Parent Themes vs Frameworks vs Starter Themes

Choosing the right tool for the job

Transcript

1. WordCamp Las Vegas 2013! WordCamp Las Vegas 2013! Slides Available At: http://goo.gl/nBXl2C
2. A Love Story... 'SBNFXPSLT
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   5IFNFT
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   5IFNFT Choosing the Right Tool for the Job:
3. Who Am I? If you don’t like my talk I go by… Sir Not Appearing at this
 WordCamp…
4. Who Am I Really? just the facts... Pants { } Shirt {x} Shoes {x}
5. I’m Alex Vasquez •Gum Chewer, Mouth Breather, Stick in the Mud •Working with WordPress since 2009 •I tweet @alexjvasquez • Pasadena Meetup and WordCamp LA Co-Conspirator •People say I have nice hair {He’s lying right now *editor’s note}
6. The Agenda. ‣Talking about Approach... ‣Reviewing our tools ‣Pros and Cons ‣Conclusions ‣Fist bumps for all!
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 project budget? •Turnaround Time — One month? Two months? More? Less!!?
8. Choosing the Right Tool For the Job frameworks parent/child themes ahem, starter themes
9. Reviewing the Tools in Your Toolbox Frameworks are for theme developers. They offer a set of features for developers to use in creating their own themes. The functions/features provided aid theme development. You can use a framework to build a parent theme (in some cases), but the framework is not a parent theme itself. ! FRAMEWORKS Framework Examples WooThemes Canvas Headway iThemes Builder Hybrid Framework
10. Reviewing the Tools in your toolbox PARENT THEMES Nearly all WordPress themes ‘could’ be parent themes. Parent themes ‘should’ house the core design elements, functionality, and the templates required for running the theme in WordPress. All customization is done through the Child Theme only. ! What are they? Parent/Child Themes Genesis Framework Thematic
11. Reviewing the Tools in your toolbox STARTER THEMES What are they? Starter Themes generally provide 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 Roots Blank Canvas
 Underscores Bones
 Toolbox Some Like it Neat
12. What Should You Do?
13. {Should you use a Framework?}
14. {Should you use a Framework?} For non-developers, SURE!! 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!!
15. {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...
16. {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.
17. “You know, I brought you into this world and I can take you out.” -Bill Cosby
18. {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
19. {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...
20. {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?
21. "Starting from scratch is seductive but disease ridden…” -Pithy Advice for Programmers
22. {F*ck it! We’re Goin’ With a Starter Theme!} Non-Devs. This is how you’re going to really level-up at building WordPress Themes! 
 Scary, but SCARY AWESOME! •You will spend many hours in front of a monitor... Crying becomes normal; social skills suffer •The Codex, not the Sun (and or your family), is the center of your universe •Your Social Skills will erode and will have weird people smell… •You will cuss more than I do and people will think you’re an *sshole Quick Predictions
23. {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 Frameworks and complains of “bloat” or “fluff” •Easier to build up once, as opposed to tearing down and building up again
24. Conclusions? How can we build a “smarter starter theme?” What about a “dumber and less-opinionated” framework? Shake up your workflow, learn something different.
25. Got Questions?