Bou = Masonry Review Magazine Blog WordPress Theme 2.7

Bou is a premium WordPress theme designed specifically for professional review magazines, personal blogs, and news editorials that utilize a masonry (grid-based) layout.

While it has a sleek, vintage-modern aesthetic similar to The Lifestyle, Bou is much more "tech-forward" in its functionality, featuring a built-in review system that allows you to provide structured ratings for products or media.

Core Features for 2026

Intelligent Masonry Grid: Unlike static grids, Bou uses a "smart" masonry system that automatically adjusts post heights to minimize white space gaps, ensuring your homepage looks like a high-end print magazine regardless of your image sizes.

Built-in Review System: This is the theme's standout feature. You can add "Review Scores" to posts, which are then displayed as badges on the masonry grid. It supports different criteria (e.g., Design, Price, Quality) and calculates an overall average.

Post Formats Variety: Bou is highly versatile in how it handles media. It has specific, pre-styled templates for:

Video Posts: (YouTube/Vimeo integration)

Audio/Podcast Posts: (SoundCloud support)

Gallery Sliders: (Touch-optimized for mobile)

Infinite Scroll & "Load More": To keep readers engaged, Bou supports seamless AJAX loading. Readers can continue scrolling through your archives without ever clicking a "Next Page" button.

Technical Snapshot

Feature

Details

Design Style

Clean, Minimalist, Masonry-Grid

Builder Compatibility

Optimized for the Gutenberg Block Editor

Customization

Live Customizer support for real-time color and font changes

Performance

Lightweight (Minimal use of heavy JavaScript)

Monetization

Pre-defined ad spots between grid items for Google AdSense

Why Choose Bou in 2026?

If you are running a Lifestyle Review Blog (e.g., reviewing tech, fashion, or books), Bou is superior to a standard blog theme because it treats your "Reviews" as data. In 2026, Google prioritizes "Review Schema," and Bou is built to help your star ratings show up directly in search engine results.

Comparison: Bou vs. The Lifestyle

The Lifestyle: Focuses on prose and long-form reading. It is very "quiet" and minimalist.

Bou: Focuses on discovery and browsing. It is designed for users who want to see 10 different topics at once on a grid and click on what interests them.

Would you like me to help you find the best plugins to enhance Bou's review features, or should I show you how to optimize the "Infinite Scroll" for better mobile performance?