The Ultimatum Theme by Wonderfoundry is a WordPress Theme Framework. Creating a responsive design with the Ultimatum Theme is simply a matter of drag-and-drop – or in other words; no coding required.
A theme with a responsive design will adapt the presentation of the web page to the screen of the device used by the visitor; be it a desktop, a laptop, a tablet or a smartphone. Hence, such a theme responds to the size and orientation of the screen.
Theme Options Panel
The Ultimatum Admin Panel comprises seven pages:
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- General Settings
- SEO Options
- Font Library
- Templates
- Custom Post Types
- Developer Options
- Updates
The Developer Options are only available with the Developer’s License and the Designer’s License of the Ultimatum Theme – not with the Starter License.
The General Settings box includes options for logo, favicon, header and footer scripts, WooCommerce Integration, and a drop-down menu to select your preferred theme for the Pretty Photo feature – you can choose from six options.
The SEO Options page is a recent addition and is disabled upon install. When you prefer to use Ultimatum’s SEO settings above installing a third-party plugin, you can enable these on this page.
The SEO Options give you the means to tweak the Search Engine Optimization settings according to your taste. This page serves sections for:
- Document Title
- Document Head
- Robots Meta
- Archives
The Font Library page of the Ultimatum Theme, lets you can choose from 49 Cufon fonts, 49 Font-Face Fonts and the entire Google Font Library which currently covers 262 fonts. The Font Library gives you an easy interface for managing your preferred fonts. While doing so, the font previews will come in handy.
Creating Ultimatum Templates
Templates are the Ultimatum equivalent for child themes. These are named templates and not child themes, because in contrast with the usual WordPress child themes, the Ultimatum child themes are not separate themes.
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Ultimatum Templates are groups of page layouts which – in case of the Developer’s and Designer’s license – you can not only import, but also export.
The Templates page includes four sections:
- Create a New Template
- Import a Template
- Available Templates
- Mobile Web Apps per Device
A template can have as many layouts as you want. You can assign a specific layout to posts as well as to pages while creating or editing a post or a page.
Layouts are created with the Layout Generator which is accessible through the Layouts button at the Available Templates section of the Templates page.
The Layout Generator distinguishes two kinds of layouts; full and partial.
Partial layouts are in fact building blocks – widgetized areas – which you create, use and reuse within full layouts. You can think of headers, footers, and widgets areas before and after the main content.
Full Layouts are recognized by your visitors as page layouts. These can be cloned; you can copy an existing layout so that you do not have to create a new layout from scratch. And you avoid altering an existing layout by mistake.
The default layout shows initially a completely blank canvas at the front end. In order to change this you turn to the Layout Generator. You need to:
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- create a new layout or edit an existing layout
- populate that layout with widgets
The Ultimatum Theme installs with 18 custom widgets including two WordPress loops:
- Ultimatum Slide Show
- Ultimatum Author Definition
- Ultimatum BreadCrumps
- Ultimatum Cat/Taxonomy Definition
- Ultimatum Forms
- Ultimatum Include Page
- Ultimatum Logo
- Ultimatum Menu
- Ultimatum Recent Comments
- Ultimatum Recent Posts
- Ultimatum Sidebars
- Ultimatum Social
- Ultimatum Subpages Navigation
- Ultimatum Super Title
- Ultimatum Twitter
- Ultimatum Video
- WordPress Custom Loop
- WordPress Default Loop
Opening the CSS Editor is a matter of clicking a CSS button within the Layout Creator/Editor. When you do, a pop-up appears. However, you will not see any CSS code! What you will see are merely relevant toggle boxes.
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These CSS toggle boxes give you the ability to make changes to the CSS code of elements by pointing and clicking – without coding. The Ultimatum Theme facilitates the 960 grid system for its Cascading Style Sheets.
Outside the Ultimatum panel, the theme framework adds a module for Slide Shows and one for Forms. The Slide Shows module lets you create galleries with one or more images.
The Forms Creator allows you to create contact forms – for example – by dragging and dropping form elements like Text Areas, Text Boxes, Drop Down Menus, Check Boxes, and Radio Buttons. When you drag a form element into the From Fields area, a dialog box will appear where you can enter the necessary values.
Building A Layout
Let’s follow the steps you need to take when you want to build a new layout with the Ultimatum Theme.
A basic blog page layout could include three rows:
- header
- content/sidebar
- footer
When you create a new row with Ultimatum’s Layout Creator/Editor, you can choose from 28 styles. Each style divides the available width over a certain number of columns; ranging from a one 100% width column up to four 25% width columns and about any possible combination in between.
