Chrishobs said
Someone recently recommended Studiopress Genesis over anything on Themeforest, and elsewhere, for it having the cleanest, fastest code, and being the best built structure for SEO.
StudioPress is a theme shop, all of their themes use same frameworks / theme structure.
ThemeForest is a theme marketplace, different authors use different frameworks / theme structure. So, different theme has different style. You need to check every items that you want to buy here. TF is in process to update WP Theme Submission Requirements, please check it here (Locked) Update: WordPress Theme Submission Requirements - Envato Forums
Chrishobs said
Does the way code is written made a difference with SEO? Obviously the speed of how something loads is integral to traffic, and a bare bones theme would decrease page load times. But beyond a basic theme (because let’s be honest most Studiopress themes look basic), is there anything else that would make Studiopress Genesis uptake faster with google, compared with WP Themes on Themeforest?
There is On-Page SEO and Off-Page SEO. WordPress Theme is responsible with On-Page SEO. Check this post for detail explanation. Envato Forums
Chrishobs said
Second question, Studiopress claims to have an easy to update system whereby if there is a theme update it doesn’t overwrite previous code. Makes sense however does this completely limit the customization to simply the theme options? And isn’t that what most Themeforest WP themes offer anyway?
Genesis Frameworks from StudioPress has built-in auto updater to update their parent theme. They are highly promote parent theme and child theme concept, so you will never use Genesis parent theme when working with them. You have to work with child themes and they sell Child Themes basically. The theme options is very simple but customizable for developer, not really for newbie.
Again, ThemeForest is multi-author marketplace. If you child theme fans, you have to know that not all of themes here are 100% child theme friendly, you need to check and recheck before buy. ThemeForest themes sell a “complete” theme with advertised features that you can control from theme options.
Chrishobs said
Lastly, I haven’t heard the term Child theme in a while but Studiopress uses it freely, is it an out of date term? Thoughts?
Child theme concept has been introduced on WordPress ecosystem few years ago. You can read the official documentation here, Child Themes – Theme Handbook | Developer.WordPress.org .
" A WordPress child theme is a theme that inherits the functionality of another theme, called the parent theme, and allows you to modify, or add to, the functionality of that parent theme. A child theme is the safest and easiest way to modify an existing theme, whether you want to make a few tiny changes or extensive changes. Instead of modifying the theme files directly, you can create a child theme. A child theme inherits all of the templates and functionality from its parent theme, but allows you to make changes to the parent theme because code in the child theme overwrites code in the parent theme. source: Child Themes – Theme Handbook | Developer.WordPress.org "
Not everyone is familiar with Child Theme concepts, but many ThemeForest authors support child theme on their themes now. This is good.