Themeco Pro and Max: why I use them to build WordPress websites
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Want to build it yourself?
Not everyone wants someone else to build their website. You may prefer to put in your own time rather than pay a designer, enjoy the creative process, or want to understand how the whole thing works. If you are looking for the tools rather than a website design service, Themeco Pro is what I recommend.
I started using Themeco X on 14 May 2014 and moved to Pro in October 2017. It is what I use for my WordPress work at Cornerstone. I like being able to get the design how I want it, then keep developing the website as its content and requirements change.
The appeal is the combination of design freedom and control over the underlying content. I can spend time getting a layout right and reuse it, rather than start again whenever the website needs another page.
Here are the parts I find most useful, and where Max adds to the tools in Pro.
What Pro, Cornerstone and Max actually are
Pro is Themeco’s WordPress theme with the Cornerstone visual builder integrated into it. It gives you control over page content, headers, footers and the templates used to display different kinds of content.
Max adds a collection of plugins, templates and training. Pro provides the core building environment; Max extends what you can do with it and offers examples of how to put those tools to work.
Despite the shared name, Themeco’s Cornerstone builder is separate from my business, Cornerstone Websites.
Control over the whole website
A website rarely ends at a homepage and a contact form. There may be service pages, articles, galleries and other content that needs a consistent structure.
I use Pro’s Layout Builder to design templates for individual posts and custom post types, as well as the archive pages that bring them together. Alongside the Header and Footer Builders, that gives me control over how the whole website fits together, rather than only the content in the middle of a page.
CSS Grid gives me room to design
CSS Grid is one of the features I particularly value. I can arrange content in rows and columns, let an image span several cells and change the arrangement for a smaller screen. It gives me room to build a layout around the content instead of forcing everything into the same row of equal-width boxes.
Detailed control across five screen sizes
Pro’s responsive styling goes much further than stacking columns on a phone. Across five breakpoints, from extra-small to extra-large, I can adjust settings such as margins, padding, font sizes and even colours. A heading can have more space on a wide screen, then use a smaller size and different spacing on mobile.
I set a base design, then adjust the supported responsive controls where needed. That means I can make the spacing and proportions feel right on a phone without compromising the desktop layout or building five separate pages.
Reusable elements make ongoing work easier
A button, content card or shared section should not need rebuilding every time it appears. Components let me reuse those elements and make shared design changes without hunting through pages. It saves repetitive work and helps the site stay consistent.
Dynamic Data and external APIs
Dynamic Data, which Themeco calls Dynamic Content, lets a design pull information from WordPress rather than relying on text entered separately into every element. I work with structured content and ACF fields, so titles, images and other details can feed an established layout. Loopers let that design repeat for a collection of entries.
External APIs extend that beyond WordPress, allowing data from another service to feed the design. If the information already lives elsewhere, that can save keeping a second copy up to date. The setup depends on the service, including how it handles access and caching, but having that option within the builder opens up more possibilities.
Conditional logic keeps content relevant
Conditions let me decide when an element should appear and where a layout should be used. For example, a section can depend on a field having a value, or content can vary according to whether someone is logged in. That means a shared template can respond to the information available, without leaving an empty heading or an irrelevant button on the page.
This is especially useful when different entries share a layout but do not all contain the same information. The design stays consistent and the content determines what appears.
Where Max comes in
Cornerstone Forms is the clearest example from my own work. I have been using it to bring forms into the same building environment as the rest of the website, including a detailed Client Discovery questionnaire.
That lets me consider the fields, labels, styling and the email they produce together. For a longer questionnaire, having a readable, branded response email matters almost as much as how the form looks on the page.
Max also includes Cornerstone Charts and Data Tables, along with training on grids, reusable design systems and dynamic content. You do not need to use everything in the collection. I would look at the tools and examples that fit what you want to build, with Forms a particularly useful addition in my own work.
Give yourself time to learn
There is a learning curve. Pro exposes plenty of controls, so give yourself time to get comfortable with layouts, responsive settings and the way content is organised. If you enjoy working out how a website fits together, there is a lot here to explore.
Start with a few useful pages and build from there. You can learn the more advanced features as you need them, while giving the content, images and mobile experience the attention they deserve.
My recommendation
If you want to build your own WordPress website and have room to make it your own, I recommend Pro. The design controls are a large part of the appeal, but layouts, reusable components and dynamic content are what make it useful well beyond the first build. Choose Max alongside it if the extra tools and training suit your plans.
Themeco’s demonstrations are a good place to see the builder in use and decide whether it suits the way you like to work.