What new upgrades would you like to see?

Ooooo! Glad you asked!

First off, hats off-again. I truly enjoy using the theme. Two things come to mind:

1. Video in Featured Images
I’d like to be able to throw in a short loop here and there, for visual effect.

2. Shortcodes
Many themes feature short codes for boxes, tables, drop caps, etc.

There, that’s my two cents.

Cheers from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!

Paco
https://www.paco-ojeda.com

I’d like to be able to choose different textures/backgrounds for various pages/categories/posts.

@paco Nice! What do you think of this: you upload a video for a Featured Image, a still image from the video is then displayed on the Blog, and the video is displayed in place of the image on the Post page.

Are there are any shortcodes in particular that you’d like to see implemented?

@jodi That’s a good one. What if you chose a background for a category, and then all posts in that category shared that background?

Hola Ben! Thanks for taking the time to chime. I think your suggestion about video is awesome, because once the reader makes the connection that some of the posts may have a video at the top, they are more likely to be curious and explore.

In terms of shortcodes, because your theme strikes me as BEAUTIFUL, first and foremost, I’m thinking of those that make things look nice on the page: drop caps, quotes, etc. I do use tables in my entries from time to time… And then coloured boxes for certain statements are always helpful.

But I’m also mindful that what sets apart your theme is that it keeps everything simple at the user end. And perhaps, adding too many bells and whistles takes away from that beautiful simplicity.

Happy monday!

Paco,

Excellent, I see what you’re saying. Some finishing touches and extra flare could really spice up the site and improve presentation.

For improved styling of quotes and tables, these are basic HTML elements, so I would add that stuff right into the theme. However, I’m going to look into dropcaps and other shortcodes options.

Thanks so much for the feedback!

Great ideas, Paco. I really like the option of the feature video image at the top of post pages, and your suggestion, Ben of having a still from the video in that space and then the vid replacing the image within the post.

I would only add that it would be nice to be able to choose the still frame from within the video so it doesn’t default to one on its own.

Also love the idea of having a stylized pull quote. It would be great to be able to customize it or have a couple of style options if via shortcode.

My only other suggestion would be to add an enhanced slide show option. I don’t use it often but the standard WP gallery only allows a limited size of image within the slide show and leaves a bit to be desired.

Looking forward to seeing what other ideas you have in store, Ben.

Hi Ben,

Can i suggest you activate widgets on the side to the main home page and the blog post area. Reason being advertising. Most of the blogs are earning money from advertising and at the moment this theme does not give lots of options positioning banners on the sides (which is quite large area of white space).

Also when will the next version be available or is it too soon to ask…?

@exshoesme thanks for the feedback!

For the thumbnail, I’m thinking that it will default to the thumbnail provided by the video, but if you upload a featured image it will replace the thumbnail with whatever image you’ve uploaded.

For the slideshow, I may be missing something, but I’m not seeing a slideshow option for the native gallery. Is this added by another plugin like Jetpack?

@elly2013 that’s a good one, thanks for the idea ??

The next version of Tracks is under review right now.

Thanks for asking, Ben.

I second the suggestions made by @elly2013. The sidebars are the only places where non-post information can have some prominence. I’d love to have the option of an author bio and/or an ad block in there at the very least.