए गए संस्करणों 1.3 और 1.2 के साथ क्लासिकप्रेस का बड़े पैमाने पर परीक्षण किया। कुछ लोकप्रिय थीम्स के अलावा, मैंने एक साधारण ब्लॉग से लेकर पोर्टफोलियो को प्रदर्शित करने वाली थीम्स तक बिना किसी रुकावट के काम करने के लिए बारह थीम्स का पता लगाया। जबकि क्लासिकप्रेस को अधिकांश वर्डप्रेस थीम्स के साथ सहज रूप से काम करने के लिए डिज़ाइन किया गया है जो संस्करण 4.9 का समर्थन करते हैं, कुछ थीम्स ठीक से काम नहीं कर सकती हैं। इसलिए, वेबसाइट मालिकों और डेवलपर्स के लिए यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए पूरी तरह से क्लासिकप्रेस के साथ संगत थीम्स का चयन करना महत्वपूर्ण है कि एक सहज और परेशानी मुक्त अनुभव हो। इस ब्लॉग पोस्ट में, हम अक्टोबर 2020 तक क्लासिकप्रेस के साथ संगत कुछ वर्डप्रेस थीम्स का पता लगाएंगे.
मराठीत सारांश
हे पोस्ट मूळतः 2020 च्या ऑक्टोबरमध्ये “कोणते प्लगइन्स WordPress सह चांगले काम करतात?” या शीर्षकाच्या ब्लॉग पोस्टच्या साथी पोस्ट म्हणून लिहिले होते. मी प्लगइन्सवर एक पोस्ट लिहिली होती, म्हणून थीम्सवर एक स्वतंत्र ब्लॉग पोस्ट लिहिणे तर्कसंगत होते. मी त्या काळात सर्वात अलीकडील आवृत्ती 1.3 आणि 1.2 सह क्लासिकप्रेसचा मोठ्या प्रमाणावर चाचणी केली. काही लोकप्रिय थीम्स व्यतिरिक्त, मी पोर्टफोलिओ प्रदर्शित करणाऱ्या थीम्सपासून एका साध्या ब्लॉगपर्यंत बारा थीम्स शोधल्या ज्या बग नसलेले काम करतात. जरी क्लासिकप्रेसला संस्करण 4.9 चा समर्थन करणाऱ्या बहुतांश वर्डप्रेस थीम्ससह सहजपणे काम करण्यासाठी डिझाइन केले गेले असले तरी, काही थीम्स योग्यरित्या काम करू शकत नाहीत. म्हणून, वेबसाइट मालक आणि डेव्हलपर्ससाठी हे सुनिश्चित करण्यासाठी पूर्णपणे क्लासिकप्रेससह सुसंगत थीम्स निवडणे महत्त्वपूर्ण आहे की एक सहज आणि त्रास-मुक्त अनुभव असेल. या ब्लॉग पोस्टमध्ये, आम्ही ऑक्टोबर 2020 पर्यंत क्लासिकप्रेससह सुसंगत काही वर्डप्रेस थीम्स शोधू.
WordPress Theme Compatibility
During my testing, I primarily worked with ClassicPress versions 1.3 and 1.2, and later conducted additional tests in January 2021. In this blog post, I will discuss the themes I tried and the issues encountered, highlighting the way forward with each theme.
WordPress Themes Tested for Compatibility with ClassicPress
- Astra
- OceanWP
- GeneratePress
- Neve
- Sydney
- Go Theme by GoDaddy
- Themes from alx.media
- Themes from Anders Noren
WordPress themes on ClassicPress
Based on my testing, any theme that supports WordPress 4.9, without utilizing blocks, should work well with ClassicPress. For the most part, customization, CSS, and recommended PHP settings from theme forums worked seamlessly. Astra and OceanWP worked out of the box, while GeneratePress, although formerly compatible, has since transitioned to a block-based theme. Despite limitations, I achieved success with themes from Anders Noren, which did not use blocks, excluding the 2020 theme and a few experimental ones.
