Suffusion Theme Options
I saw screenshots from Suffusion a while back, and today I have decided to give it a spin myself. Yes, Suffusion comes with a lot of theme options, and even though I’m not a fan of “a lot” in that respect, I’m sure there are people who like them, people who use them, and people who can’t live without them. An older version of Suffusion even shipped with a custom post types and custom taxonomy “theme option” and it looks like it’s been moved into a plugin:
A plugin that helps you move away from the Suffusion WP theme by letting you carry the custom post types and taxonomies you defined with the theme.
I think that’s a great idea and that more themes should adapt this approach, including custom post types, taxonomies, shortcodes and any other functionality you can bring with a plugin. I’d go further and take away all (or most) of the theme options into a (different) plugin too, and have it like an extension pack for the theme.
Thanks for leaving your thoughts and comments, ideas and suggestions about Suffusion. Don’t forget to rate the entry and like it too! P.S. It’s funny how Suffusion warns you that it’s going to blow your mind with all the options that are available.
Theme Options Gallery 
I like the idea of keeping the post types / taxonomies section in a plugin for sure, but damn, if you need a message about not panicking then something is just wrong.
Yeah, an older version even had a robot illustration, which made it look ever scarier :) thanks for your comment!
The UI doesn’t match WordPress at all.
No it doesn’t… and it’s also very ugly!
Hi Joey, thanks for your input on the theme options UI :)
Yeah. We were debating about horizontal navigation versus vertical navigation in an earlier post. This theme has both! One other thing worth noting is that it’s got Search inside theme options, I think that’s a good idea especially with that much options all around those sections. I’m used to search in apps like Chrome, or system preferences.
Thanks for your input Devin, have a great day!
Agreed, and I would go on to say that this is a must. Any themes that don’t do this are doing it wrong, as the practice of putting custom post types/taxonomies functionality inside a theme fails the “will it stay when a user changes the theme?” test.
Hi Hafiz, thanks for your input! :)
I agree too (as i mentioned Yesterday, on another post) https://themeoptions.wordpress.com/2012/04/24/u-design-theme-options/#comment-103
Let users opt-in!
I panicked.
I initially panicked, but after wading in (and this requires wading), I found that Suffusion offers a lot! With this theme – which is free – there isn’t much about the look and feel of the site that can’t be customized. Once I was familiar with this theme’s options, I began using it on a lot of different sites and most look very different in spite of using the same theme. A theme with this many options can be daunting, but the alternative – hunting through masses of code and editing little by little – can be even scarier.
Thanks for sharing your experience Shawn!