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For our simple blog page we create a Layout Body with:
- a header row with two columns – one for the logo, the other one for an advertisement or a navigation menu
- a content/sidebar row with two columns – one for the content area, the other one for the sidebar
- a footer row will usually have three or four columns
Each row has its own Wrapper CSS and its own Container CSS. The Wrapper CSS defines the design of the screen wide background of a row, while the Container CSS defines the background of the row within the 960 pixel width area of your website.
In addition, each column has its own Column CSS. Editing the CSS code of any parts of the grid is a matter of:
- opening the CSS Editor
- selecting the appropriate toggle box
- point-and-click to assign the desired values
In order to add content to your layout, you can drop your desired widgets into the preferred parts of the grid. You can do that at any time. Before, while or after tweaking the CSS code.
Wrapping Up
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Drag-and-drop. Point-and-click. Basically, that is about it when you build layouts, designs and websites with the Ultimatum Theme. Creating awesome design remains an art that needs practice. However, building page structures and websites from scratch is really easy with the Ultimatum Theme.
As mentioned earlier, the Ultimatum Theme comes in three flavors:
- Starter License $65
- Developer’s License $125
- Designer’s License $170
The Starter License gives you a lifetime membership and support for one site.
The Developer’s License entitles you to support for an unlimited number of sites, WordPress multisite support, and the ability to export templates.
The Designer’s License adds the right to sell your templates to the Ultimatum Template Market. More details on the pricing plans are available here.
At the moment, the Ultimatum Developer License is available at Mighty Deals for only $57, and the Start License for only $37. Definitely worth the money in my opinion.
Hi there Wil
I have tried this theme framework and bought it through Mighty Deals so only paid $57 bucks or £38 UK Pounds. It works well and has very good penitential, but it is not quite there yet! When you ask questions in the forum or send a support message, they do not come back to you, or they don’t like the questions asked of them. They need to work on things like the problems they have with the menu section. I will give them a few months to work on the framework and then have another look at it.
If you have the money, by it while the offer is on with Mighty Deals, and keep it on the back burner until they do the next major upgrade, where they hopefully will have ironed out the small problems they have with the current edition. I would give it 3.5 out of 5 stars.
John
Hi there,
I am sorry to hear your support questions were not answered I am pretty sure our community is answering all. Please send me a PM regarding your issues in members site. I will be glad to help.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with the Ultimatum Theme this time, John. Good to see that despite the support issue, you still rate the theme above average with your 3.5 out of 5.
Fantastic write up Wil, very clean and concise. I started using Ultimatum about a month ago, and I find the support is absolutely incredible. They go out of their way to make everyone welcome, accommodating most questions right away. Some questions take a bit longer to answer, but that can be expected with the next big thing for WordPress. I have seen that there are growing numbers of support people their, and they are building a new area for most asked questions that have great answers that will clearly steer you in the right direction.
I started to watch one of the starter movies of how to build a site, there are quite a few of them, but I got a grasp of the power of Ultimatum within the first 20 mins. I still should at some stage watch the rest of the movies, but I have such a handle on it that I can build out sites very fast, and feel very unrestricted apart from designers block. I can now have the flexibility to unleash my imagination.
I see that there is a starter theme that will be ready for the users to download, it looks awesome. Has the full capability built right in for WooCommerce, so setting up a fantastic looking shop will be a breeze. The starter theme is a week away from launch, keep your eye out for it. Its called iConic Starter theme.
Ciaran
Hi Claran,
Welcome to wilwebs.com. It is great to read that you are very happy with the Ultimatum Theme itself as well as with the support. Personally, I like to work with the StudioPress themes based on the Genesis Framework. However, probably just like you, I have a need for a system that offers the tools to build a site from scratch the way I like it – quickly. Good luck with your web projects.
Hey Wil!
Exceptional write up yet again 🙂
I am on the fence right now deciding between Ultimatum and PageLines. Have you tried PageLines? It is $197 for their Dev framework right now. Ultimatum is still on Mighty Deals for $57 (Dev). It’s a pretty big price jump – I am wondering if it is just because Ultimatum is new or if it is quality.
Very much looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks!
-Em
Hi Em!
Thanks! I am glad you like it. And yes, the PageLines sale is very tempting indeed.
To help me to make up my mind, I did a little research. You can read my findings here Comparing Pricings & Plans of WordPress Theme Frameworks.
Hopefully this helps you to make the right decision.
Take care – Wil
In regards to native web apps with Ultimatum , is it that the web app is an optimized version of your desktop site/blog or does it allow you to create the web app from scratch. ( full design control, do you have control on pages,menus, what content is displayed ).
I already use a premium wordpress framework but i’m interested in using Ultimatum for mobile sites.Would this be a good fit as a mobile site solution?
sober,
Ultimatum lets you create a full template from scratch for your mobile pages. So you can have a totally different site with use of it. This part of Ultimatum is also under heavy development for better results.
