Teasing number 100

Written by Mark Forrester on August 29, 2011 Blog, Product News.

We are only days away from the release of our 100th theme. Can you believe it? 100 themes.

To get everyone excited for our big milestone we thought we’d tease the theme in a different way. Ryan ‘The Cannon’ Ray has been experimenting with Final Cut Pro X and Motion and this is the result. Not bad if we say so ourselves!

Swatch was designed, and submitted to us, by Oliver Long, and will definitely be our most detailed and feature packed free theme we’ve ever released.

Don’t worry our loyal community of paying customers, you are not being forgotten, you’ll be smiling from ear to ear with our next few releases.

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52 Responses

  1. Mattias Gustafsson
    August 29, 2011 at 3:11 pm #

    The theme seems to be just ok, not great & not bad.

    • Ryan Ray
      August 29, 2011 at 3:15 pm #

      Aww, maybe when it’s out we can change your mind. 🙂

      • Mattias Gustafsson
        August 29, 2011 at 3:36 pm #

        On the plus-side is the video. Great editing. 🙂

        • Ryan Ray
          August 29, 2011 at 3:40 pm #

          Hah, many thanks Mattias!

  2. Craig Paterson
    August 29, 2011 at 3:24 pm #

    Had a look at the preview vid, looks really nice. The features you guys add with each new theme really do make your themes stand out from the crowd. 😉

    • Ryan Ray
      August 29, 2011 at 3:40 pm #

      Plus it’s free! 😛

  3. Edward McIntyre
    August 29, 2011 at 3:47 pm #

    Free… That’s awesome!

  4. Henrik
    August 29, 2011 at 4:33 pm #

    Free is tasty 🙂

    Will have to think about what to use the Slider info for. Will look forward to it´s release.

    Designwise from the video I thought it would be more pixel perfect though. But I can´t say for sure it isn´t untill I´ve seen it in action.

    • Ryan Ray
      August 29, 2011 at 4:50 pm #

      It’s just a sneak peek, can’t give away it all! 😉

      Definitely will think you’ll like it once you can see it in action though.

      • Henrik
        August 29, 2011 at 5:56 pm #

        That is also true. In both sentances. I hope I will like it.

  5. Jason
    August 29, 2011 at 5:25 pm #

    BUT… when will it be free? (Read: When’s release date?)

    • Ryan Ray
      August 30, 2011 at 5:28 pm #

      Hmm, I hear rumors of tomorrow being the last day of August and all. 😉

  6. Gerry Humphrey
    August 29, 2011 at 7:38 pm #

    Yay =) Free is good.. but um, does this mean we are not going to see 2 paid themes this calendar month? That hasn’t happened since……. Feb. 2010!

    Then again, I have seem to become rather attached to Canvas =)

    • Scott Webb
      August 29, 2011 at 8:04 pm #

      heh, ya anything is possible with Canvas these days.

      Way I look at Swatch is that it should be a paid theme but it’s Theme 100! It’s a celebration for everyone 🙂

      WooCommunity FTW

      • Jesse
        August 29, 2011 at 8:13 pm #

        I agree free is good, but the difference is that everyone gets the free goodies and those of us that are paying aren’t getting what we were sold… I agree the value here is awesome BUT I was sold on a 3 theme per month setup, saw it drop to two and now again looking like it will be one this month.. It’s not about the value because I still feel the $20 per month I spend here is an insanely huge value for me.. its a “principle” issue for me.

        • Magnus
          August 29, 2011 at 9:11 pm #

          I agree on the principle issue Jesse, and apologies for that. The reason we briefly (about 2 weeks time) had it at 3 themes was that we had pushed out 3 themes a month for the months previous and thought we could keep it up, but then re-thought our strategy and kept it at 2 themes 🙂

    • Gerry Humphrey
      August 30, 2011 at 12:49 am #

      Replying to my post as there wasn’t a good place for me to reply to this.

      Regarding the date, it was September 2010 that there was only 1 paid theme released, not Feb 2010. My bad.

      The last time 3+ paid themes (not including the Canvas Buddy Press child theme) were released was May 2010.

      Magnus – “We’ve always counted any free theme we release in our 2 themes a month promise, since you as a member get access to support for that theme.”

      Looking backwards, there have been 2+ paid themes released each month for the last year (PLUS free themes) so I can understand while some are concerned.

      It wasn’t clear to me that I wouldn’t be getting 24 PAID PREMIUM themes a year, but on the other hand, it just says 2 themes a month and access to “all 99 themes in our collection” which does include FREE themes.

      So, I guess it is expectations.. just would not like to see TWO free themes and NO paid themes released in a month =D LOL

      I am still very happy with my subscription, was just wondering if there was going to be 2 paid themes or not.

