Don’t let the word “law” in the article header put you off – there are plenty of metaphors that can be drawn from New Mexico’s self-defense laws to make a point about the flexibility, robustness and general awesomeness of Parallax Pro, one of StudioPress’ Genesis child themes. When we think of “defense strategy” in the legal sense, all sorts of things come to mind. A stand your ground law that allows an individual to use force, even deadly force, against someone who is using or threatening to immediately use unlawful, deadly force, is intended to protect an individual’s right to self-defense, and is ultimately meant to maintain order. You know, if you’re not inclined to simply scream “BATMAN!” and imagine Christian Bale doing something heroic in the nick of time. The legal definition of self-defense seems to correspond perfectly with our need for an effective and flexible website strategy – we need protection, security, visibility, and an assurance that our legal strategy (website, social media, tactics) will be able to hold up under fire.

For good measure, here’s a quick round of New Mexico’s self-defense laws, pulled directly from the PDF linked to in the article title, and written in plain English. There’s a lot of nuance and nuance to the self-defense laws New Mexico has in place.

A robust, flexible theme is one that can be molded and adapted to fit our needs; much like our legal system and self-defense strategies. It’s important to plan for flexibility and adaptability when it comes to our legal matters, and it’s equally important to do the same for our websites. What’s more, when we combine the basics of An Overview Of New Mexico’s Self-Defense Laws with our need for a flexible and robust website, perfect parallels begin to emerge. When art meets the law, so to speak (cue one of those pesky, old world volpes that some go on about here). If we take a look at the Parallax Pro theme, built upon the flexible and mobile-ready Genesis Framework, we can adopt many of the legal principals outlined in the Overview above to create highly adaptive, flexible, responsive websites with many layers.

There’s room for design elements that help us maintain order, even as we roll with the punches (and respond appropriately to our most potent legal challenges or styling). For example, when your site is assembled as a Genesis Theme, it provides a lot of flexibility for owners – but it’s very easy to get stuck using the standard layout without thinking about how design elements can be rearranged to fit your needs. The Parallax Pro child theme goes a step further by providing tools like the Header Right widget area. This area, which is hidden per default, can be used to add a custom menu that matches the color of the header image, or a search box that prompts the visitor to search via a bold and colorful call to action, or even an image that provides an additional call to action. These could all help further enhance your self-defense strategy by giving a clearer warning of what’s to come if someone pursues legal action against you.

For more information on self-defense laws, you can visit this Wikipedia page.

Applying Legal Reasoning to WordPress Theme Development

When it comes to coding, the Parallax Pro Theme (formerly known as ShowCase Theme) by Genesis is among the best WordPress themes, if not the best. However, why is a lawyer writing about this matter? Well, I am motivated by a legal writing strategy that can also be applied to web development in a structured and organized manner. Legal writing, because it is widely known for being very clear and direct, has the particularity of being structured into key logical points following a lead-in statement. For example, in any legal document, we have an introduction where the leading statement is made (the lead in statement), followed by the discussion supported by the required evidence (the body), and a final summary of the points raised (the conclusion). The clear order of thoughts and information affects the manner in which we are able to convey our ideas in a document. For this reason, the use of a creative process guided by comprehensive legal reasoning and legal writing can be helpful to develop and customize a WordPress theme.

Let’s begin by treating: A common example is the lawyer that may be looking to have an answer to a question, a discussion to follow, and a closing statement. This could be approached similar to this way: There are different ways in which this can be applied to a WordPress theme layout. A legal writer always tries to stick to one single point, which is why I find it very practical to apply the same logic when creating layouts in WordPress. A block of text will always begin with an introduction showing a point, while a particular topic clearly and strictly follows. After the discussion of the topic, there will be a summary or closing statement. In this manner, applying the reasoning of legal writing, we can create a layout where we start a paragraph, discussion, or text, follow with a body, and a conclusion. All of this in a continuous flow. This is how the following example could have been laid out by a lawyer: I find it very helpful to complement the use of headers and other techniques with a clear and well-organized communication. In the end, legal writing is meant to convey ideas in a clear manner… E-mailed legal documents are much more direct and to the point. This is something that applies to the theme since its intention is to communicate effectively with clear language and information. Now, the point is that when developing a new WordPress theme or customizing one, you can apply the reasoning behind the structure of legal writing to your website content. This can help you create a very flexible and functional user interface that will not hinder the browsing experience. Notice that in a good legal document, you always have a strong sequence of ideas that flows in a consistent manner. The idea is that all the points raised in an argument, whether its a complaint, a motion, or a request, follow one after the other. This is what the Parallax Pro Theme by Genesis does. It uses a clear and logical explanation for each section of the website, followed by a flow of ideas and slogan. The content is combined with different layouts including two columns or three columns in the body content section. You will find a perfect balance of headers, body content and closing statements. That’s the beauty of applying legal reasoning and legal writing to the development of a website layout. Perhaps the best part about writing a legal text is that we actually have to write in a way that is self explanatory and precise. The choice of words is crucial to convey the right intention of the document without leaving a space for multiple interpretations. The essence here is to use the minimum number of words while at the same time being detailed to provide a thorough description for the facts and circumstances. This is why the layout of the Parallax Pro Theme allows for every feature to record a specific detail of the project the page is working on. Also, due to the nature of web design, the same efficiency can be used in any WordPress theme strategy. Robby McCullough, the infamous guy from WP101 who is known for his video tutorials, uses a different combination of body content and headers. Instead of having a concise set of body sections separated by headings, he uses a different combination of body sections, separated by visual elements such as lines and separators. The layout of the body content starts with a top section, then a slider, a body section, a separator, and the video concept. Depending on the number of elements to be used in the web design, you can apply this legal writing method to create much larger and compact content and not lose the logical and straight explanation of the text. Please note that the body section can be anywhere any time, depending on how it is intended to be created. The idea is to use the same logic, regardless of how you position your body sections in the design. Summarizing the application of legal reasoning and legal writing techniques to the writing of a WordPress theme, we can make a list that will perfectly reflect the importance of some essential points: The last point above is a bit more elaborate in that, when you write a legal document, you should always review your comments and see how well it flows in an ordered manner. This will affect the readability and adjustments to the text to correct the ideas may be needed. The same applies when writing a WordPress theme. You will need to revise and edit the page structure a couple of times to make sure the words and content flow well. In the case of the Parallax Pro Theme, all the sections are clearly and logically structured, so it is a great theme to start with. Give these methods a try and let me know if your projects improve as much as I have experienced.

