- The Zen starter theme has nine block regions, including two available sidebars (one on each side) and a footer. The "Highlighted" area above the main content block is suitable for announcements and featured pieces of content. Fusion contains 12 block regions including a left sidebar. Fusion has multiple headers (header and header top) as well as multiple footer block regions (postscripts).
- Zen uses a full-screen width layout. Because the options panel does not have a layout selector, one must hand code any changes to the layout and site width. Fusion uses the 960 grid by default, but the options panel allows the selection of a fluid width, full-screen layout (12 or 16 column).
- Zen's options panel includes basic theme functions inherited from the theme registry, which let you toggle the logo, site description, user profile pictures, navigation menu and shortcut icon on or off. The Fusion options panel has more features. In addition to the default functions, Fusion lets you choose the site layout, set typography, breadcrumbs and specific column width.
- The choice between Zen and Fusion depends on your development experience and your plans. Zen is more of a blank slate, while Fusion has a number of built-in options to let you easily configure your site. Such options, however, add code, which may be seen as unnecessary if you don't plan on utilizing the features. Experienced developers who want to build a custom theme from scratch should choose Zen, while junior and mid-level developers should probably choose Fusion because of its built-in options.
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