Hi Reader,

in this email, I want to talk to you about a new block theme: Rockbase.

More than just a good theme, it is a sign of the change that WordPress has been undergoing.

A change that not only limits itself to technology. But also to the web design market. Meaning What we deliver to our clients, and How we deliver it.

What is Rockbase?

Rockbase is block theme designed by Rafal Tomal. If the name doesn’t ring a bell, Rafal’s work will.

From 2010 to 2018, he led product design for the Copyblogger website and the now-defunct Rainmaker Platform. But also for StudioPress, makers of the Genesis theme framework.

StudioPress, originally started by Brian Gardner under the name Revolution Theme, was the first premium theme company. It’s also the creator of Genesis, a popular theme framework.

So, you can see that Rafal has a long history of designing themes for WordPress.

Is Rockbase the new StudioPress?

What made StudioPress unique were three things.

1. The designs were good enough to be used as is while being unopinionated enough to be customized further.
2. The Genesis framework was very flexible, and you didn’t need much beyond rudimentary knowledge of actions and filters to use it.
3. More than only a company or a set of products, StudioPress was a community.

The last point is key. StudioPress was always focused on professionals—people who built their own businesses by selling services and products based on Genesis.

Rockbase is Rafal’s attempt to repeat this success by delivering a beautiful, flexible theme for professionals. But reimagined for modern WordPress.

What makes Rockbase different

Rockbase has a clear focus on professionals. It even says so in the headline: The Modern WordPress Theme For Creative Pros.

And the subheadline is even more explicit: Save time, make more money, and have fun doing it.

I like the clarity of this message right from the start. This also explains why there is no free version of Rockbase; it’s premium only.

While I consider $129 a year a fair price ($99 during the launch), we can’t forget that in the WordPress space, this is considered a hefty price tag. However for professionals, that’s not a price raising any eyebrows.

This focus also explains the design decisions behind the theme. Rockbase is niching down, targeting “creators”: writers, podcasters, and, to a lesser extent, software makers.

But is this the real audience?

A foundation to build upon

Rockbase includes the theme, with all style variations, patterns, and even starter projects. That’s hardly unique in the market. But where it differentiates itself is in the other bonuses.

Because you also get access to all design assets. Meaning Figma files with all the designs, but also a custom icon pack

This is a great selling point for professionals, as they can build up their designs upon Rockbase, fully knowing that whatever they come up with will be easy to create using blocks.

To top things off, customers get access to a community. This is not the usual Facebook Group, but instead a Circle community. Besides including information and how-tos about the product, there’s also a chat and a community showcase.

This shows me that the goal is not just to have one-off customers but to create a community of professionals who use the theme over and over.

This is the interesting part. For me, it’s yet another sign of how times are changing.

Premium themes in the Enterprise space?

The first official showcase project for Rockbase is SmartPassiveIncome.com.

​

If you’re unfamiliar with SPI, it is a Make Money Online space behemoth. It’s a company that has the resources to build a custom website from scratch, so why don’t they?

Because it’s not needed.

For ages, selling web design has been all about “handcrafted.” Handcrafted design, handcrafted code. Of course, there were always people using off-the-shelf themes or page builders, but that was looked down upon by the handcrafters.

But now we see one of the most talented designers in the space use an off-the-shelf theme to build a popular website for a very solvent client.

And that’s because it’s all about the outcome: making money. And I’m sure that the new SmartPassiveIncome.com will achieve just that.

Check out the theme

Whether you are looking for a great starter theme for your client sites, or just want to have a look at a really well designed block theme, you should not miss out on the Rockbase theme!

Cheers,
Fränk