Hi. I'm completely new to the whole php thing and I'm looking to learn how to modify/create a personal theme using the Thematic framework. Are there any plain english guides out there that could help me along this path. I just feel a bit overwhelmed trying to figure out how to do all these inbetween creating content for my site. Still, I know it will be worth in long run, so if someone can point me to a good guide, that would be great.
Thank you!
@Laughncat 1... if you're new to WordPress theme design/editing you might want to start with learning some css before php.
Check out http://cssbasics.com for some tutorials and examples. You don't need to know php to modify the general look of a theme.
Also in the new version 0.9 that Ian just released, you can use the thematic-sample-child-theme to get started. Copy that into another folder and name it i.e. childtheme01 and you can test out what you learn from http://cssbasics.com without touching (or messing up) any of the Thematic files.
Suggestions: only change one thing at a time so you can see the effect. If you make multiple changes and something looks "weird" it will be more difficult to spot the problem(s), especially if you're new to css.
Also you should take a look at 2 excellent Firefox add-ons like Firebug and Web Developer to analyze css style sheets. You can examine/alter css parameters and see the immediate effect.
The best way to learn is by looking at live examples and the add-ons I mentioned will let you see how theme designs are put together.
Marti,
Thank you for the info. I will look over the tutorials on the CSS site first before I dip any deeper into php. I have Firebug and will get the Web Developer program. I know what Firebug does, but I haven't used the Web Developer plugin in before, so I don't know what new options it opens up. Guess I'll find out :P
Thanks again. I can't say I won't be posting more newb questions, but this at least gives me a starting point.
Thank you!
-LC1
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