Edited,

ThemeFrame will be a downloadable product, see post #8

I actually like the idea! When you sell and distribute the ThemeFrame there are just so much hurdles to take to prevent people from copying your software for free... Since you have invested a lot of time, i think this might be the best idea for offering the ThemeFrame.

I'm looking forward to new developments and how i can use them to improve my websites

Thanx Flynn

This is so strange, Flynn. I actually dreamed about Themeframe last night, and woke up with another idea: you host Themeframe on your site, and people can come to it and configure the options and be able to download the resulting code, which they can paste into their own copy of an "empty" version of Atahualpa. Maybe they'd pay a subscription fee for this service. Since it was a dream, I hadn't fleshed it out or considered the pitfalls.

So it's weird to come here this morning and find your new idea.

I think it's brilliant, even though I would probably rather have the full functionality in my own hot little hands. Maybe a two-tiered payment system, so I could pay more to have the full framework and still get updates?

How would this work on a Wordpress MU site? I'm starting one as we speak, a blog system for people in my community. I had planned to use Atahualpa as the main blog and also make it available to users as part of a suite of themes to choose from for their own blogs. It would be really super-cool to be able to offer Themeframe to the users and let them custom-design their own very individual themes.

However you do this, Flynn, you deserve any riches that ensue. From a marketing standpoint, do you think it might be good to offer the stand-alone version for a while, to build buzz?

Flynn, I'm not sure I follow what you are proposing. Is it what Paulae is suggesting?

In other words, would I as a developer use ThemeFrame on your site to generate code and then put that in a container on my site?

In essence, replacing that ATO section under appearance in WordPress Admin dashboard?

If this is what you are proposing, I like the idea. I think this would make it easier to have sandboxes for different sites.

Would you store a version of my theme set up on your hosted site, or would I have to u/l the code to your site to make changes?

what exactly will you distributing as themeframe?
I prefer the purchase of actual product... you might consider subscription for updates and upgrades.

I am NOT developer, I use your themes for my personal sites. should that really matter at all?

regards,
William

Flynn,

This is an interesting approach. I THINK what you are suggesting is one of two things. Either there is a tool that all of us who subscribe have access to, that is hosted by you somewhere that we can use to generate whatever wordpress theme we want with full control of style etc and then the output is a zipped theme file that we can put anywhere we want - it is now OUR theme with full ownership. OR the same thing but you give us the tools that we can host and run just for ourselves. Either way is interesting although if it were me I would suggest the first option for you. This seems to be like the wordpress theme generator that is out there except infinitely more powerful and flexible and useful

I want it as a product. I respect the idea, but... Honestly, I wouldn't buy Themeframe if it was a service.

ThemeFrame will be a product (= download).

The low number of responses indicates that the majority is against a service. I had second thoughts myself after I posted the thread but wanted to hear your thoughts first. Thank you to those who posted.