WordPress Theme Design Table Of Contents

Table of Contents

Preface
Chapter 1: Getting Started as a WordPress Theme Designer
Chapter 2: Theme Design and Approach
Chapter 3: Coding It Up
Chapter 4: Debugging and Validaton
Chapter 5: Your Theme in Action
Chapter 6: WordPress Reference
Chapter 7: Dynamic Menus and Interactive Elements
Chapter 8: AJAX / Dynamic Content and Interactive Forms
Chapter 9: Design Tips for Working with WordPress
Index

• Preface

• Chapter 1: Getting Started as a WordPress Theme Designer
  • WordPress Perks
  • Does a WordPress Site Have to Be a Blog?
  • Pick a Theme or Design Your Own?
    • Drawbacks to Using a Pre-Made Theme
  • This Book's Approach
  • Things You'll Need to Know
    • WordPress
    • CSS
    • XHTML
    • PHP
    • Not Necessary, but Helpful
  • Tools of the Trade
    • HTML Editor
    • Graphic Editor
    • Firefox
    • We'll Be Developing for Firefox First, then IE
  • Summary

• Chapter 2: Theme Design and Approach
  • Things to Consider
    • Types of Blogs
    • Plug-ins and Widgets
  • Getting Ready to Design
    • We Have a Problem
    • It Gets Worse
  • The Solution–Rapid Design Comping
  • Let's Get Started
    • Sketch It
      • Consider Usability
    • Start with the Structure
      • The DOCTYPE
      • The Main Body
      • Attach the Basic StyleSheet
      • Basic Semantic XHTML Structure
  • Adding Text–Typography
    • Start with the Text
      • Font Choices
      • Cascading Fonts
      • Font Sizing
      • Paragraphs
      • Default Links
  • The Layout
    • Navigation
    • More Navigation–WordPress Specific Styles (OK, Style)
    • Color Schemes
    • Two-Minute Color Schemes
    • Color Schemes with Photoshop
    • Adding Color to Your CSS
  • Create the Graphical Elements

• Relax and Have Fun Designing
• Slice and Export
• Summary

• Chapter 3: Coding It Up
  • Got WordPress?
    • Understanding the WordPress Theme
  • Your WordPress Work Flow
  • Let's Build Our Theme
  • Tabula Rasa
    • Including WordPress Content
      • The Loop
      • The Sidebar
      • Breaking It Up–Separating Your Theme Into Template Files
      • The Home Page
      • Internal Pages
  • Static Pages
    • Quick Recap
  • Fun with Other Page Layouts
  • Don't Forget About Your 404 Page

• Summary

• Chapter 4: Debugging and Validaton
  • Don't Forget About Those Other Browsers and Platforms
  • Introduction to Debugging
  • Troubleshooting Basics
    • Why Validate?
    • PHP Template Tags
    • CSS Quick Fixes
  • Advanced Troubleshooting
  • Fixing CSS Across Browsers
  • Box Model Issues
  • Everything Is Relative
  • To Hack or Not to Hack
  • Out-of-the-Box-Model Thinking
  • The Road to Validation
  • Advanced Validation
    • Firefox's JavaScript/Error Console
    • The Web Developer's Toolbar
    • FireBug
  • Extra Credit
    • What About the New Safari Mobile Browser?
  • Summary

• Chapter 5: Your Theme in Action
  • A Picture's Worth
  • Theme Packaging Basics
  • Describing Your Theme
  • Licensing?
  • Create a ReadMe.txt File
  • Zip It Up
  • No Way to Zip?
  • One Last Test
  • Get Some FeedBack and Track It
  • Summary

• Chapter 6: WordPress Reference
  • Class Styles Generated by WordPress
  • Using the Template Selector Feature
  • Template Hierarchy
    • New Template Tag in 2.5
    • Great Template Tags for Tags from 2.3
      • Adding Tag Display to Your Theme
    • General Template Tags—the Least You Need to Know
    • Include Tags
      • Custom Includes—Streamline Your Theme
    • The Loop Functions
    • WordPress Core Functions
  • Summary

• Chapter 7: Dynamic Menus and Interactive Elements
  • DYI or Plug-ins?
  • Dynamic Menus?
    • Drop-Down Menus
    • DIY SuckerFish Menus in WordPress
      • Applying CSS to WordPress
      • Applying the DOM Script to WordPress
  • Flash-ize It
    • Flash in Your Theme
      • Pass Flash a WordPress Variable
      • Users Without Flash, Older Versions of Flash, and IE6 Users
    • Flash in a WordPress Post or Page
  • Summary

• Chapter 8: AJAX / Dynamic Content and Interactive Forms
  • Preparing for Dynamic Content and Interactive Forms
    • You Still Want AJAX on Your Site?
  • Plug-ins and Widgets
    • Plug-ins
    • Widgets
  • Getting Your Theme Ready for Plug-ins and Widgets
    • Plug-in Preparations
    • Installing the AJAX Comments Plug-ins
    • Widget Preparations
    • Installing the Google Reader Widget
  • AJAX–It's Not Just for Your Site Users
    • pageMash
  • The AJAX Factor
    • JavaScript Component Scripts
  • Summary

• Chapter 9: Design Tips for Working with WordPress
  • The Cool Factor
    • Rounded Corners
      • The Classic – All Four Corners
      • The Two Image Cheat
    • Creative Posting
    • Breaking Boundaries
    • Keep Tabs on Current Design Trends
    • Graphic Text
      • Extra Credit – Use PHP to make Graphic Headers Easy
  • Good Design isn't Always Visual – Looking at SEO
    • Search Engine Friendly URLs
    • Keywords and Descriptions
      • DYI Metatags
      • Metatag Plug-ins
  • Summary

• Index