Whats the best way to make a wordpress theme?

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fezzii

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does anyone here know what the best way to make a simple wordpress theme is?
i already know how to CSS and stuff like that but i have no idea how to use the php functions properly, everytime i try i get error.
and the header, the footer, the sidebar all seem a bit wrong ?
:dunno:
 
Anna

Anna

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Wordpress is perhaps not the easiest one to make a theme for, it takes a bit digging in the documentation to figure all things out.

The best way is by starting with reading up at wordpress.org. Also I recommend using a working theme as base and start with a simple restyle of it, to get to know how things work together.

These two addresses holds almost all information about the functions you might need:
http://codex.wordpress.org/functions.php_list
http://codex.wordpress.org/Template_Tags

Checking this one is also a good idea: http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Development

I've always used the default theme as my base.
 
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nterror

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I started using Wordpress about a month ago. I thought creating a theme was easy (took 2 hours).

What really helped out was using a bare bones theme:
http://rubiqube.com/free-wordpress-theme-empty-canvas/

Its not a framework, its just a basic layout with the neccesary blog functions.

Then I just copy/pasted my XHTML to the corresponding areas (sidebar went into Sidebar, header stuff into Header, etc.) and changed some CSS.

I second LadyAnna's links, those help too, especially when customizing the output.
 
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digitalfarm

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there a lot of frameworks out their .try k2 it is a simle layout based on the default kubrick theme
 
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rickyvogay

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Hi...
I have some information regarding it.. And the tools which are use for it...
I used the following free tools to develop my theme.

* GIMP – Free image editing software
* Cooltext online tool to create buttons and logo
* Notepad to edit css, php files
* W3C validator for XHTML and CSS validator
* Firebug add-on to inspect and modify stylesheets
* Browsershots – online service to check older browser compatibility
* YSlow addon for Firebug to test the page download speed
* SubmitExpress metatag analyzer to check the meta tags
 
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digitalfarm

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rickyvogay said:
Hi...
I have some information regarding it.. And the tools which are use for it...
I used the following free tools to develop my theme.

* GIMP – Free image editing software
* Cooltext online tool to create buttons and logo
* Notepad to edit css, php files
* W3C validator for XHTML and CSS validator
* Firebug add-on to inspect and modify stylesheets
* Browsershots – online service to check older browser compatibility
* YSlow addon for Firebug to test the page download speed
* SubmitExpress metatag analyzer to check the meta tags
Click to expand...

Yea I highly recommend the Firebug add-on.I really helped me to understand and do a wordpress theme.This is a great tool for any designer.it is helpful also to start with a simple theme and experimenting with it. There are lots of themes that promote development but the trick is finding one that fits your style .Wordpress is very powerful the possibilities are endless I Have realized!
 
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sourfacedcyclop

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The best way to learn Wordpress is by going through the default theme line by line, and learning what everything does. It's what I did, and it took no time at all to learn.
 
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user681

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sourfacedcyclop said:
The best way to learn Wordpress is by going through the default theme line by line, and learning what everything does. It's what I did, and it took no time at all to learn.
Click to expand...

How long exactly?? is there a tutorial made for learning the default theme??
 
sourfacedcyclop

sourfacedcyclop

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A couple of weeks. What I did was, eliminate any unneeded styling from the default theme. Then slowly go through the remaining code and find what it did. I would delete sections of it to see what was effected and so forth. Basically, when it comes down to web design, I personally think nothing works better than trial and error.
 
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user681

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sourfacedcyclop said:
A couple of weeks. What I did was, eliminate any unneeded styling from the default theme. Then slowly go through the remaining code and find what it did. I would delete sections of it to see what was effected and so forth. Basically, when it comes down to web design, I personally think nothing works better than trial and error.
Click to expand...
haha yeah trial and error is probably the best and solid way to learn stuff..but it isn't always the most efficient way..I honestly think there should be more guide/tutorials on the internet for desgining wordpress theme
 
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nterror

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No. A basic understanding is helpful though.

The function names wrapped around <?php *codehere* ?> are pretty straightforward. For example the_title() is the title of the post, the_author() is the author of the post, and so on. I just wrapped my XHTML around it and was good to go. :cool:
 
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user681

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nterror said:
No. A basic understanding is helpful though.

The function names wrapped around <?php *codehere* ?> are pretty straightforward. For example the_title() is the title of the post, the_author() is the author of the post, and so on. I just wrapped my XHTML around it and was good to go. :cool:
Click to expand...
I understand the basic of php..but I don't quite get the loop and also..say if i want a site with different pages and these different pages i want them to have different layout (different css) and if i was to implent this in wordpress how would I do this??
 
ChatIndia

ChatIndia

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I've seen one software for that, its name is Artisteer 2. Check for it
 
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