WordPress 3.0 does not support the classic, stable versions of Branford Magazine theme.  I wish it did… but it doesn’t.

So, I’m revamping this site, and I’ve created an archive site for my old articles about Branford Magazine.

(The archived site has lots of outdated pages and broken links. I’ll fix them as quickly as time permits.)

If you haven’t upgraded to WordPress 3.0, your Branford Magazine theme should still work fine.  Alas, I didn’t expect the WP 3.0 issues, so I upgraded this site… and then discovered the problems.

Sure, I could put the time into reverting to WP 2.9.2.  It wouldn’t be that difficult, and — as near as I can tell — WP 3.0 doesn’t increase security.  It mostly streamlines the dashboard and increases the speed of the site.

However, I don’t want to pretend that everything’s okay when it’s not. As much as I loved the Branford Magazine theme, I can’t encourage you to install it on your website.

I stopped selling my books as soon as I found out what happened with WordPress 3.0.

I contacted a couple of friends who write code, and — so far — I’m hearing that the code issues are so complex, it’s just not worth trying to fix Branford  Magazine.

Michael Oeser, the man who created Branford Magazine, is unlikely to offer answers… except to recommend buying his “Pro” version, of course. (I’d love to be wrong about this, but I’m not optimistic.)

So, with a few nostalgic looks back, I’ve switched to Mimbo.  It’s clean.  It’s vastly easier to use than Branford Magazine.  It’s been kept current by its creator, Darren Hoyt.  And, best of all: It’s free.

This does not appear to be a security update, just behind-the-scenes bells & whistles that make WordPress prettier, faster to use, and faster to load.

However, WordPress 3.0 causes problems with the older versions of Branford Magazine.

With my own version of Branford Magazine, the right-column Category headings disappear.  Some people are reporting even bigger problems with Michael Oeser’s other versions of Branford Magazine.

And, though he’s the creator of Branford Magazine — based on his past support levels — I expect him to say, “Buy my Pro version,” period.  (I’d be happy to be wrong about this. )

So far, two code guys have looked at Branford Magazine, and both have told me that it’s hopeless.  The code is just too tangled to reliably update for WP 3.0.

That’s not a surprise.  The original Branford Magazine was pieced together from others’ themes. About 90% was copied from an early version of Mimbo.  The rest looked like it was taken from Revolution, an early, premium theme by StudioPress.

So, after testing several free magazine-style themes, I’m using Mimbo for this website.