Twenty Twenty Theme: Unbiased review with pros, cons and updated information

WordPress is all set to offer its users a brand new theme named Twenty Twenty. The theme is developed by Noren Chaplin and comes with some cool features and a fresh outlook.

About Twenty Twenty Theme

While it is based on an already exiting theme Chaplin (by Noren), the Twenty Twenty successfully brandish a unique personality of its own with just a subtle hint of its predecessor. Using an existing theme as a base would facilitate and speed up the development process.

Visual appeal of Twenty Twenty theme

In the online announcement post Noren displayed some pictures of the theme Twenty Twenty sporting a fresh look with bolder typography, retina friendly fonts, and a reader-friendly visual display. Some portions of the theme may also remind you of the traditional look of old newspapers.

Major features of Twenty Twenty theme

The theme is versatile and can be used for diverse purposes like creating a blog, building business sites, etc. One of the key features of this theme is extended control over the blocks that allow the designers to quickly edit different sections of the same page while retaining the uniform appeal. In other words, it helps the designers to visually communicate their idea to the readers with better clarity.

The first default WP theme with variable fonts

Unlike other default WP themes, this theme will come with variable font version that will allow the users to have extended control over font customization for a better UX and readability. It would also save their time and efforts in choosing the different fonts from a wide selection.

For the uninformed, the variable font provides a font file comprising a massive collection of different variants of the same font.

Understanding practical benefits of variable fonts

To be more specific you might love Calibri but want it to be “little less curvaceous”. In the present default WP theme, you would have to go with the “next best” font available (like Georgia, serif, comic, etc.) that compels you to compromise with your choice.

By introducing Variable Fonts the Twenty Twenty would allow you to go beyond this creative threshold. You don’t have to look for “next best substitute” of Calibri font. The variable font file provides you hundreds of “Calibri” variants enabling you to choose just the precise Calibri variant (“less curvaceous”) you want to use for your site content. To be more precise it allows you to use your favourite Calibri font but a little straighter.

A clear improvement over Chaplin

One can see a clear improvement over its predecessor Chaplin that looked more suitable for businesses and professional sites. Though Chaplin could be customized for blogs, it lacked the relevant visual impact.

The Twenty Twenty theme can be customized to precisely suit the visual intent of business sites as well as blogs. For instance, the bloggers would love the central column for highlighting their content while the businesses can extensively customize the content placement. Besides, the users have more flexibility to add or edit design elements, insert media files, change columns, etc.

Regarding release date and availability

It is believed that the Twenty Twenty would be beta released on 23rd September (the date when the release of WordPress 5.3 version is scheduled). The official launch of steady version would require you to wait longer as the possible release date is 12th November 2019.

To have an initial practical experience of the theme you can also download its current version from Github.

Pros

· Clean and bolder look

· The first default WP theme to support variable font (for better control over font’s legibility)

· Extensive block editing for more control over the visual ecosystem

· Lightweight to promise quick page loading speed

Cons

· The first look gives the impression that it would be primarily suitable for blogs and magazines

Key details and relevant links

· Theme Design Leader: Andres Noren

· Development In Charge: Ian Belanger

· Theme review team representative: Poena