Regards
Thank You for the quick response xenous!
I’m going to purchase it because it really does look impressive, and based on the video i saw on youtube with the web app ,i think this just might be the best wordpress framework as a complete package (desktop/mobile).This is the first i’ve seen that’s put effort into making real mobile sites and not just some plugin that shows blog posts.
I’m enjoying ultimatum so far. It would have taken me a lot to create a dynamic website but I’m getting a hang of it so far. Its easy to use, you just need to take some time to study it. Once you get a hang of it, you’ll be happy you bought it. I purchased it just late last month and I’m on my third website now.
Hi, seun. Thank you very much for sharing your experiences with the Ultimatum Theme. It is good to hear that you have been able to ‘get’ the framework so quickly. Good luck with your web endeavors. – Wil
…glad that I found your site to see how people are reacting to Ultimatum! I’m new to WP but saw the deal and snapped it up as the demo version looked pretty impressive! Based on the posts here, although it might need tweaking, it seems to be a great program to use! Maybe I’ll check back in once I get my hands dirty! All the best!
Hi there Will,
I would like to retract my comments up at the top of the comments on this page by saying the following.
I have over the last few weeks revisited the Ultimatum framework. There have been some updates since I first looked at it and all I can say is…. “WOW it is brilliant, very intuitive, easy to build different layouts for different sections of our website, quick and robust” so far we have built 5 websites using this framework, and over the next few months we will be moving ALL our WordPress websites completely over to this framework, that is how much confidence we have in this product. I understand they are currently working on version 2.4, which should be available in October 2012.
With the way this product has progressed in only a few months. It can only get better and better.
If I was looking to purchase a new framework to build websites from within WordPress, I would definitely put this at the top of the list and give it 5 stars. I personally believe it is much better than Pagelines, Headway and Catalyst.
When you first look at the framework It does, I will admit, look daunting but even Dreamweaver looks daunting the first time you open it up. There are a good number of YouTube videos to watch which explain how to quickly and easily design the layout ready to be used in WordPress.
The membership support forum is excellent and you get answers quickly and concise.
This is a framework to watch!
Kind regards
John
Hi John,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences with Ultimatum. Only two more frameworks to go and then I will try to compare the nine frameworks that I have examined. But Ultimatum is definitely on my short list too.
Take care – Wil
…has anyone had any issues in signing up or signing in to download the Ultimatum software? I’ve sent an email and am waiting for a response but was curious if anyone else had any problems? There wasn’t any conformation that my email had been sent? The sign up section takes me to the buy section but I’ve already paid for the license? Any ideas?
Hi Rich, I had problems too. Last weekend, I did not encounter any problems. A minute ago, I tried to recover the password, and that worked out fine. I am logged in right now. Good luck!
when i go to purchase the utlitmatum theme through your link i find that this is an plugin not a theme.
When i am going to pay for it i find that the invoice mentioned this : MightyDeals: Ultimatum WordPress Theme Builder Plugin: Ultimatum Developer Edition – $57
so it is a plugin not a theme.
Rahul
Hi Rahul, it’s definitely not a plugin. You do not need any other theme or framework to use Ultimatum – just WordPress.
thanks for clarification. I purchase this theme.
Rahul
You are most welcome, rahul. Thanks for using wilweb’s affiliate link. Much appreciated. Good luck with Ultimatum. Looking forward to your experiences. Take care, Wil
Hi Will,
Rather new to wordpress frameworks but very interested in what I read about Ultimatum. I have a number of clients that would like me to build sites for them using wordpress but i did have some questions you may be able to help with. If i was to buy the ultimatum developers license would this enable me to build client sites and export out themes I created and install them using wordpress on their hosting plans? Would my clients need to purchase an ultimatum license to be able to import the sites I have created and exported? Or can they just import using a usual wordpress installation?
Clarification of this would be greatly appreciated.
Many thanks,
Josh
Hi Josh, welcome to wilwebs.
Yes, you are allowed to install/use the Developer License on client’s sites, without the need for your clients to purchase their own license. Of course, this implies that your clients will not have access to Ultimatum’s support forum – they have to turn to you for any support related matters.
At the moment it is not (yet) possible to export themes – just templates. However, according to discussions on the Ultimatum Forum it will be possible to export themes with the next major release of Ultimatum which has been scheduled now for November 22nd.
Currently, it is already possible to “rebrand” Ultimatum so that you can give the folder any name you like. And since you probably will assign the role of editor – or even lower – to the people at your client’s, they will not have access to the administrator features of Ultimatum anyway.
When the hosting plans offer your clients allow you to install and run WordPress, there is actually no technical problem to run Ultimatum.
