Note: A new version of Checkmate has been released. Get the new version now!

I told you earlier I was going to release it, and here it is! The Checkmate WordPress theme. It is a classic blog style template with a minimalist design packed with features and customizing options. This is one to definitely download and try out and includes a quick start guide to show you how to use some of the features.

Checkmate Demo – The demo is a bit messy looking because I tried to show off as much of the theme as I could.

checkmate_screen1checkmate_screen2

Theme Options

Checkmate has a lot of options so you can get the most out of your theme without knowing any code.

  • Optional Header Image
  • Optional Featured Categories
  • Feedburner Integration
  • Menu Customization
  • Optional Footer Widget Areas

Features

  • Checkmate comes with 7 color themes. Grey, Red, Blue, Green, Purple, Brown, and Grey/Red.
  • Custom widgets built for Checkmate.
  • Tabbed Content Box – widget enabled
  • Two, Three, or Split Column Design
  • Feedburner Integration
  • Optional Widget enabled footer
  • Custom Icons
  • Gravatar support for authors and comments(WordPress 2.5)
  • Custom author, archive, tag, category, and search pages.
  • Widget Enabled Sidebars
  • Includes the TimThumb script for resizing post thumbnails located under the post meta information.
  • Tested in Firefox 2, Safari(Mac), IE7, IE6. (IE6 has a problem with post thumbnails, if this concerns you bug me to fix it).

Ad Management

Checkmate has two forms of built in ad management. One form built right into theme options panel and another more advanced customizable form. Both forms of management are controlled by widgets for easy placement and you retain the ability to turn them on or off via theme options panel.

License

Checkmate is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 license. All I ask is that you link back to my website somewhere in your site.

Updates

  • Version 1.01
    • Added wp_footer hook for plugins
  • Version 1.02
    • Fixed Header Image Bug
    • Added browser detectable RSS Feeds (RSS2, RSS1.0/RDF, RSS0.92, RSS2 Comments, ATOM)
  • Version 1.03
    • Added page template with comments enabled
  • Version 1.04
    • Fixed sidebar error when requiring users to be registered and logged in to comment
    • Misc. code cleanup
  • Version 1.05
    • Removed query_posts from index.php for pagination support
  • Version 1.06
    • Changed “1 Comments” to “1 Comment”
    • Fixed the multiple categories as “featured” categories error

Download It Now!

Really Like It?

If you really like this theme and would like updates, more features, and new styles, why not grease the wheel and make a donation?