What you need to know about

I have no intention of trying to teach you how to design, nor how to code. You may as well ask me how long a piece of string is. If you want to design a “front-of-site” theme there are certain areas of knowledge required:-

  • First you need to be fairly comfortable with how Textpattern works. If you are new to the software you really are going to have a problem aren’t you? It doesn’t matter how good a designer you think you are. So either be patient until you know your way around Textpattern, the basics at least, or else use one of the “front-of-site” themes from here. They are a good source for learning.
  • Don’t forget to use the resources available to you.
  • Textbook has a full listing of current tags including all their attributes and examples of usage plus plenty of other useful information.
  • If you aren’t sure about something then go and ask a question over on the forum. We won’t bite. We won’t even laugh (not so you would notice). We are very friendly and as helpful as we can be so register and join in the fun.
  • The main Textpattern site has an FAQ section including specific questions about particular Textpattern releases.
  • You will require a certain competence in both XHTML and CSS. There are plenty of other places on the Internet to learn this stuff not to mention a few books on both subjects.
  • PHP is not a requirement but a rudimentary knowledge can always come in handy at times. The same can be said for javascript and jquery.
  • Having a background in design, especially graphic design, is really handy but again not necessary if you have a clear idea of what it is that you want to create.
  • If you don’t want to learn all of the above but have a design in your head why don’t you produce a layered Photoshop or Fireworks image and ask someone to convert it into a site for you? I can certainly do that as can many other forum members though it is likely to cost you a bit of money. There’s actually a special forum where you can ask for that kind of help.

Tools

Before thinking about creating any type of theme the first thing you should do is ensure that you have all the appropriate tools necessary to make life easy. For my own part I always ensure that I have the following installed on my computer:-

XAMPP for Windows, XAMPP for Mac OS X (beta), XAMPP for Linux (beta) or XAMPP for Solaris. For Mac OS X users there is also MAMP. These are the ones I know and doubtless there are others so pick your favourite flavour and install it. For the uninitiated these applications create a personal server on your computer which replicates the environment you would be working in if you were working on a “live” website but you don’t have all the hassle of having to create and then FTP files or images up to the website’s server. It can all be done on your computer. You don’t even have to be connected to the web unless you need to verify external links.

The next thing you need to do is install the latest version of Textpattern into your XAMPP or MAMP install. Even this is so much simpler than installing it to a “live” site. I happen to use the latest “SVN” version but that isn’t necessary as long as it is the latest “public” release. Now I’m specifically talking about “front-of-site” themes in this article but here’s a tip – I always install two instances of Textpattern. I use one install for “front of site” themes and the other for “administration” themes because I happen to do both. This isn’t necessary but it’s something for you to think about. Using a single install for both will end up being somewhat confusing.

Now that’s really all you need unless you prefer to code outside the Textpattern environment in which case you will want a code editor. I’m not going to list any here because there are just so many of them and people each have their own favourite so just go with your preference.

For my own part I have always coded within Textpattern. I haven’t used an editor with Textpattern for quite literally years. Now some of you like the look of “tabbing” but if that is your only reason for using an external editor may I point you to Mary’s upm-insert-tab. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

Now just get on with it

That’s pretty much all I can say.
If you have the right knowledge and the right tools, just get on with it.
If you don’t have the knowledge then learn or ask someone to do it for you or both.
If you don’t have the right tools available it will take you longer than it should.
It’s really up to YOU.