Hopefully this helps. Let me know when it does not or when you have any other questions. Take care – Wil
Thanks Wil,
So essentially I would just be installing ultimatum on their hosting using my dev license and creating the site on there as opposed to creating on my own hosting, exporting and installing it on theirs?
That is correct, Josh. You can use the dev license on unlimited domains – your own as well as your client’s. And you are welcome 😉 Have a great weekend, Wil
Hi Wil
Thanks for a great post.
Do you know if Ultimatum works with normal WP plug ins? For example on my site I have Premium web cart, Wishlist member and Mailchimp all integrated behind the site. I wouldn’t want to lose these features, but like the idea of developing using Ultimatum.
Many thanks
Dave
Hi Dave, thanks for your kind words. Well, I have not tested all plugins – definitely not all premium plugins – but I have not experienced any problems to date. In case you want to be sure, I would suggest to make a pre-sales inquiry.
Hi Wil,
I m a complete newbie to site building and i would like to ask maybe a silly question. It is just that the header area is very important to me. I have already bought a Canvas Wootheme, but it is really difficult for me to get the result I want with the header, as I know almost nothing about coding. Can you please tell if it will be possible to adjust the area of the header as much as i want (mostly height) with the Ultimatum theme? Also is it possible to create an area for logo of the size I may want and put it exactly where I want it to be in the header?
Thank you in advance,
Denis
Hi Denis,
There are no silly questions, only silly answers. It is my pleasure to answer your question. The Ultimatum Theme allows you to create a complete website without coding. The page layout is created by adding rows with one or more cells. A simple page layout might have three rows; header, content and sidebar, footer. The next step would be to adding CSS by pointing-and-clicking – without coding. For the header you can upload and position a logo, set the background color, add borders, height, margin, padding, and font styling. All without coding, you only have to point and click. Let me know if you have any other questions.
Take care,
Wil
Thank you Wil for the reply 🙂 It’s great you are trying to help, answering every question people ask you! You are man! 🙂
About the header, as I understand I can do whatever I want and make it look however I want, adding logo and text to wherever I want in the area of a cell, is it correct? Sounds like what I am looking for. I end up thinking of two options: Ultimatum and Catalyst. Do you think they offer similar service or Catalyst is more superior?
Thanks again Wil.
Denis
You are welcome, Denis. Yes, your conclusion regarding the header is correct. Ultimatum and Catalyst have a different approach to creating page layouts. Ultimatum offers more flexibility, which comes with a slightly higher learning curve. Catalyst is more straightforward. I think it is a matter of personal preference. BTW, both offer point-and-click CSS creation. Hope that helps, Wil.
Wow, Ultimatum offers more flexibility over Catalyst. I thought it’s vice versa. That’s great, thank you very much for your time Wil!
Has anyone successfully used a membership plugin with the Ultimatum framework? I have read posts with problems using fastmember and the pages not being protected. Unfortunately on the community site there was no clear answer on several posts as to what membership plugin if any will work with ULT. When I say membership plugin I am referring to the upper end varieties such as for example fastmember, wishlist, amember, DAP, or S2.
Don’t bother with this tool. It is overly complex and difficult to use, not to mention not having a proper user manual or help pages… I was never able to complete a full site with this tool, even though I have been able to achieve complete sites without it. I asked for a refund and never heard from them.
Hi Amy, thank you very much for sharing your experiences with Ultimatum. I am sorry to hear about your disappointment. Is it possible for you to address the information you were missing while building your site?
Am a newbi, but I seriously love the theme. Yet, I have to say, it should be way easier for those who have experience, they can do wonder with it.
The forum is cool but u just can’t ask everything, hence a real user manual should be there. I soooo hope they will have some new videos that teaches us the basics. Cause a newbi would sooooo spend a long time trying to figure things out.
Hi NJ, your experience with Ultimatum are a little bit comparable to Amy’s. Although you are happy with Ultimatum, you state the manual is not covering all the basics required by a newbie. What kind of details or information would you like to see? May I can find a way for wilwebs to help you out.
Hey,
I do have lots of questions, like
How to edit a search , how to add links to featured images, menus, changing colors and types of fonts in the widgets…… making responsive sites, mobile websites (with the new option added) , and much more…… but every time I ask something they say it needs CSS, I am starting to learn the basics but it is not as easy as it is explained before one buys the theme. I am SO willing to learn but I NEED the materials the videos the stuff that tells me WHAT TO DO! 😀
One more thing, I do think that copying other websites (of course after taking permission) is SO USEFUL. The videos that are in the tutorials that copies one website , were really cool..
