thinkdave.com gets an upgrade

This morning I launched version 3647 of thinkdave.com, with a new layout, a few new features and hopefully, better content. Here are the important additions:

Thesis updated to version 1.8

I’ve upgraded Thesis from 1.7 to the all new version 1.8. I haven’t had a chance to use the Custom Loop API yet but I have a few ideas I’ll be exploring in the coming weeks.

Branding (sort of)

Because I’m a lousy logo designer I decided not to bother having one. Instead I’ve gone for a big friendly greeting which I think sums it up beautifully.

New Services Pages

My PSD to Thesis and PSD to WordPress pages were in need of an update both to the quality of the content and the relevance of it.

I’m adding more features to my services every time I build a site and wanted a better way to show these off without overpowering visitors. Hopefully I’ve done a good job.

FAQ page

I scoured my emails to find the most commonly asked pre-sales questions people ask me and used the answers to compile a Frequently Asked Questions page that should help shed some light.

Better calls to action

Each sales page and gateway page now has a better call to action than my previous theme design. In the coming weeks I’ll be watching conversions to see how much difference this makes.

Before some wiseass asks, yes I did steal the idea for the buttons from Vaultpress.com. But I’m sure they’re GPL just like everything else WordPress releases

Portfolio sections

One of the big things I’ve always been uncomfortable with is the fact that I had no portfolio; mostly because I do white-label work for other designers. It never occured to me to just ask some clients if I could display their sites until now, and thanks to some really nice people, I can now show off some of what I do. I’m planning to expand these examples into case studies when I get time.

Typekit

It’s official: I’m becoming a typography snob. Thanks to Typekit I now have even more control over my already expansive Thesis font library. That is unless you’re an Internet Explorer user in which case no amount of font prettiness can improve your browsing experience.

Things I still need to do

• Find a better way to display my jQuery call to action buttons. I’m not entirely happy with the way they work right now.
• Move the site from my shared server to one of Xilo’s super fast VPS platforms.
• Add PSD to WordPress portfolio pieces
• Tinker with Gravity Forms default styling, which I hate.

So, there you have it. I’d love to hear your thoughts, comments and criticisms in the comments.