Studiopress has just announced the latest release of its framework, the Genesis Framework 1.8. This is the long-awaited update as users have waited for nearly 1 year. According to the new features, I must say it is really worth our waiting. Here are some new features you will see in Genesis 1.8.
Front End Redesign
Genesis 1.8 has a new default style on the front end and it aims to responsive design, that means it can fit any screen size of your device including smartphones and tablets.
New SEO Controls
The new Genesis SEO controls now allow controlling the text displayed on category, tag, and term archive pages.
New Extendable Classes for Creating Admin Menus
Thinking about the number of Genesis-specific plugins, we can imagine that a lot of developers are frustrated as it was difficult to add new Genesis admin menus. In Genesis 1.8, it gets much easier.
Completely Disable a Navigation Menu, from functions.php
With just one line of code, we now can disable either Primary or Secondary Navigation menu. It works using the “theme support” method. By default, both menus are enabled. But, you can use this line of code to change which menus are supported via your child theme.
remove_theme_support( 'genesis-menus' );
This line will remove both menus. If you just want to remove the secondary nav menu, and leave the primary menu intact:
add_theme_support( 'genesis-menus', array( 'primary' => 'Primary Navigation Menu' ) );
This line indicates that you ONLY want the primary nav menu to be enabled.
Color Style Options
If you’re building a child theme and want to give users the ability to choose a color scheme from the Theme Settings page, this option is for you.
Genesis handles the body class, and all you have to do is build the CSS. Less coding. More designing. Moreover, Genesis has been trying to move towards the WordPress coding standards for a few versions now.
Genesis 1.8 does require this latest version of WordPress 3.3.1. It’s always good to stay up to date anyway, so go ahead and upgrade as Genesis is fully compatible.