I think it should be done more often. 🙂
Hi Wil,
I’m a newbie to the website builder world but I have a few question? I had purchased the genesis frame it is not as easy as I thought, so i have been searching for a word press builder and I found the catalyst. I also saw the ultimatum and I also liked it. I notice that ultimatum has a few more extra features that catalyst doesn’t have. What I want the website builder is first to learn how to build website and second to make some extra money selling website to others. So I’m trying to figure out which one should I go with, as a newbie I don’t know much coding and my biggest concern is been able to modify or have total control over the header that is where I have had the most difficulty.
I want to buy one of the builders I was leaning towards the catalyst since I have genesis. But I want to have a second opinion as to which one is a better choice, I’m ready to buy one of them but can’t make up my mind because of fear of choosing I guess the wrong one or the one with the least features. Another question I have is, i know that genesis has its own template that you can buy from them, but can either program modify any template from any other company, for example elegant themes or themeforest or are the program limited to themes that the developer sells?
My last question with which program has the most flexibility to build almost any time of template? Example I want to build some Fullscreen WordPress Theme similar to themeforest template.
Have a great day!
Thanks for your help,
Bill
Hi Bill,
First of all, there is no perfect WordPress framework. Except for Thesis 2.0, I have been creating websites with all major frameworks and all have their pros and cons.
Building a website requires structure and design. Using a framework, you are able to create your own website structure (page layouts) without coding. However, in case you want to make websites with appealing designs, you will definitely need to have some knowledge of CSS.
Since you already have Genesis and you say you like Catalyst, I would definitely have a look at the Dynamik Website Builder. You can consider Dynamik as a port of Catalyst to Genesis. An advantage of Catalyst and Dynamik above Ultimatum is that you can create easily portable child themes with these two systems.
There are two aspects when it comes to modifying (child) themes: technical and legal. The split license terms of ThemeForest do not allow you to install ThemeForest themes on more than one website. You are allowed to do that with StudioPress child themes and themes from ElegantThemes. An advantage of Genesis over ElegantThemes here, is that you can restructure the child theme with the Genesis Extender – without coding.
You can really build any kind of website with either Ultimatum, Catalyst, Dynamik or Genesis. Point is they just all have a different approach in achieving this goal. Genesis requires coding PHP – or applying precooked code – and CSS. Ultimatum, Catalyst, and Dynamik allow you to create CSS with point-and-click.
Do not hesitate if you have any other questions.
All the best,
Wil
Hi Wil, thanks for the explanation. It has help made a better decision. I will go with the two suggestion.
Have a great day!
Bill
i bought the developer package on mighty deal for 57 bucks and recieved code but im having issues signing up ? whats going on ………..i pay then i am taken to register then it takes me back to paypal to pay 125 ???
Hi Omar, you should be able to enter the coupon code that you have received from MightyDeals during the registration. This coupon code reduces the amount to pay to $0. – Wil
Hi Wil, I have got the exact same problem as Omar’s. I used the coupon code the reduces the amount to pay to $0. But it still takes me to a Paypal page asking me for $125. Already sent an email to Ultimatum. Hope they will reply and fix the problem very soon…………..
Hi Stephen, indeed that is not as it supposed to be. Hopefully the guys over at Ultimatum will resolve this issue ASAP.
The Ultimatum team replied saying that the issue was due to server upgrade. And I am downloading the package now. Yay!
Okay! Thanks for the update, Stephen. Have fun!
Hi Wil,
I am very much stuck, having spent a whole day researching options for my new site build and running up against a lot of brick walls. I’m a complete novice and know no code so the drag & drop options of ultimatum, Headway and iTheme’s Builder have caught my eye. I’m hoping that one of them will enable me to make a really great professional site easily/painlessly, exactly as I want it. The problem is, what I want is a site with advanced event management functionality (online ticket sales, etc), member login and in-built email/newsletter capacity. Now, I’ve found an awesome looking plugin that does all of this (http://eventespresso.com/). What I cannot find out is whether Ultimatum or the others will work with this plugin. I understand that it’s very hard to get a definitive answer for a question like this as there are so many WP plugins out there. So perhaps a simpler question is (if you can’t answer the event espresso one) – in your experience, how well does Ultimatum (or Headway or Builder) integrate with third party plugins? Do you know of any specific examples of event management plugins being used on drag & drop sites?
Thanks,
Andrew
Hi Andrew,
Well you know what you want, that is a good start. Drag-and-drop is a just way of creating the structure of your theme (the functions.php). With all three frameworks mentioned, the styling (the style.css) is created with point-and-click. PageLines offers point-and-click for the page layouts, but probably requires manual coding of the CSS. With Catalyst and Dynamik you compose both – structure and styling – by point-and-click.
Until date, I have not experienced any problems with generic WordPress plugins with any of the major frameworks – although my experience with Thesis is only limited. iThemes has created an event block – a custom post type – for its Builder framework which integrates with EventBrite. The Event Block is free for customers using Builder.