Exploring Other Themes
While testing themes from alx.media, I found them satisfactory, but their overall look and feel did not align with my personal preferences for a clean and minimalistic interface. Further research led me to discover several other themes compatible with ClassicPress on the ClassicPress forum. Some developers have even designed themes specifically for ClassicPress. Around October 2020, I estimated there were approximately 50 themes that worked well for basic websites, including business consulting, blogs, or portfolio sites. It’s worth mentioning that I didn’t test more complex scenarios like e-commerce setups or hooks, as it wasn’t within the scope of my objectives.
Themes by Anders Noren
- McLuhan is a modern and minimalist theme that is perfect for blogs, portfolios, and personal websites. It features a clean and uncluttered design, with a focus on typography and white space.
- Iwata is a responsive theme that is perfect for businesses of all sizes. It features a professional design with a focus on usability and readability.
- Rams is a minimalist theme that is perfect for businesses and organizations that want a clean and modern look. It features a focus on typography and white space, with a simple yet effective design.
- Hemingway is a classic theme that is perfect for businesses and organizations that want a traditional look and feel.
fun fact: A previous avatar of my author site, amarvyas.in used the Lovecraft theme by Anders Noren.
Conclusion : WordPress themes and ClassicPress
Choosing a compatible theme is crucial for the overall success of your website. Not only does it play a significant role in the overall aesthetic of your site, but it also affects the site’s functionality and performance. By selecting a theme that is compatible with ClassicPress, you can ensure that your site runs smoothly and efficiently, without any hiccups. In my opinion, the compatibility of themes with ClassicPress should not be a limitation for using this Content Management System. ClassicPress offers viable options for users seeking compatible WordPress themes.
Links and resources
Themes by Anders Noren WordPress Themes Site WordPress themes on Alx.media ClassicPress Forums- discussions on themes Update July 2023 Check out the below discussion: ClassicPress Specific Themes
An older version of this blog post was published in 2021
I tested a few WordPress themes to check for their compatibility with ClassicPress. Read what I learnt during the process of finding which WordPress themes work with Classicpress. Amar Vyas, 18 February 2022
Introduction
A few months back,I had written about ClassicPress. This CMS (Content Management System) is a fork of WordPress, and how it offers a differentiated experience compares to the Gutenburg-driven WordPress. In this post, you will find the following: a. How to convert existing WordPress 5.7 or 5.8 installation to ClassicPress? b. What are some of the plugins that are compatible with ClassicPress? or, c. Which WordPress Themes on ClassicPress. d. How to import content (pages, posts, etc.) using the import feature?
For the sake of simplicity, I will refer to WordPress as WP and ClassicPress as CP in the below post, to the possible extent.
Background : Compatibility of ClassicPress with WordPress
Till version 5.6 of WordPress, the backward compatibility with ClassicPress was quite good whenever I tested it. That is, the plugin offered by ClassicPress (Switch to ClassicPress) worked rather well when one had to convert a WordPress installation/ site to ClasssicPress. However, with the advent of WordPress 5.7 and 5.8, the plugin did not work. Once could always do a fresh install of ClassicPress on Shared hosting using Softaculous or Installtron, or using the command line. But I thought that the plugin was the most convenient and (error and stress) free way for most hobbyists and those who wanted to give CP a try. The plugin issue was addressed by the CP team in July or August 2021. Now, convert an existing WordPress 5.8 installation into the latest version of CP is a breeze. I decided to test this updated plugin in particular in two possible ways. a. Create a fresh, clean WordPress install and convert it to CP. If this step completes successfully, then the goal was to check out themes, and plugins from WordPress for their compatibility with CP. As a second method, b. Convert an existing WordPress site into CP. Check for any compatibility issues.I will cover the later in a subsequent post. Needless to say, using a test site or a clone (or staging version) of an existing site is highly recommended. Do not try this on a live site!
