bavotasan.com » Themes

Developing Themes for WordPress: Part 1

c.bavota — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 21:19:36 +0000

Over the weekend, I gave a presentation on developing WordPress themes for fun and profit. It went really well and I thought it would be a good idea to go into a bit more detail on everything I mentioned so that people can have a point of reference. I began my presentation with the new guidelines that are still being set up on WordPress.org and that is what the first part of this series will focus on.

WordPress 3.0 Changes Everything

With the release of WP 3.0, the “official” theme reviewer(s) on WordPress.org thought it would be a good idea to improve the current requirements and come up with a strict guideline to let theme developers know exactly what is expected of their themes. This would make the job of reviewing themes for WordPress.org much easier, but it would also set a standard for all the themes within the WP Themes Directory, and hopefully, all WP themes in general.

As a developer, the more documentation you can get about the software you are developing for, the easier your job is. And now WordPress has three pages in the codex dedicated to theme development that all developers need to read and understand.

The Theme Unit Test

The theme unit test is an xml file that a developer should use in their testing environment. If you do not have a test install of WordPress to test your themes, that is the first step you should take. Once you have you test install up and running, download the theme unit test xml file and upload it into your WP install by going to the Tools panel in your wp-admin and clicking on the Import link. Import the xml file and all of the images associated with it. Now you have a test blog full of content that will help you make sure that your theme works with the many different features of WordPress.

The codex page lists all the different types of content that is uploaded by the xml file, and how is should be displayed by your theme. If things don’t look right on your theme, then you need to make sure to follow the guidelines and include the proper functions and/or CSS to get it looking the way it should.

Codex page: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Unit_Test

Theme Development Guidelines

The title of this codex page pretty much says it all. These are the guidelines for developing a WordPress theme. There are many things that need to be in place in order for your theme to work with WP. If your theme does not conform to these requirements, it will not work with WordPress. That’s why this part of the codex is the most important piece of documentation for any theme developer.

Reading through the guidelines will put you on the right track in regards to how your theme should be structured, what functions are a must, and what files need to be included in order for it to work properly. The page is quite long, but once you get trough it and start to piece together your theme, you’ll realize that it isn’t as hard as it seems. And remember, all well-built WordPress themes follow these guidelines, so just take a look behind the scenes of one of your favorite themes to see how the code has been implemented if you feel you’re stuck.

Codex page: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development

Theme Review Process

This page describes exactly how your theme will be scrutinized if you submit it to the WordPress.org Theme Directory. Knowing exactly what the theme reviewers look at and using that information to personally judge your own theme will help guarantee that you have developed a theme that is up to snuff. It also lets you know some of the dos and don’ts that you should be aware of that were not discussed on the other two codex pages.

Codex page: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review

Part 2: What goes where?

Next I will discuss what basic templates files are necessary for your theme and what code is required in order to get everything working properly.

Part 1: Guidelines for Developing a WordPress Theme
Part 2: Basic Template Files
Part 3: Understand The WordPress Loop
Part 4: Adding Theme Options
Part 5: Making Money

Moderno v1.0 Premium WordPress Theme

c.bavota — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:00:57 +0000

Just updated for WordPress 3.0.

Moderno has a beautifully simple, yet exquisite design with many subtle nuances that make it stand out from the crowd. An optional two or three column layout with an infinite number of color and font possibilities make it easy to create a truly original look for your Web site. Go crazy placing your favorite widgets in up to three widgetized locations. Select a standardized Web font or get a little more creative with one of ten pre-installed @font-face kits.

Go to Themes by bavotasan.com for more info.

Feed Me, Seymour 1.2

c.bavota — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:05:24 +0000

I have just updated Feed Me, Seymour for WordPress 3.0 and many of its new features. I have also cleaned up the code and added the Arturo Theme Engine v2.0 so that the admin interface works a whole lot better. Version 1.2 is currently only available on this site. Just click the download button below.

Here are some examples of different layout options.

For more info go to Themes by bavotasan.com.

A Slightly New Design for Themes by bavotasan.com

c.bavota — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 17:14:25 +0000

I just spent the past couple of days updating the look of Themes by bavotasan.com. Things are slightly different but a lot nicer, in my opinion. For those using Internet Explorer, the design will probably look a lot more simple, but that’s because IE sucks the big one. Check it out in Firefox, Chrome or Safari to see all the changes.

I decided it would make more sense to show a few more features for each theme, so now there is a lot more information on each theme’s page.

Also, I finally built my first real CSS sprite to include all the images and icons I was using on the site. Check it out:

If you have any feedback about the new layout and design please let me know.

Snowblind v1.1.2 Free WordPress Theme

c.bavota — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 13:44:10 +0000

I just updated Snowblind and version 1.1.2 is now available on WordPress.org. It’s now 100% translation ready and has a few more features to make it easier to set up.

3 Column Layout

2 Colum Layout

Reverse 2 Column

For more information go to Themes by bavotasan.com.

Themes by bavotasan.com is Finally Ready!

c.bavota — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 06:00:52 +0000

I have been working non-stop over the past month to get my WordPress themes site ready and it’s about time I let everyone check it out. So here is goes… I am proud to present Themes by bavotasan.com. I have also moved my Affiliates site over so you will probably notice a few differences there as well. And best of all, now I have a Support Forum, though it’s still pretty empty. So start filling it up with questions so I can help you out!

I am sure that there are a few bugs here and there so let me know what you think and please send any and all feedback my way.

Look forward to updates to all of my themes and plugins over the next few weeks.

Why Certain Themes Won’t Preview Properly in WordPress

c.bavota — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 20:52:45 +0000

I have been developing some themes for WordPress and I couldn’t understand why they wouldn’t appear in the preview when they were selected. I went through all of my code and tested removing parts that I thought might be the cause and no luck. Luckily enough I stumbled upon WP Contempo and found a solution.

They state that WordPress does not like spaces in their theme folders. So something like “magazine basic” won’t do it. But what I also noticed, was that “magazine-basic” won’t do it either. The only way to name a folder so that the WordPress preview works properly is to use the underscore. So something like “magazine_basic” works perfectly.