Since you are considering eventespresso, why not submit a pre-sales question to the framework providers on your short list?
Hope this sheds a little light for you – Wil
I click each title link at menu Ultimatum Recent Posts for blog. The URL link shows up fine, but the content doesn’t show up.
At this web http://www.gotourvietnam.com
Anyone help please.
Hi Pannathorn, the template design is probably incomplete, since the content area is completely blank. I am afraid I cannot help you out here, since that requires access to the back-end. Please refer the Ultimatum support forum for this issue. – Wil
Hi Wil,
This is a tested site. I will give you user/pass. Can you email me at p…@…com.
Asking at Support of Ultimatum Theme is painstakingly slow to answer.
Thanks
Your Post Comment here is quite slow on updating a written comment.
I apologize to write twice at above comments.
Also, I am glad that my comment at ultimatumtheme.com has been answered well and correctly. The problem is solved.
Thanks
Okay, great! Thanks for the update.
Again Hi Wil,
How to set borders left and right as yours here for Full Layout? Appreciate.
Hi Pannathorn, with Ultimatum you control this with the Body Background Color (click the [Edit CSS] button of the template) and the Wrapper/Container Backgrounds of the layout rows (via the [Edit] button of the template).
Hi Wil,
at my tested web http://www.gotourvietnam.com, how can i adjust the background of Container CSS of Header(Purple background) and Body(Red background) to be equal at left/right adjustment.
Thanks
The header looks nicely centered to me. You can always manually adjust a position by manipulating margins and paddings.
For more details about CSS, please refer to this post.
Hi Will,
i have today the opportunity to buy ultimate at 57$ on mighty deals, but it ends today so i have to take a quick decision!
I have a good level in html and CSS (and i like to code with it!), so i begin to be able to make my own layouts in html/css , but i like to work with wordpress and tired to work with themeforest templates (reading the documentation for each template, etc… now i have more fun coding!). The point is i am beginner in PHP, and not very good to go from html to wordpress!
Do you think that ultimatum is for me ? (i work for an agency, and for my own clients, and continue learning on lynda.com, so i have a professional profile)
Another thing, i’m just learning css frameworks, specially foundation & bootstrap (and LESS and SASS also) and i saw on your printscreen that you have the option to download template , so can i download the foundation css framework for exemple ?
I’m just like a kid in front a new toy, want to buy it because it’s really cheap with mighty deals, but don’t want to buy something i’m not going to use at the end!
Can you help me to make the good choice, and tell me if you thinks that this product seems for me!
Thanks in advance!
Hello Alexandra,
Basically, it is possible to create a custom websites with WordPress theme frameworks without the need to code any php. A (basic) understanding of CSS – which you have already have – however, is definitely a big plus.
Whether Ultimatum or for example the Dynamik Website Builder is the best solution for you depends for a great deal on expectations and personal preference. It is like choosing between two car brands; both will bring you where you want to go.
BTW, when you export a template with ultimatum you get a file in a propriety (utx) format intended to transfer settings between Ultimatum installations. For example between a local host at agency and a production site of a client.
Ultimatum is definitely a very nice framework, and I like the way you can build websites with Ultimatum. What worries me a bit is that they do not keep their promises and do not meet deadlines. Okay, who does in software development?
Well, somewhere June/July last year version 2.4 was announced for the Autumn of 2012. This version would allow you to export WordPress themes that could run independently from Ultimatum. Unfortunately, the release date of 2.4 has been postponed several times.
Last week they have announced that (the features) of the new release goes beyond expectations and will be 2.5, skipping 2.4 – but no ETA yet! This does not have to be a problem when you are creating websites just for your own fun and profit. Of course, this might – and I sincerely hope it will – change on a short term.
Hopefully this helps – Wil
Well that’s not a big problem, as i can put ultimatum on my clients website with the developpers license, so buying it today at 57$ it’s a good deal i think.
i am looking this videos now: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3iCWJmBAPGU…but i have the habit to learn on lynda.com where they have so great teachers and communicators.
And here the guy is speaking so slowly…it’s a torture for me!!! but well it’s just a couple of hours, to see if i like it!
have you an affiliate link even if i buy it with mighty deals
anyway thank you very much for your help :-))))
Sure, Alexandra. Here it is. Thank you! 🙂
Do you know if there is manual or something more than this videos (they are interesting, but this guy has a way of talking that’s make me sleep!…And english is not my native language neither)
There is an online manual. However this documentation is only available for customers. This manual helped me getting started with Ultimatum. Personally, I prefer reading over watching videos, even when they are from Lynda 😉 .
Well just bought it! i’ve caught a coupon of 10%, so at the end it cost me 51,30$ = 40€
so pretty good deal!
