Blog Templates Review

Jooml! is one of the most powerful Open Source Content Management Systems on the planet. It is used all over the world for everything from simple websites to complex corporate applications. Joomla is easy to install, simple to manage, and reliable.

Asked me once how to create once own templates in Joomla.

Maybe somebody is interested…

Download any template (it can be free). It is in archive. In this archive you will find XML file that represents structured list of all files that are included into install pack of this template. Install this template in Joomla. The whole this archive open into your-joomla-based-site/templates/template’s name. There can be directories, e.g. images and/or css.

So you are working with this deal, with the directory I mean.

Change/add/delete files etc. At the end you put all changes in that XML file, rename it, change copyright etc and make a ZIP-archive. After these new template is ready to be installed.

The main template file as usual is named index.php. That is mainly HTML-page, in which not only PHP-code is included but this code is destined to run on Joomla.

E.g.

Code:

<jdoc:include type=”head” />

So that is just a site page based on Joomla from which are “Joomla area” functions are given rise. Among these functions are distinguished that which arise modules like:

Code:

<jdoc:include type=”modules” name=”left” style=”xhtml”/>

This code is situated on the place where the left blog design is loading.

Actually that is all. Design itself you place in index.php. But the devil is in the details, of course. The most unpleasant part is making all fonts and other design elements placed in CSS matching. Here the most efficient way (if you don’t get hand in hundreds of Joomla designs) is just dully look at the loaded page source and search for what note on the page has this or that class name in CSS. Obtusely but no way out.

So if somebody has questions, please ask here.