  7. Ronny
    August 29, 2011 at 7:47 pm #

    Hoi from good old Germany 😉

    According to your promise to be the new theme by Wednesday to be there, because you promise yes 2 Theme of the month. However, I would have expected something special theme than 100. For something special, I can not, quite apart from that there is already a business theme. What can we expect from you next month? Or maybe something new again the same only in different colors and shapes?

    Greetings

    • Magnus
      August 29, 2011 at 9:13 pm #

      Special it might not be, but our biz themes are amongst our most popular. We hope you’ll like this one as well.

      The theme will be here by Wednesday 🙂

  8. Jesse
    August 29, 2011 at 7:50 pm #

    Just adding my 2 cents in here as well… Theme looks good, kudos on the video skillz etc BUT as a paying member who signed up when you promised 3 themes per month and then dropped to two and now we are a few days before the end of the month so would I be correct in assuming like Gerry that there will only be 1 theme release for August?

    • Magnus
      August 29, 2011 at 9:16 pm #

      Hi,

      We’ve always counted any free theme we release in our 2 themes a month promise, since you as a member get access to support for that theme.

      We hope that some of the other months where we have over delivered on our 2 theme a month also help weight up for the “free” aspect 🙂

  9. Serg
    August 29, 2011 at 8:40 pm #

    I agree with Jesse! The new “100th theme” looks good, but we as paying members expect always an added value to the product. I like free themes and I’m happy with the new e-commerce design, as well.
    Hope to keep receiving 2 new themes/mo. or advanced features/plugins for themes like canvas.
    For example, it would be a good idea to have a theme with a desktop version and a mobile version in the same package(the current plugins in the market are not good enough and people are having several issues).
    So when you browse with an ipad/iphone uses the mobile version and when the pages are pulled from a computer, it shows the right version:)

    • Magnus
      August 29, 2011 at 9:18 pm #

      Hi,

      As stated above, we do incorporate any free theme we release in our 2 themes a month schedule. As a paying member you gain access to full support on the free theme, which non payers don’t receive.

      We’ve got lots in store with upcoming plugin releases and themes in new categories 🙂 We’ve also got some mobile friendly themes coming up in the coming months 🙂

  10. Broxter
    August 29, 2011 at 8:45 pm #

    Meh. Go ahead and release “Currents” please.

    • Adii Rockstar
      August 30, 2011 at 7:29 am #

      Currents is 6 – 8 weeks away from release, since we’ve got a few other releases planned before that.

  11. Shawn
    August 30, 2011 at 12:00 am #

    It would be a great Idea to go back and update some of these themes to include a mobile version. This is almost becoming a standard request. It would be a disappointment if only the new themes have this upgrade. Unless this could be addressed within a plugin.

    • Magnus
      August 30, 2011 at 12:07 am #

      We’ll see how it goes with the new themes and maybe revisit some of the older popular themes.

  12. neptunefix
    August 30, 2011 at 5:43 am #

    I wish the WooTeam would focus less on getting 2 themes a month out (there are already lots of mediocre themes out there) and focus more on getting top tier themes released. (canvas and supportpress for example)

    So, 1 kick-ass theme a month would be fine with me, especially if that means higher quality and more developed themes + theme updates.

    • Adii Rockstar
      August 30, 2011 at 7:28 am #

      We’re definitely not sacrificing any quality when it comes to our 2 new releases a month. We are also working on loads of new stuff behind the scenes this month (WooCommerce as an example) and we released a completely new user dashboard last Monday. So I definitely don’t think we’re dropping in quality at all. 😉

  13. The Logo Designer
    August 30, 2011 at 9:27 am #

    Hey Guys, in reading down the page I am finding that a lot of people are actually complaining about things that are absolutely pointless.

    Really, have a look at what you already receive in your membership with WooThemes, it is awesome compared to anything else around. Be a little forgiving on the whole 2 themes a month as a promise, look whats around the corner, if that doesn’t keep you happy then I really don’t think much will.

    Anyways just my 2cents worth…

    • Adii Rockstar
      August 30, 2011 at 10:10 am #

      Thanks for the support. 🙂

      Just to reiterate though: it has always been our commitment to release 2 new themes a month. As Magnus has indicated above, free themes are included in this. Considering that this would be our 13th free theme (in 100), I don’t think this is a problem at all (also in the context that we’ve released more than 2 themes per month on average since we first launched).

    • Jesse
      August 30, 2011 at 8:00 pm #

      Just to clarify, I’m not complaining :p and I have been very clear about the fact that I find excellent value here… I just stated that when you offer something, no matter how great the value you have an obligation to honor that offer.

