For all you Wordpressers out there who are really looking to take your blog/website to the next level, you’ll be very happy to know that, although there are countless hundreds of generic-looking themes and run-of-the-mill designers out there, there are a select few designers who are really making a noticeable difference. Brian Garner and Michael Pollock are two such Wordpress designers who are both producing theme designs and content for the Wordpress community that clearly stand out. Not only are their themes slick and expertly coded, they go above and beyond by imaginatively pushing what Wordpress can do, delivering non-standard functionality that makes a blog look, feel and act like a CMS.

If you’ve never visited Michael Pollock’s site (solostream.com), do so. Check out his themes - especially bosco and simplicity. You’ll notice at the very first glance how well structured his themes are - but if you go the demos, you’ll notice how much they shine. My favorite features include the “featured article” functionality and the advanced “archiving”. Both of these features add a ton of value for readers and publishers alike, not only by giving bloggers a chance to make special posts stand out, but by making sites ultra-user friendly for new and loyal readers.

Brian Garner has recently released a series of Revolutionary Themes. Revolution is the most fitting name for the group of themes I can even think of - they don’t look anything like traditional blogs - Revolution Magazine is my personal favorite. The early success of the Revolution Series is a clear indicator that we can expect a whole host of gorgeous themes from Brian that make wordpress look and feel like a true CMS. I use a version of Brian’s Revolution on one of my affiliate sites, and it’s very well coded and has been met with a very positive response from visitors. I can also tell you that Brian is excellent to work with and puts care into supporting his themes, so I encourage anyone interested in stepping up their site to something special to check out the Revolution Themes.

Thanks, Brian, btw for all your hard work and our chats during our “beta testing” of Revolution.

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