November 17, 2013
EastBayWP.com
Our Meetup.com Page
http://www.meetup.com/Eastbay-WordPress-Meetup/
INTRODUCTIONS
1. Name2. Company (if appropriate)3. WordPress background4. What you’re hoping to learn
GENERAL Q & AAsk a question provide a tip about WordPress
What Developers Need Designers
to Know about WordPress
Sallie Goetsch
Parts of a Theme
http://yoast.com/wordpress-theme-anatomy/
Why This Matters
• The templates operate independently of one another.
• Sizes and positions of these elements are not fixed in responsive themes.
• Some templates will leave out one or more of these files (e.g. full-width template with no sidebar, landing page with main content only).
Example
Desktop LayoutMobile Layout
WordPress Template Hierarchy
http://marktimemedia.com/redesigning-the-template-hierarchy/
Why This Matters
• You need a separate design for every template that the theme uses.
• At minimum, this means designing a home page, a blog index page, a single post page, and an interior page.
• Custom content types need their own single and archive page designs.
Example
Home Page Book Page Member Profile Page
Most Developers Use Frameworks
Why This Matters• The developer will be mapping your
design onto his or her preferred framework.
• Frameworks often include things like multiple layouts (e.g. right sidebar, left sidebar, no sidebar) that you’ll need to design for.
• If you find out which framework the dev uses, you can make both your jobs easier.
Example
Style Blog Post Formats• Aside• Gallery • Link• Image• Quote• Status• Video• Audio• Chat
Find out which ones your client plans to use, and
design them.
http://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Formats
Why This Matters
• If your client plans to include lots of media (video, audio, galleries, photos), you can display each kind to its best advantage
• Styling post formats with different backgrounds or icons makes your blog index more interesting.
Example
Twenty Thirteen is the classic example of post format styling. Each post format has a different background color.
Remember to Style Comments
And Comment Forms
Why This Matters
• Comments are an important WordPress function.
• They can look really dreadful if you don’t style them.
• If your client is going to use Disqus or Jetpack Comments, they’ll look different—find out.
Understand Featured Images
https://codex.wordpress.org/Post_Thumbnails
What You Need to Decide
• Featured image size for blog index (index.php)
• Whether to show featured images on single.php and page.php
• Featured image size for home page, if different from blog index
• Whether to include a featured image header option
Examples: Featured Images
http://en.support.wordpress.com/featured-images/
This page lists ways different themes
use featured images.
Create Multiple Headers
http://wpti.ps/functions/mobile-optimized-twenty-thirteen-header-image/
Why This Matters
• Depending on the framework or parent theme, full-width headers either get cropped or shrunken
• Creating separate header images for desktop, large tablet, small tablet, and phone gives you control over mobile display.
Design a Mobile Menu
Why This Matters
• The desktop drop-down menu won’t look good on a mobile device, even if it’s responsive.
• Mega-menus are a mess on phones.
• Responsive menu plugins won’t match your design.
http://wpmu.org/how-to-create-awesome-responsive-menu/
Why This Matters• Just because you have a desktop
license for a font doesn’t mean you can use it on the web.
• Google’s 629 font families are free for web and print.
• Adobe fonts are available from Typekit for an annual fee.
• Web versions of ITC and Linotype fonts (like Helvetica Neue) are expensive.
Style Hidden Elements
• Drop-down menus• Headings level 1-6• List bullets• Blockquotes• Forms• Tables• Image captions
You don’t have to show
them all in action.
A stylesheet works fine for
text elements.
Document Intended Functions
• Hover color/effect for buttons• Hover and visited color for links• Pop-up windows• Lightboxes for images and galleries• Multiple drop-down levels for menus• Anything else you click or hover over
Why This Matters
If you don’t show it or describe it, the developer will do one of two things:
–Make it up, with a possibly less-than optimal result.
–Come back and ask you, slowing down the development process and adding more work for you later.
Example
Provide Icon Libraries
Why This Matters
• The icons you show in your design may not be the only ones the client needs.
• It saves time if the developer doesn’t have to come back to you for more icons.
• When creating your own icons, make sure you include all the most popular social networks.
The Codex Is Your Friend
http://codex.wordpress.org/Site_Design_and_Layout