Overview of WordPress Frameworks
WordPress is a CMS used on many websites. It was originally thought of as blogging software but over the years the capabilities have increased to such an extent that WordPress can be used for many other types of website too. It continues to evolve too and it was recently announced WordPress plans to streamline its software in response to competition from other formats such as Tumblr. It is favoured by publishers and many developers because its easy to use and relative straightforward to customise. Compared to other options like Dreamweaver and Drupal, design and coding is fairly easy in WP. Advanced design options are possible without advanced technical know-how.
Themes are used as the 'skin' for the CMS. That's the bit the user sees and uses. There are many 1,000s of themes, many free and also lots of paid themes. A framework and child theme can be used instead of a theme on its own also. A framework goes on top of the WordPress software and the 'child' theme works directly with the framework and is lightweight with most of the coding in the actual framework.
The number of themes and frameworks is huge and I find a good shortcut is to look at what the experts are doing. A quick look reveals many use frameworks, the Genesis Framework and Thesis in particular and few use themes on their own.
There are advantages and disadvantages to using a WordPress framework. Here are some worth thinking about:
Ads:
Easy design options: Non developers can get by more easily with just knowing a few bits of CSS and HTML, which may not be possible with a theme on its own.
Extended customisation: If you require easier customisation of individual pages and posts a framework can offer more compared with a theme on its own. That is the whole point of a framework really.
Disads:
Lock in: Frameworks only work with specific 'child' themes. Once you have invested in a framework it can make financial sense to purchase further themes with the same framework rather than from elsewhere. Once you are used to using a particular framework it may be a pain switching too as you would have to learn a whole bunch of new stuff. The developers of frameworks know this and its a big advantage for them as they can make multiple sales to each customer potentially.
Limiting Technical Knowledge: If you are a developer and focus on framework you might be limiting yourself. You might be more likely to take shortcuts in terms of coding which reduces your understanding.
Compatibility: Using a framework adds another element into your WordPress site. You are dependent on the framework being kept up to standard the whole time you have the website.
Conclusion
As a non developer I have been able to customise a number of WordPress websites using a framework. I had not previously been able to do that to my satisfaction using a theme on its own.
The big bloggers I follow mainly seem to use Genesis though there are notable exceptions. For me frameworks have been the way to go so far, though if I learn how to make websites from scratch I may go a different way.