Theming documentation

Hello

I searched everywhere to get detailed information how to create a theme. The only thing i found is a nice video on Youtube.
Should i use a free theme like "ThemeGlobal Lite" as a template?

Please provice more information.

Many thanks

Martin

martin.schaible wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 12, 2019 7:35 pm

Hello

I searched everywhere to get detailed information how to create a theme. The only thing i found is a nice video on Youtube.
Should i use a free theme like "ThemeGlobal Lite" as a template?

Please provice more information.

Many thanks

Martin

No, please not!
Go to viewtopic.php?f=10&t=157098&start=120#p753378 and use that template.
And read the whole thread why to start with that - everything else about other (free and paid) templates is written there.

So you recommend to buy the "iStore Theme" as role model or template, right?
Why not use a copy of the default theme of the shop as my template?

I have read the suggested thread. Why you recommend me to read this? It's a discussion about themes and quality of them.

Thanks!

The basic problem is design verses functionality and there is a cross over between the two.

It is a little like a fashion buyer arguing with the merchandiser - they are both right of course, but if they work together - millions are made ..

I am going to be slated here - but - it is a compromise between a well written theme that maximises the use of css AND a well written extension. Themes are NOT the only issue.

A balance needs to be struck between the functionality coders who require as few changes as possible to the core code (and want none, which I personally think is not a reasonable request for a customer base that WANTS individuality) and the designers who want to completely change the look of the site (which is also not a reasonable request for a customer base that WANTS functionality and speed). Not an easy task - and to be honest, most people just want to make money, so they will throw out any old rubbish and not support it .. but then you also have to consider the issue that the 'customer' wants everything free and still complains about it ..

So what does this mean to you?
If you want a lot of functionality added - choose a very basic theme.

I just asked, if i can get some basic documentation about theming.
I looks like, that this isn't the case and this video is the only resource

What documentation would you like?
For a basic theme => catalog/view/theme/default/template/stylesheet/stylesheet.css ?
for new tpl / twig files everything in here => catalog/view/theme/default/template/xxx/xxx.xxx ?

martin.schaible wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 12, 2019 9:40 pm

So you recommend to buy the "iStore Theme" as role model or template, right?
Why not use a copy of the default theme of the shop as my template?

I have read the suggested thread. Why you recommend me to read this? It's a discussion about themes and quality of them.

Thanks!

Well, my 1st recommendation would be to use the Default Template which comes with the original OpenCart Installation.
But you mentioned another 'free' theme from someone else - because of that, I thought you do not want to use the default template .. my fault, sorry!

Why I recommend to read the whole thread?
It is good sample and summary of bad templates and vendors.
Unfortunenately are there very big players (in the sense of Templates) under them.

And yes, the discussion there is about quality - in general.
And generally the qualitiy of most of the templates is .. very, very poor!
Not to repeat myself and others, but when only copying subfolders into the own theme is a criteria, 99% of the theme vendors are not useable.
And paying such a crap is a waste of money!

And because one before said something about a 'balance'.

Balance is NOT adding countless (and many times stolen!) extensions (like blogs, import/export and so on) into the theme.
Balance is NOT reinventing the wheel new.

Balance would be, a Theme which is installed without troubles, easy and intuitive (and not 100 pages of instructions).
Balance would be, to follow the OpenCart standards.
Balance would be to use existing libraries, and not adding the next version of some which is already included in the core.

Balance is not adding new functionalities - that's not the task of a template.
Balance would be also, if the them is unstalled, all changes are reverted.

And Balance would also not overtaking task developers are doing.
The same as I will not create any template, the same should be valid for template vendors not creating new extensions.
Only because to sell 1 copy more as the others.
Only to have more features than the rest - features 90% of the users do not need!

Finally, one of the biggest template vendors on the market, is not able to offer a complete, error free template!
More, they are not able to fix the bugs within a shortest possible time!

Balance would be, not discussing about the poor quality of OpenCart Templates!

@OSWorX
First - I have the utmost respect for you - but your last comment has put me in a position I feel I need to respond.

Balance is NOT adding countless (and many times stolen!) extensions (like blogs, import/export and so on) into the theme. AGREE
(and many times stolen!)
ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTING

Balance is NOT reinventing the wheel new.AGREE

Balance would be, a Theme which is installed without troubles, easy and intuitive (and not 100 pages of instructions).AGREE

Balance would be, to follow the OpenCart standards.AGREE - but I would very much appreciate a link to documentation to make sure

Balance would be to use existing libraries, and not adding the next version of some which is already included in the core.AGREE

Balance is not adding new functionalities - that's not the task of a template.This is a little bit of a problem - in theory yes, but you have to accept the reality of "biggest template vendors” & be able to be a real competitor to that.