Below you will find results from the following tests
a. Converting an existing WP site to CP b. Importing demo content using the import tool within the WP dashboard. (and creating new posts) in the new CP installation. c. Installing CP and WordPress plugins that I typically like to work with. d. Test out WordPress themes for compatibility with CP.
Why I tested these themes for WordPress
Let us call this a dry run rather than a test. My end goal is to convert my blog at blog.amarvyas.in into a ClassicPress site. But before that I had to check for any broken scripts, plugins, or themes. I could have created staging site on the same server, as the current installation for blog.amarvyas.in, but I wanted to put a specific server to use.
Server used for this post
I set up a WordPress site on a 1 GB / 1 vCore Virtual Private Server (VPS) by Virmach, which I had signed up for during Black Friday 2020 sale. This VPS has been lying idle for a large part of past several months, and I thought it was a good gesture to put it to use. As a first step I installed Debian 11 and with the goal of installing HestiaCP on it. However, Debian11 had just been released, and HestiaCP documentation and forums did not recommend installing the server panel on Debian 11 just yet. Suffice to say, they were proven right! I finally installed Ubuntu 20.04, and now this machine runs Ubuntu 20.04 . It has HestiaCP installed on it as a server management panel.
Compatibility of ClassicPress with WordPress?
With the constant changes coming to WordPress and their movement towards the Gutenberg editor and blocks. The question often comes to mind, what is next in store for CP, that is, what is the future roadmap for CP? In the CP Forum, somebody asked a question that I am paraphrasing as: Will there be an a point where in the parts of WordPress and classic press would divert so much that they’ll not be much compatibility anymore? That is an interesting question to answer, best left to the CP developers. On a positive not ,fortunately, that is not the situation today. ClassicPress has great compatibility with several themes and plugins.
Sample set of WordPress Themes
Some of the most popular ones, such as WP Astra, generatepress, Hestia and others are compatible with CP. It is a matter of simply installing the theme and tweaking these themes, and everything works just fine. That is because the CP development team has put in significant efforts for backward compatibility between the newer versions of WordPress, which is at version 5.8 at the time of writing this post.
Converting a WordPress Site to ClassicPress
On the VPS which I had set up for testing purposes, I initially installed WordPress and then use the classic press migration plugin to convert that site to classic press. I tried quite a few themes, a couple of them are very recent, and they of course did not work, including some from Automattic themselves. Majority of themes from Anders Noren, including Baskerville and Rams, worked beautifully. So did TextDash and Blogcard by Alexander Agnarson of alx.media. The stock themes from WordPress, from Twenty Twelve to Twenty Nineteen, worked very well. No white pages, no broken links or script errors. This was also the case with GeneratePress, WP Astra, and Hestia themes, as well as both versions of Independent Publisher. Previously, I had used Blocksy theme without much hassle. Making it the default theme led to a white screen. I had to log in to HestiaCP panel and delete the theme manually.
My preferred WordPress Themes that work with ClassicPress
I finally shortlisted four namely Baskerville, GeneratePress, Rams and TextDash. I believe, for the duration of the testing, I will use either Rams, or Baskerville, I really love these themes that the way the seamlessly work together with CP. I must make an honourable mention of Go Theme by GoDaddy, It is fast, versatile and great to work with.
Wrapping it Up : Which WordPress themes on ClassicPress
It’s been a fantastic experience, and quite reassuring to find a great number of themes which work just fine with CP. I have not tried many plugins so far, so maybe a follow-up post I will do that. There is an obvious question, which I have not addressed, that is, “what about page builders?” It’s kind of a tricky question to answer. The way I understand and view CP, philosophically using a page builder like an elementor will take away the simplicity the and probably a few other things that CP stands for. On the other hand, if that is what will make this fork of WordPress tick in the CMS world, then so be it. I recall in a previous test, Brizy works pretty well, but I have tried that in the past, not with the recent version thoughIt might be worthwhile to give Elementor a try as well. It probably may have limitations.
This post on themes for ClassicPress was published under category customizing ClassicPress and will be updated periodically.