And i’m going to see if it works for me!
Thanks again for your help!!!
Hi Will,
just to say that i’m so happy with Ultimatum!
it totally feets my needs! i’m totally in love with it, and cannot take my hands out of the computer.
The new version seems to be soon, and will include bootstrap! that’s great, i was just learning bootsrtap and less before i bought Ultimatum!
thank you again for your advice, have a nice day 🙂
Hello Alexandra,
Thank you very much for sharing your experience with Ultimatum. I am very pleased that you are so happy with this WordPress framework. Looking forward to your work 😉
Take care – Wil
I will post my works with Ultimatum here 😉
Hi Will,
i’m very frustrated, because as i said last time i really like ultimatum, but i have a big problem it’s impossible for the moment to design website on a basis above 960px that look good on iphone…and most of my design are above (i like wide design) for exemple i’m testing to transform a psd to wordpress here: http://crea-webdesign.net/test/ and i was really happy seeing what i can do on the desktop…but on the iphone…horrible, in responsive on in regular mode (looks better, but have to be 960px).
and it seems to have no solution, only hoping 2.5 comes soon! but with that i cannot work seriously and that’s a big problem.
So i’m thinking to try genesis with dynamik.
I have play around a little with it and definitivly prefer ultimatum, but what can i do, nowdays websites have to look good on iphone.
I just wanted to ask you if i can succed to design in dynamik the same type of website i try to design in my test, or this type of website in full screen : http://www.lesic-dimitri.com/ (for exemple i don’t see vertical menu in dynamik…)
i almost don’t design blogs
Knowing that i’m ok in css, i almost don’t use the panel option, prefer to code by hand (and bty i like the screen css editor in real time) but i’m really bad with php, hooks, filters etc…
That’s why ult was perfect for me…until now.
So if you can give me a good advice it would be great, i really don’t know what to do 🙁
Hello Alexandra,
Your designs look very nice. Chapeau!
The Genesis/Dynamik duo is definitely my preferred web design tool. A great deal of my designs have widths ranging from 1040px up to 1140px.
A vertical menu is a matter of CSS – a menu is basically just a list. You can manage hooks through the graphical user interface of Dynamik. In order to test responsive designs I turn to here. When necessary you can add additional CSS rules for the respective screen sizes.
Hence, I expect that you will be able to achieve your objectives with Genesis/Dynamik.
Wil
Thank you, i’m going to continue my tests!
by the way what do you think of DMS pagelines, i play a little with it, it’s nice but not the revolution they announce, i prefer ult.
And i feel it’s a huge marketing thing to make you buy lot of thinks, and pay 300$ every year…
You are welcome, Alexandra.
PageLines managed to create a lot of hype the past few weeks. But indeed, seems more like an evolution than a revolution. In addition, a major drawback is that the visual editor – currently – only works with Chrome! Is this Browser Wars II; Best viewed with…? Anyway, I have a Developer Plus Membership and a site running on PageLines. I will post a review shortly.
Hi,
i bought genesis + dynamik yesterday, with your links of course!
stupidly i bought genesis first, and saw after buyin dynamik that i could have a coupon until the 2 august and buy at 44.95$, well it’s not very important!
and now going to study it, i will tell you what i think!
To finish my advice on Ultimatum: Don’t buy it if you want to design larger than 960 px, because of the 960 grid, it will look bad on iphone, and there no way to do it, before new version!
Anyway it can be a good deal to buy it now with mighty deals it’s really cheap, and wait for version 2.5 who seems great…but don’t know when.
the big problem is their business model, they are only 2 guy behind, so how can they, support, developp and do everything, they have to hire people, that’s the key.
In conclusion, or it will die, or it become great, because the potential is really huge!
so spending 59$ is not a big risk, perhaps it will be more expensive later, or almost no more mighty deal.
Hi Alexandra,
Thanks for using my affiliate links 😉 .
Ultimatum, indeed, has a lot potential. The developers are ambitious, which is good. May be they should take smaller steps instead of trying to leapfrog in features. It would be easier to set realistic release dates and customers would regular improvements.
But hey, they still have to turn two, so let us cut them some slack.
BTY, do you think i have to begin with genesis 2 ? or the actual version ?
For production environments, you better stick to Genesis 1.9.2 and Dynamik 1.2.
For training and development purposes, however, you can also opt for Genesis 2.0 beta and Dynamik 1.2.
The last two post on theStudioPress Blog might be of interest to you.
Good luck – Wil
Hi Wil,
i’m happy with genesis&dynamik, even if it’s harder than ultimatum, i’m learning new things and i like it, and i know is a very professional framework.
