Starter Themes for Appleton WordPress Meetup

Transcript

1. Starter Themes & Theme Frameworks
   

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2. Hi, I’m Brad Parbs.
   I write code.
   I build themes.
   I build plugins.
   I build tools.
   I make stuff for clients.
   I make stuff for people.
   I like working efficiently.
   

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3. What’s a starter theme?
   Difference between starter theme and theme framework?
   Why should I use one?
   How do I pick one to use?
   What ones are our there?
   Where do I go once I picked one?
   Overview
   

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4. We might get a little code-y.
   I’m a little biased in this department.
   Some of this stuff is only my opinion.
   There’s probably more options I don’t cover.
   Disclaimers
   

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5. The term "Theme Framework" currently has two meanings:
   •
   A "drop-in" code library that is used to facilitate development of a
   Theme
   •
   A stand-alone base/starter Theme that is intended either to be
   forked into another Theme, or else to be used as a Parent Theme
   template
   What’s a theme framework?
   

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6. Not much really.
   But we’ll talk more about the theme you hack on,
   not the drop-in stuff.
   Difference
   

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7. Why should I use one?
   “Gold chains around my neck
   just like Michael Phelps”
   - Akon – I'm So Paid
   

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8. But Biggie was wrong
   “It's like the more money we come across.
   The more problems we see”
   - The Notorious B.I.G. – Mo’ Money, Mo’ Problems
   

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9. D.R.Y. Code
   

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10. D.R.Y. Code
    “A 1000-HOUR HEAD START”
    http://themeshaper.com/2012/02/13/introducing-the-underscores-theme/
    

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11. How do I choose?
    

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12. How do I choose?
    What are your requirements?
    What are you doing with it?
    

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13. How do I choose?
    Pick one and stick with it.
    

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14. What’s out there?
    

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16. Bones
    Mobile-first & Responsive
    LESS & SASS support
    Licensed under the WTFPL (GPL comp.)
    Lots of fun functionality under-the-hood
    Good commenting for functions
    Well-structured & Semantic
    

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17. Bones
    http://themble.com/bones/
    

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19. Roots
    Grunt power & magic
    Cool sidebar class for hide/show
    Does weird stuff w/ your URLs
    Fun template parts for easy dev
    Online docs, minimal code comments
    Don’t use as your first starter theme
    MIT License
    

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20. Roots
    http://roots.io
    

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21. What’s out there?
    Hybrid Base
    

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22. Hybrid Core
    Hard to download
    Comes bundled w/ Hybrid Core
    Comes w/ no styling
    Most functionality is hidden in Hybrid Core
    Large amount of files, minimal organization
    Lightweight-ish
    No given license - Hybrid Core is GPL, though
    Built to teach Hybrid Core usage
    

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23. Hybrid Core
    https://github.com/justintadlock/hybrid-base
    http://themehybrid.com/themes/hybrid-base
    

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24. What’s out there?
    Foundation for WordPress
    

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25. Foundation
    Throws some warnings in 3.6
    Foundation is awesome
    3 different CSS files out of the box
    Shortcodes for most Foundation features
    Minimal files, lightweight
    

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26. Foundation
    https://github.com/drewsymo/Foundation
    

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27. What’s out there?
    Whiteboard Framework
    

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28. Whiteboard Framework
    Throws some warnings in 3.6
    Kind of ugly out of the box
    Ugly markup
    Bloated templates
    Ugh
    

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29. Whiteboard Framework
    http://whiteboardframework.com/
    

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30. What’s out there?
    WP Bootstrap
    

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31. BootstrapWP
    Twitter Bootstrap luv
    Lots of good markup and stuff
    Hasn’t been updated since May
    

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32. BootstrapWP
    http://bootstrapwp.rachelbaker.me/
    

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33. What’s out there?
    WP Bootstrap
    

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34. BootstrapWP
    Twitter Bootstrap luv
    Lots of good markup and stuff
    Hasn’t been updated since May
    

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35. BootstrapWP
    http://320press.com/wpbs/
    

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36. What’s out there?
    2013/12/11
    

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37. 2013/2012/2011/2010/Kubrick
    It’s a great starting point
    Child theme, not hacking the theme
    

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38. What’s out there?
    _s
    

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39. _s
    The right amount of lean, commented templates
    Helper functions to keep templates lean
    Minimal, smart CSS
    100% awesome
    Patrick & I are contributors
    

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40. _s
    http://underscores.me/
    

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41. What’s out there?
    wolf
    

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42. Wolf
    Built off of _s
    Built for using SASS
    Lots of fun tweaks / awesomeness
    What I use
    Some minor bugs that will be fixed this month
    

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43. Wolf
    https://github.com/bradp/Wolf
    

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44. Where do I go once I picked one?
    Look through all the code
    Use it for your next / current project
    Keep using it to get more familiar
    Fork w/ things you add to every theme
    Build your functionality into plugins
    

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45. “Gold chains around my neck
    just like Michael Phelps”
    - Akon – I'm So Paid
    Where do I go once I picked one?
    

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46. demo or questions or anything time
    

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