      I am very happy here and I am excited to see whats around the corner like most everyone else here. I fully anticipate to be a paying woothemes subscriber for a long, long time BUT I take agreements whether verbal or written seriously and firmly believe that if your word is no good then you have nothing. Like I said before, it’s not a monetary issue, it’s not an issue of satisfaction with me it’s purely an issue based upon the principle that “if you say you are going to do something then you do it” that’s all 🙂

  14. Calzo
    August 30, 2011 at 10:12 am #

    Is the free theme theme Tumblog compatible?

    • Ryan Ray
      August 30, 2011 at 5:29 pm #

      It could be with the WooTumblog plugin. 🙂

  15. MJ Stapleford
    August 30, 2011 at 10:58 am #

    This looks like a great theme and I think it is a really nice idea to release the 100th as a free theme. This will make a lot of people happy 🙂

  16. Neal
    August 30, 2011 at 2:43 pm #

    Yea, I agree that the theme just looks ok, but the video was excellent.

  17. Peter Ricci
    August 30, 2011 at 3:32 pm #

    Those complaining about 3 themes per month, I prefer to look at it this way $20 pm is good value. I am more interested in Variety and Canvas continually being upgraded cleanly 🙂

    I would be happy with 2 per month as long as it continues to have variation and options. This theme looks pretty stock standard for Woo (which is still a high level) but nothing to get me excited. Perhaps you are victims of your own hype on number 100, perhaps it is is me just being an ass.

  18. Peter Ricci
    August 30, 2011 at 3:35 pm #

    I would really like the http://woo.com/2011/06/canvas-how-to-tutorials/ to be updated to include a array of custom.css options for those that like to play but do not have a high level of coding experience.

    This http://woo.com/2011/06/canvas-how-to-tutorials/ really needs to be continually added to as it is a great resource and I nearly use Canvas for everything now.

    • Peter Ricci
      August 30, 2011 at 3:36 pm #

      Another note: The more options you cover in http://woo.com/2011/06/canvas-how-to-tutorials/ the less support you need in the forums 🙂

      As a Must have for Canvas is the Option to add a limited set of portfolio items to your home page and of course the Team Pages

    • Scott Webb
      August 30, 2011 at 8:40 pm #

      Hey Peter,

      I agree and there are goodies on the way. More within those tutorials would be a win win for all.

      🙂

      • Ryan Ray
        August 30, 2011 at 9:38 pm #

        Agreed.

  19. Lee
    August 30, 2011 at 5:22 pm #

    Nice video editing, but the theme looks kinda ‘run-of-the-mill’ to me. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I see it in the real.

    • Ryan
      August 30, 2011 at 6:41 pm #

      You can see it real in the demo btw 😀

      • Ryan Ray
        August 30, 2011 at 9:37 pm #

        shhhhhh

      • TopEchelon
        August 31, 2011 at 5:09 am #

        Fullscreen + Pause = Hint

        • Ryan Ray
          August 31, 2011 at 6:10 am #

          Now you’re really giving it away, I tried to cut that part out… 🙂

  20. Peter
    August 31, 2011 at 8:35 am #

    My First impression on the theme is it’s just perfect for a startup blogger

  21. Richard
    August 31, 2011 at 11:42 am #

    Couldn’t resist taking a peek. Looks great guys! There are some really nice elements lurking in there and it seems pretty easy to make the odd tweak here and there to give it your own personal touches. Personally – and bearing in mind that this is a freebie – I reckon we should all be saying a big thank you! So, THANK YOU! 🙂

  22. Jo
    August 31, 2011 at 2:56 pm #

    What an awesome-looking free theme!

    As a paying cutomer I think it’s fantastic that you’re offering such Woo-greatness for free. If I couldn’t afford to pay for a theme I’d be over the moon to find a free one like Swatch.

    Thank you WooTeam for your generosity, it’s much appreciated! 🙂

  23. AJ
    September 4, 2011 at 4:50 pm #

    Really nice theme. Just one thing…looks like you are calling the jCarousel script in theme-js.php which is never used and doesn’t exist in the theme.

  24. Sylwia
    October 24, 2011 at 7:21 am #

    I love this theme, but it seems that after the recent updates there’s a bug. Every tab on a single post/page goes awry. The “recent posts” tab in the sidebar is unclickable, lightbox for pics stopped working even though it’s enabled for all pics, and tabs in my Social Tabs widget are ruined. The only thing that helps is adding a tab inside a post/page. One would have to do that for all posts/pages though, which isn’t possible in my case. It didn’t happen before, it started with 1.2.9 update I think, and 1.3.0 didn’t fix it. I’m using the newest WP, and I turned off and on all of my plugins before contacting you.

    Here’s an example: http://isni.pl/2011/10/03/academic-forum-for-peace/

    • Magnus
      October 25, 2011 at 8:24 am #

      Hi,

      Please report any bugs or problems in the forum or if you are not a member, directly via e-mail so we can get details on your site.