But i have again the same problem with my 1200px design, if i don’t wan’t to make the work to make it responsive, i cannot just have a website of 1200px that fits nicely on the iphone:
http://delphinedepardieu.com/dynamik/
almost here i know i can make it responsive.
as you said most of your designs are > 960 px, perhaps do you know the solution ? or do you make the work to turn it responsive everytime.
btw i used visual composer with it
Hello Alexandra,
Great to hear you are happy with Genesis/Dynamik. It might be a little bit more difficult than Ultimatum, but you get more control in return. You will probably get used to it in no time.
Speaking about responsive designs, did you enable Responsive Design under Gensis >> Dynamik Settings? When you do, the Dynamik Design Options get an additional menu item labelled Responsive, where you can add CSS rules related to specific screen sizes (media queries).
Good luck – Wil
yes i know that, and i’m trying to do it know, but not so easy and additional work.
what i mean is that i don’t necessary need responsive everytime, but just to fit nicely in the screen, and that’s what happens if i turn out the responsive button, but only for 960px designs!
Well, no problem with difficulty if i have more control in return that’s what i need !
and responsive or not, my rev slider don’t work on the iphone (it was working with ultimatum)
Did you contact CobaltApps concerning the Rev Slider?
Not for the moment, it works if it not turn responsive, but not in responsive.
I write on the forum about my problem but not about responsive.
And as i already wrote them yesterday for another thing…
I’m going to do it.
Thanks!
Hi Will, you know that Ultimatum 2.5 is out since one week, and it’s really great! And also i have to say, now since the release the support is amazing, they answer in max 30mn to all questions.
So i’m very happy with it, and have taken the studio license to sell template on the market they are going to open this month.
have you tried it ?
you have to make a new review about it 🙂
Hello Alexandra, yep and I have already scheduled an up-to-date review too 🙂 . It is good to hear from you, and I am glad you are happy with the current support – a 30 minute time frame is really fast.
Hi. I’ve got some Qs re: Ultimatum (vs Genesis w/Dynamik). Can you tell me would be easier to use for someone coming from Headway (I’ve been using it for 3 years)? I’m very used to drag/drop and and like to change my layout whenever I want. I’d also like something that’s easy to style nicely (perhaps I need a skin or a live CSS editor). I want something that has clean code and that will load fast–and that will allow me to migrate from HW without major issues.
I also want to deal with a company that has solid support. If someone gets Genesis/Dynamik, who supports that? Genesis or Dynamik?
Any advice you have would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
Hello Lisa,
Coming from Headway, I expect that the learning curve will be about the same, whether you will go for Ultimatum or Dynamik.
Dynamik comes with a live CSS editor, although I prefer to use Firebug in combination with SublimeText (or any other plain text editor, on Windows I have been using Notepad++ for years).
In either case, you will have to rebuild your themes/skins, of course you will remain with WordPress, but do not expect a smooth transition. BTW, why are considering to drop Headway?
It is true that with regard to support you might have to deal with StudioPress for Genesis and CobaltApps for Dynamik. I can not remember being in the need for support with either products, but I do not expect any problems. Cobalt might be a good place to start when you stumble into any issues.
The Genesis/Dynamik duo is my preferred tool to create custom websites, but when you require a drag and drop framework, there is not really much too choose of course. – Wil
Thanks for the fast reply, Wil, and the great info!
I’m considering leaving HW for a few reasons. The version I’m using (an old one–like 2.?) does not have an upgrade path to the current version (3.?). So I’d have to start from scratch anyway. Also, it’s hard for me to find people in my area who work with Headway. In the past, when I needed a web developer, there were only a few to choose from and the hourly rate was very high. If I use something like Genesis or Thesis (which I’m not considering), I can find someone more easily–in other countries and for a more affordable price. Also, HW was quite glitchy/buggy at times and caused me to lose many days of my life trying to fix things. Yes, the customer support was there, but it took too much of my time. I do/did love the drag/drop, of course. It spoiled me.
So I just want to double-check…Genesis/Dynamik has drag/drop, too, right–not just Ultimatum? I like the way Ultimatum’s interface looks. Is G/D’s similar? Does one of them have cleaner code and run faster? Or are they pretty similar?
Thanks!
You are more than welcome, Lisa.
Please note that Genesis/Dynamik is not drag & drop. That is what is meant to say when I wrote that; when you require drag & drop, there is not much too choose besides Headway; Ultimatum.
Although PageLines DMS offers a drag & drop too – personally, I was more charmed of the the previous PageLines 2.x Framework.
So when you require a drag & drop framework, you have a choice between Headway (3.5.11 at the moment) and Ultimatum (Ultimatum 2.5.1 Mobility redefined, released today!).
Oh…and also, I want my blog to be responsive. So whichever theme builder I chose, I’d want it to have that built-in and for it to not bog down the site. Thanks.