My theme for this feature on PARALLAX PRO is how licensing agreements can be a powerful tool for web design businesses, both for those using Parallax Pro by StudioPress and other themes alike. This article will not only help you understand what an exclusive license agreement is, but how it can be used effectively by web designers to protect, and maximize the return on your design assets.

What Is An Exclusive License Agreement?

Essentially, an exclusive license is a licensing agreement that grants a person or business exclusive control over the use of a particular asset. This means that an exclusive licensee has the right to take all the actions they want to in order to aggregate a high return on the asset, thus marginalizing the designer, investor or creator’s return. Such contracts are especially popular in the world of intellectual property, as they prevent the creator from participating in the use of that property. For web designers, it is important to know that such an agreement can form a legally binding contract to their benefit.

Why Is It Important To A Web Designer?

Having an exclusive license agreement for a design or collection of designs is powerful in that it allows you to aggregate the return on the assets, and act as a gatekeeper to others who might want to use the asset without compensating you. Keep in mind that you are giving away many rights to the exclusivity of the design, so weigh the pros and cons before moving forward with such a plan.

How Can It Be Used?

For most designers, setting a standard licensing agreement as a prerequisite for design using a theme such as Parallax Pro is often the topic of a sale. If the design is used within the boundaries of the agreement, the designer benefits. If however, it is misused in violation of the agreement, the designer can quickly eliminate, restrict or penalize a violator.

Benefits Of An Exclusive License Agreement

An exclusive license agreement gives web designers for themes like Parallax Pro, total ownership and control of the designs they have created. This not only increases the value of many designs used in web design, but also gives designers the peace of mind that their hard work will not be used without appropriate compensation.

Downsides To An Exclusive License Agreement

Because an exclusive license agreement can be lengthy and complex, it is important for designers to spend ample time thinking about their next move with their licensed designs. This allows them to architect the right agreement for long-term protection, and limited downsides.

How It Can Help Prevent Unauthorized Use

When a designer has an exclusive license agreement, they can prevent unauthorized use if the terms of use are not followed. Enforcing the contract can be as simple as submitting a cease and desist notice, or forcing penalties on the violator.

How It Impacts Collaborations

In some cases, designs may be used in collaboration with other businesses. The same principles apply though; a designer cannot allow their work to be used without adequate compensation, or they risk being placed in a difficult situation.

How It Benefits You

Some common situations include: Exclusive License Agreements and Website Designers When working with a web design theme such as Parallax Pro, it is important for you to protect your assets so that you may continue profiting from them. Exclusive license agreements can do exactly that.

Best Practices

There are four best practices to consider. Expert Legal Advice Before drafting an exclusive license agreement, consult with a professional who can help you identify the need, and properly implement it into your business model.

Using Parallax Pro theme to create pages with lots of information, while also creating pages like this one on a known sperm donor contract.

Whether you are a lawyer doing website design, or a web designer doing lawyer’s websites, you have the same goal: to create a site that is functional, beautiful and provides the information that the user needs. This can be tricky for a lawyer specializing in a complicated area of law, which might require pages of explanation, like a known sperm donor contract. While there might be a few hundred, or even thousands of words to explain a process or how a contract works (it’s a contract that there will be no contact between the known sperm donor and the child (or children) that were born after the existing donor sperm was used), there would also be numerous pieces of information that are possibly needed by the user. And in addition to that information, there could also be links to other parts of the website and social media sharing links that need to appear above, below and on both sides of the central known sperm donor contract explanation.

How to make sure the important information is included, while also being able to account for the color schemes designed into the website itself? You may have certain colors you want to use, but sometimes a page might be too black, or have too much white. The answer can be as simple as making sure you have the right theme in place. For example, Parallax Pro Theme features a number of different customizable backgrounds that can help you reduce the amount of black and white that the user sees, without going overboard on colors and design elements that don’t make a lot of sense.

For example, in addition to the normal styles, there are a number of templates that allow for a side bar, full width content, a footer bar, and the ability to have a background color or image added to the content area, and another background color or image for the site itself. Of course, you also need to make sure you have a good system for deciding what goes where. For example, for a known sperm donor contract page, it’s important to include:

1. The known sperm donor contract above the fold (the first portion that everyone sees when they visit the website, without having to scroll down).
2. An explanation of the facts that led the sperm donor and mother to agree to this legal arrangement.
3. Why some of the things that would normally be included by a lawyer in a known sperm donor contract may not be included.
4. How the donor will be kept anonymous, or if the donor wants a relationship with the child, what is created, and what happens to that contract, when the child reaches a particular age.
5. Whether or not a second donor will be needed should several months pass by without conception (that’s the best decision for the family involved).

In addition to including all of this information, there also needs to be links to the main contacts page, a way to share the page via social media, a link to email the page to another party, and the ability to comment on the process and ask additional questions, if necessary. Of course, there’s also the ability to include a contact form, social media sharing buttons, and the donation tool that can help support various charities and causes.

For more information on sperm donation laws and regulations, you can visit this article on the National Institutes of Health website.