Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: Frameworks vs. Starter Themes vs. Parent/Child Themes

Transcript

1. WordCamp OC 2013! https://speakerdeck.com/digisavvy/child-themes Slides Saturday, June 1, 13
2. A Love Story... Photo Credit: Workaholics via @mashable Frameworks Vs. Parent/Child Themes Vs. Starter Themes Choosing the Right Tool for the Job: Saturday, June 1, 13
3. Who Am I? just the facts... Illustration by: Jehna Nienhuis Saturday, June 1, 13
4. I’m Alex Vasquez •I run a marketing agency called DigiSavvy •I’ve been suckin’ at WordPress’n since 2009 •I tweet @alexjvasquez •I organize the Pasadena WordPress Meetup Group... •People say I have nice hair {He’s lying right now *editor’s note} Illustration by: Jehna Nienhuis Pants { } Shirt {x} Shoes {x} Saturday, June 1, 13
5. The Agenda. ‣Talking about Approach... ‣Reviewing our tools ‣Pros and Cons ‣Conclusions ‣Fist bumps for all! Illustration by: kimberly leos Saturday, June 1, 13
6. What Are You Using Now? Saturday, June 1, 13
7. Things to Consider... •Effort. How much time and how much of a headache will this project be? •Support — Do you need support? Guaranteed support is great as the community may not always be there when you need answers. •What’s the budget? •Turnaround Time — One month? Two months? More? Less!!? Saturday, June 1, 13
8. Choosing the Right Tool For the Job frameworks parent/child themes ahem, starter themes Illustrations by: kimberly leos Saturday, June 1, 13
9. Reviewing the Tools in Your Toolbox Sometimes conisdered a “mega-theme” Frameworks provide an established codebase that includes advanced functionality and basic design elements out-of-the-box. Meant to be ‘ready-to-use’ and easily customizable for developer and non-developer users; they also speed up development times. What are they? FRAMEWORKS Framework Examples WooThemes Framework Pagelines Startbox Framework Hybrid Framework Headway Illustration by: Jehna Nienhuis Saturday, June 1, 13
10. Reviewing the Tools in Your Toolbox PARENT/CHILD THEMES A Parent/Child theme generally includes a robust feature set out-of-the-box, like a Framework. How they differ is that a Parent theme, itself, is never to be used as the active theme. It provides base functionality and structure which the child theme inherits. All customization is done through the Child Theme only. What are they? Parent/Child Themes Genesis Framework Thematic Almost any theme can be a ‘Parent Theme’ Illustration by: kimberly leos Saturday, June 1, 13
11. Reviewing the Tools in Your Toolbox STARTER THEMES What are they? Starter Themes generally consist of a minimal, yet well-built foundation consisting of solid semantic markup, css and js libraries. While not a complete “blank slate,” a starter theme makes it easy to get started and allowing you to build only what you want into your projects. Starter Theme Examples Bones WP Bootstrap Underscores HTML5Blank Toolbox Illustration by: kimberly leos Saturday, June 1, 13
12. What Should You Do? Saturday, June 1, 13
13. On my dating profile, I say that I like all the things...so I can score with the internet babes Saturday, June 1, 13
14. {Should you use a Framework?} Illustration by: christiana benoit Saturday, June 1, 13
15. {Should you use a Framework?} If you’re a Non-Developer then YES!!! Frameworks tend to be “budget-friendly” Frameworks often have many pre-made designs that you can activate-and-go! Requires little programming knowledge to develop something totes rad!! Saturday, June 1, 13
16. {Should you use a Framework?} If you’re a Developer... then YES!!! *Disclaimer* (It depends on the project, yo) Frameworks, in theory, provide the most efficient way to develop a project from the ground up... Saturday, June 1, 13
17. {Should you use a Framework?} CONS What if your client doesn’t need all that fluff and just needs to “tweak a thing or two?” Frameworks can be “opinionated” and ultimately restrictive... Can suffer from “feature bloat” Can have a steep learning curve A number of frameworks are not free i.e. Headway, Pagelines, Ultimatum etc. Saturday, June 1, 13
18. "I brought you in this world, and I can take you out! " -Bill Cosby Saturday, June 1, 13
19. {Will a Parent/Child Theme Do?} For End-Users/Clients, this provides a compelling option... In theory provides future updatability without affecting existing child theme(s) Many child themes to choose from, reducing time needed for custom design Contain many options for customization Illustration by: christiana benoit Saturday, June 1, 13
20. {Will a Parent/Child Theme Do?} For Developers, the many hooks/filters provided can yield infinite layout possibilities True separation of core function from custom design/functionality Easier to maintain Less time to develop... Saturday, June 1, 13
21. {Will a Parent/Child Theme Do?} CONS Similar to Frameworks, the Parent Theme can suffer from “feature bloat” While highly customizable it, many Parent Themes are ultimately limiting and restrictive i.e. Genesis Framework Also, like Frameworks, can have a steep learning curve But what if need something that is hyper-extra-sooper-dooper-customized? Starter theme? Saturday, June 1, 13
22. "Starting from scratch is seductive but disease ridden" -Pithy Advice for Programmers Illustration by: kimberly leos Saturday, June 1, 13
23. {F*ck it! We’re Goin’ With a Starter Theme!} If you’re a Non-Dev, this is how you’re really going to LEARN how to use WordPress... You will be adding everything that you need. Dropdown Menus, Fancybox pop-ups, Custom Queries and beyond... Scary, but SCARY AWESOME! •You will spend many hours in front of a monitor... Crying becomes normal; social skills suffer •The “Codex” will become a part of your daily vernacular... •You will cuss more than I do and people will think you’re an *sshole Quick Predictions Saturday, June 1, 13
24. {F*ck it! We’re Goin’ With a Starter Theme!} This is why you eat your Wheaties. Starter themes are the next closest thing to showing up to work without any damn clothes on. •Provides basic markup as more of a suggestion than something you actually need to use •Can fit ANY type of project requirement •For the ultimate control freak who sneers at Bootstrap and complains of “bloat” or “fluff” •Easier to build up once, as opposed to tearing down and building up again Saturday, June 1, 13
25. {F*ck it! We’re Goin’ With a Starter Theme!} •Can be intimidating to get started, starting nearly from scratch •You generally need to add your own functionality (drop down nav, lightboxes, jQuery tabs) •Easier to get carried away (I’m going to include all the stuff!!!!) •Takes longer to complete a project CONS Saturday, June 1, 13
26. {Conclusions...} Saturday, June 1, 13
27. Got Questions? digisavvy.com @alexjvasquez Saturday, June 1, 13