Posted by february28 on October 14, 2008 at 8:38pm
It would be helpful if we could share details on what themes we are using and how they've been modified, especially front pages. Currently I am developing a site for Stony Brook University Libraries using the Beginning W2 theme, and I would appreciate learning what others use and why, and how you've modified it.
Related to this, I am bursting to learn how others have modified any of your *.tpl.php pages.
I will post more as I continue my design and implementation for SBU libs.
Thanks very much :)
Comments
Theme development is a heady
Theme development is a heady mix of PHP and CSS, with some JS/JQuery thrown in for good measure. If you customize an existing theme, the most important thing is reading the CSS, and understanding how the units - pixels, ems, percentages work together.
I also found it useful to read the template engine code to get an idea of how the templates work. The relationship of node.tpl.php to page.tpl.php was not exactly intuitive to me.
I suggest that you try to limit the amount of PHP in your tpl files as much as possible. Function overrides and variable declarations and assignments belong in template.php, and even these should be used with moderation. If you need a module, build a module.
The obvious use for alternate tpl.php files is for the front page. I also use them to do alternate headers and menus for certain sections of a site. Drupal 5 required some clever coding to do things (like calling a template from path alias) that work OOTB on Drupal 6, so you are in good shape there.
Theming
We use the Zen theme. Its a good starter theme that is pretty easy to customize.
your main page
For the main page you could create a page (or any other content type) and point to it from the site information page:
admin/settings/site-information
It's been a long time since I had mine set up like that. I actually use a module called "advanced front page." It gives you the ability to create a conditional front page depending on the user group or if it the user is logged in or not. It can be handy.
If I had to do it all over again I might use a combination of views and blocks. I wish I would have understood blocks more when I set up our site the first time.
A lot of advanced users use a combo of blocks views and panels. I wouldn't do that unless you had a little experience with views. Smart use of blocks can get you most of the way there.
Quick way for a custom main page
Create a new page with the info and images that you want to change from time to time. Then set up custom blocks for flash and other things you don't plan on changing that much and have them display only on that page. Make sure in the blocks you turn on full html if you need to. This way you have a page that you can update easily with TinyMCE or any other HTML editor and the embed or java script stuff in sandboxed in the blocks. You may have to mess around with the weight of the block (drupal 5) if you need it to show up in the right order on the page. Pint to the new front page here: admin/settings/site-information
Explain what you might want the main page to have on it. Chances are someone here has done it.
The Zen Theme was an excellent suggestion. A lot of the weird internet explorer vs firefox weirdness is already worked out.