I’ve decided to attempt a feat will demonstrate how easy it is to customize XOOPS with just a little bit of XHTML/CSS/SMARTY knowledge and a little bit of creativity.

The Objective

I’m going to create 30 designs in 30 days covering a wide range of topics. There will be only 1 Generic template (i.e.: suitable for a wide range of applications). This 1 Generic template will serve as the framework that I build the remaining 29 themes from. All other themes will be designed with a particular niche in mind. Here are the topics that I intend to cover with this project:

1. Agriculture
2. Americana
3. Art
4. Automotive
5. Books
6. Business
7. Celebrities
8. Computers
9. Family
10. Food & Drink
11. Gaming
12. Generic
13. Humor
14. Kids
15. Movies
16. Music
17. Nature
18. News
19. Outer Space
20. Photography
21. Politics
22. Programming
23. Romance
24. Science
25. Society
26. Sports
27. Technology
28. Urban Life
29. Weddings
30. Writing

The requirements

Aside from producing 30 designs in 30 days, there are additional requirements to this project that are meant to illustrate the ease of which you can customize XOOPS. The first requirement is that the current “Default” XOOPS theme be used as the basis for the Generic framework theme. The limitation is that any XHTML/CSS/SMARTY modifications must be achievable by the average XOOPS user. In other words, very little XHTML/SMARTY will change. Most of the changes will be made in CSS and by replacing graphics. The second requirement is that all themes must pass basic XTHML 1.0 Transitional and CSS Level 2 compliance. While I would also like to add table-less and accessible to this list, I realize that the average XOOPS user would not be able to duplicate such standards easily. The whole point of this project is to show what you can do with the look of your XOOPS site in a few hours.

In order to give myself a little time to clear my mind and prepare for this challenge, I’ve given myself until Monday, February 12th to produce the first theme, which will be the Generic framework theme. From that day on, I will release one new theme every day for 30 days straight.

I hope you enjoy the results of this challenge.

i do like those men who don't fear challenges

i'm sure you will succeed in that task, and i thank you in advance for the items you will provide to the community. that's the most "opensource" behavior of these last months on the XOOPS planet !
thanks
marco

Your forum avatar is soooooo appropriate considering your goal!

I'm looking forward to logging into the XOOPS site for a lunchtime theme fix over the next month!

Beautiful challenge, and beautiful contribution to the community,

We are completely behind you, moreover I from there will prepare the quantity of coffee necessary

Kris

Better get that coffee peculator fixed

That is an intravenous drip in your avatar isn't it?

Quote:

*bookmart this topic and rise the famous XOOPS flag*

Good luck with this challenge.

Good luck with that James :)

30 days later...



Good luck Mr Morris !

Thank you all for the encouragement and support!

It is my hope that this challenge will help bring some much needed positive publicity to one of the strongest arguments for using XOOPS... Ease of customization. That was the deciding factor for me years ago when I started using XOOPS, and I hope it will continue to draw in fresh minds and able hands.

Expect the Framework theme on Monday the 12th!

P.S. I'm going to need a bigger coffee pot!