Balance would be also, if the them is unstalled, all changes are reverted.AGREE

And Balance would also not overtaking task developers are doing.
I don’t really understand that. Would you be so kind as to explain.

The same as I will not create any template, the same should be valid for template vendors not creating new extensions.This is not my place to determine, you have far more influence
Only because to sell 1 copy more as the others.The issue is not really the one or two sales of the smaller players, but I think the smaller players need to produce quality and not just colour variations. For the record, that is not a comment on the template Paul has produced, it is a reflection on the 000’s of theme templates the customer sees when searching for a decent one.
Only to have more features than the rest - features 90% of the users do not need!This goes back to "biggest template vendors"

Finally, one of the biggest template vendors on the market, is not able to offer a complete, error free template!
More, they are not able to fix the bugs within a shortest possible time!As I understand they actually refuse and hide behind a number of techniques to get module developers to fix the errors in their templates.

Balance would be, not discussing about the poor quality of OpenCart Templates!
If that was referring to something I said, I apologise unreservedly, you misunderstood, what I said was quite the opposite. I find it appalling to read some people being so rude and critical about something they get for free in order to make money for themselves.

If you are referring to my comment about it not being just the theme - I was referring to some very poor quality extensions and modules that are created, not Opencart - and I have been very fortunate to have a few quality extensions, 99% from some other people who I also have utmost respect for on here. I am not sure how I managed to do that, but something about the way they responded to a simple question prior to purchase.

And finally, as I understand the question - the author is asking which theme to plagiarise to create his own ...

@ by mona
Just a few answers ..

Due the fact that I how am involved and working with and for OpenCart, I had to and still see on a daily base really, really bad Themes.
AND - what a shame! - also very, very bad extensions!

And funny, some of the template creators - even the bigger and big - are using those bad extensions.
If they have a support and/or development department, and they are willing to support (which is not always the fact!), end customers maybe lucky (I can fix all that by myself).
Sadly to see after a while at these vendors, that the stolen - and I say stolen when the original author is NOT mentioned and/or the orginal headers inside the files are removed - and sometimes full of bugs, extensions are still in use.
And I can see that when i compare the original extension I know with that 'forked' version.

Not that one may misunderstand me now!

We here are living in a 'OpenSource' world. License is GNU/GPL.
Everybody can and should take und use others extensions - no matter what the License rules say in the OC Marketplace.
Why?
Because OpenCart IS published under the GNU/GPL v2 (earlier) and now under v3.

Which leads us to the next point.
I see also very often extensions - partly sold a few hunded times! - encrypted.
Some with ionCube, some with multiple times of base64_encode, and a few others in a different way.
Which is strictly forbidden - see Original license GNU/GPL.
Because this license is very strictly in this: whole code must be readable - if it is not, the customer has the right to get the uncrypted code.
But this is another discussion - some of the developers here do not want to hear that ..
And end customer have no glue about that.

Regarding the 'overtaken': I mean, that I (my person) have to understand how HTML, CSS, Javascript, libraries like jQuery, Galleries and so on have to work.
I as developer have to know which one has to used for which reason.
And which one of them are working together - and which not.

Sometimes when a new client comes to me because something is not working, 70% the extension is the reason - but the left 30% .. the template!
And here we are: themes and templates have to be created.
In a way that everything is 100% working together.
And not adding an extension where I have the feeling, the theme vendor has no glue what for it is or how it is working - but it sound good when they say: "My/Our Template has +50 extensions included"

Here comes the developer into play.

A theme/template creator has not to be a developer, as a developer has not be a designer (while this is sometimes hard to split).
But both have to understand what they are doing.
And if I cannot do that template or working on it for the client, I have to find a good designer (beside this, I never create a new template - not my business).
And vice versa.

Templates are finally nothing else than Designs.
Not a collection of

Take a look for example at Journal2 (v3 is not better!).
Maybe good for a, unexperienced customer, but not for me as developer (while I have seen not one of my clients using that crap that have understood how to make that and that).

Which leads us to the final part.
I for myself was working many years for Mambo - before it became Joomla.
If you - for example - look at these themes/templates you will never see that bad mixture you can see with OC Themes/Templates!
And that's funny, because using a CMS to build a personal website, a company website or something similiar - is one.
But building Webshops is a completely other story!

Here we have to deal with trust, confidence, security and stability - otherwise nobody at the end will make some profit.

And this is what I mean with Balance: it is a waste of time talking about the quality of templates - they should have already an outstanding quality.
It would be better to discuss - and would bring more - about the system, OpenCart.
And how it can become better .. and better.

martin.schaible wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 12, 2019 11:26 pm

I just asked, if i can get some basic documentation about theming.
I looks like, that this isn't the case and this video is the only resource

Sure, that's why I wrote this: https://www.antropy.co.uk/blog/how-to-c ... t-3-theme/

And thanks @OSWorX for recommending our iStore Theme