Custom Post Type

You like that carousel / slider in the home page? Well that is due to the amazing code known as the roundabout by Fred LeBlanc. You can easily change the contents of this carousel in two ways:

1) Using a custom post type

In the left hand side of the admin area you will notice a section called “Roundabouts”. Simply add a new roundabout and give it a title, some content and attach a “feature image”.

The images are automatically resized to the right dimensions. Also – you’re only allowed up to 5 roundabouts.

2) Change the static code

If you decide you don’t want to use the custom post type feature – you can simply change the HTML. Inside home.php you will see an unordered list with each item as follows:

1

<li><a href="#"><img src="<?php bloginfo('template_directory'); ?>/images/586x360.jpg" alt="Need Image Here" /></a><div class="hiddendesc">Need to Enter Image</div></li>

Simply replace the values of your images, title and link and you’re set to go.

The Navigation Menu

This by far is my favorite 3.0 feature – custom menus. It’s simply amazing. I’ve added the code to Rotary that lets you design the main navigation of the theme.

Simply drag and drop items to the menu builder and save.

Feature Images

Just like the roundabout items – all posts in this theme can have its own feature image. Simply use the “Set feature Image” option for each post:

This image will show as thumbnails in the archive pages, and a medium photo inside the single page template:

Conclusion

Truly by using the features above – you can utilize the power of WordPress 3.0 as well as turn your blog into a cool CMS. Give Rotary a spin – it’s cool, it works and it’s free!

So, why do I give away my themes away?

Because I believe in you people. I believe that if you like my work so much – that you’ll follow me in Twitter, like me in Facebook or even subscribe to my feed. I believe that you WILL NOT remove my credits in the bottom of the theme. I even believe that you will make a small donation – so I can keep building other things that can be useful to you in the future.

LittleBigPlanetoid

Awesome use of large backgrounds – especially in the header area; this website screams “I’m unique” in all angles.

Render Creative

Render creative specializes in high end websites. This is easy to tell from their superior placement of large images, use of muted colors as well as large fonts.

Sam Houston

The Sam Houston website displays good use of shades, silhouettes and matted elements. What I especially liked is the timeline that serves that historic purpose.

All K Pop

Talk about busy – All K Pop is a magazine styled website powered by EE.

GOP

Once again, excellent oversized header – with alternating backgrounds for the faces. Bright, bold color schema with wide open spacing between elements:

Think About It

The Think About It website features beautiful contrasting greens against whites, along with good use of transparencies.

Campaign Monitor

The popular email marketing software runs their home site in EE. Top notch design with superior web 2.0 elements.

Office of the Governor

Really? Office of the Governor is running EE: Another testimonial for the platform’s accountability.

Chapman University

Good utilization of transparencies and high contrasting colors.

Havilah Legal

Talk about blue, this law firm website is very sleek and professional. I like the conformity to the strict color schema.

Trevor Allen Photography

Impressive slideshow, fancy lifted page effect, creative backgrounds – this website is simply stunning.

I lounge

This is an example of how complex an ExpressionEngine website can become. Many facets such as blogs, reviews, polls, a store and plenty of ads fused into one.

Ruth Badger

The Ruth Badger website is a presentation of good web 2.0 elements including ribbons, diagonal backgrounds and clean typography.

Tweetsie Railroad

Fun and fantastic, Tweetsie’s design is anything but ordinary.

Paul Rand

Very simple, serene and personal, the Paul Rand website is proof of clean web marksmanship.

VK Magazine

Superior typography, good spacing and placement, beautiful icons – VK Magazine takes content organization in a whole new level.

Mock Elections

Beautiful vector graphics, combined with muted colors – Mock Elections is a good example of an artistic webpage. Be sure to check out their awesome navigation buttons.

Echo-Factory

A somewhat refreshing combination of dark orange shades and dirty backgrounds. Nice origami Twitter bird.

Conclusion

As you can see, with a little talent and ExpressionEngine – you can do a lot. The platform comes in three pricing categories (free, personal and commercial) which varies from included and excluded features amongst them. For more information – head over to ExpressionEngine’s website.

What about you? Do you have an ExpressionEngine website you want to showcase? Please leave a comment below!

A screenshot of the homepage with coda slider is shown below:

Credits

The small icons used are from Fuque icons, the larger buttons are from the amazing WeFunction, social buttons from Aquaticus and the big vector images are from stinky9. Fonts in the graphics are traditional Helvetica Nueu and Myriad Pro. The code for the slider is Niall Doherty.

You can check the live version of Eureka here, and purchase from this link.