JoomlArt Forums 32,862 posts

[seandiggins Friend seandigginsJoin date: March 2008Posts: 17Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 8 Thanked: 1 times in 1 posts]

#128632

I have read the various threads regarding the “two templates per month” issues, but havent seen the following suggestion:

Is it possible for JA to make some more very clean, very simple templates, perhaps like the templates offered by cmslounge?

By this, I mean small layouts which suit the many laptop screens having a vertical height of 800 pixels. Too many Joomla templates assume that all web users have fast connections with huge screen resolutions. And not every customer wants complex sites with numerous modules. Not every website is a portal.

I would gladly pay for really nicely designed compact Joomla templates which focus on simple (but classy and artistic) layout design rather than inclusion of lots of modules. The main feature I would make sure the simple templates always include is colour variations.

I’m not suggestion JA stop producing the wonderful templates for which JA is renowned. But also releasing clean, simple templates might help to relieve the “two per month” pressure….and (of course) the clean, simple templates are less likely to contain as many bugs as the typical JA templates. I’d use both types of template!

Thanks,

Sean

[lonnstrom Friend lonnstromJoin date: November 2006Posts: 23Downloads:0Uploads:0 Thanks: 10 Thanked: 1 times in 1 posts]

#252883

I too, would love to see some simple layouts without as many module positions, but still have some bells and whistles (color variations, accordians, slider tabs, etc)!

[cgc0202 Friend cgc0202Join date: August 2007Posts: 2244Downloads:0Uploads:3 Thanks: 206 Thanked: 262 times in 1 posts]

#252903

<em>@seandiggins 53954 wrote:</em><blockquote>I have read the various threads regarding the “two templates per month” issues, but havent seen the following suggestion:

Is it possible for JA to make some more very clean, very simple templates, perhaps like the templates offered by cmslounge?

By this, I mean small layouts which suit the many laptop screens having a vertical height of 800 pixels. Too many Joomla templates assume that all web users have fast connections with huge screen resolutions. And not every customer wants complex sites with numerous modules. Not every website is a portal.

I would gladly pay for really nicely designed compact Joomla templates which focus on simple (but classy and artistic) layout design rather than inclusion of lots of modules. The main feature I would make sure the simple templates always include is colour variations.

I’m not suggestion JA stop producing the wonderful templates for which JA is renowned. But also releasing clean, simple templates might help to relieve the “two per month” pressure….and (of course) the clean, simple templates are less likely to contain as many bugs as the typical JA templates. I’d use both types of template!

Thanks,

Sean</blockquote>

Hi Sean,

I agree with you in a number of aspects, and I have expressed that in numerous posts.

Many of the so-called templates, are actually simply clones, adorned with whistles and bells or just like a person changing clothes, jewelries, and the like; but if you look underneath, it is still the same person.

That unfortunately is the situation with the need to produce two-templates a month — features just moved around, and some extensions borrowed from the vast Joomla extensions — to add something new. Although, in theory, you could have done so yourself. This two templates a month is what saps the time, and energy of Joomlart webdesigners — both in turn sapping their creativity and also attending to as important component of a good template — a well thought and thorough Instruction Manual, that will help a new user with minimal background in scripting and experience with Joomla.

These two issues — two per month templates and the lack of a good manual to accompany each template — are at the heart of the bulk of the problems encountered here.

This is not to say however that Joomlart does not already have what you need. If you examine the various templates, a number of templates may already suit your needs. Do not expect it to be served to you tailor made for your purpose — it may require quite a bit of tweakig on your part.

My preference right now is the JA Teline II because of its versatility and the features not found in any templates I have seen so far, among templates companies. I would prefer also the Joomla 1.0x version of JA Teline II, for quite a number of reasons I outlined in response to another post in the Forum.

The heart of the versatility of JA Teline II is the introduction of a magazine concept. It is possible that you may not need that now, but if you are a serious website owner, the ability to group your materials into sections and categories, will help not only you but also your visitors in the long run. Sure, the concept of sections and categories are integral in Joomla, but the magazine concept is much much more beyond simply grouping.

Many people are enamored with the blog format, for example; but as nice as many blog templates are, its format will be a great limitation after a few months (if you are a prolific blogger) or a few years — depending on your output.

As to the whistles and bells that comes with templates, like JA Teline II, there is not reason why you have to have it. That in a sense is the beauty of a template that is both modular and where the positions are collapsible. You can unpublish (or even delete) those modules you do not need. Silence (collapse) the positions that you feel are not needed in your site.

In theory, if you learn how to use it, you can transform JA Teline II into a blog format for now, and with just a few tweakings, convert it also (they are not mutually exclusive), particularly the inside into a more organized grouping of your blogs, or whatever sections and categories that comprise the focus of your site.

Having access to a template company database of templates simply saves you the time in having to do the scripting yourself.

All this of course require a lot of envisioning and work on your part. But, let us face it, you really only need one template for a site. Even the changing colors are just whistles and bells) and should not be the reason that attracts your visitors. In the end, it must be what it contains, and whether it be a personal website, or some other type of site, as the webmaster, it must reflect your vision — what you wish to share with others who might share your own.

A good example of this is Craigslist; it should could use a much better template. However, it is one of the ten most visited sites in the US, in spite of its generic template — because of what it has to offer. A goal that was its focus, from the beginning.

It is good to have a good template, not question.

Cornelio

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