New Starkers Theme

[Watson90]

Hey guys

I am new to signing up to CSS-Tricks however not new to this website. I have learnt so much through Chris and his great posts and screencasts.

I have been designing and developing websites for a total of about 2 years. And I am a complete beginner with WordPress! I have developed a website for a friend of mine who is a Photographer, he blogs and would like to add new content to his website on a daily basis, obviously WordPress is one of the best solutions for him to use a CMS.

I recently watched Chris’s screencast regarding Kailin Yong’s website from Photoshop to WordPress and he makes it look really easy. So I downloaded the Starkers Theme but now it has been updated to be HTML5 ready however has no sidebar.php file as it isn’t widget aware is it says! Being HTML5 ready is obviously a good thing for future-proofing but it has really stumped me as I can no longer follow Chris’s tutorial.

Is there a way I can get the older version of Starkers or is there any other themes I could use, I have came across one called HTML5 Reset Theme, this has all of the files such as functions.php and sidebar.php that I need. Or is it best if I just knuckle down and get to grips with the damn thing?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give, it’s really appreciated.

Steven

[chrisburton]

I personally love the HTML5 Reset Theme. It feels much lighter than Starkers. But I agree with Jamy if you have the free time.

[Watson90]

Thanks for both of your replies, I will look into to _s when I have some time on my hands. I have just downloaded the HTML5 Reset Theme and I will begin to have a go at adding my custom HTML and CSS.

[Watson90]

I am strong with HTML & CSS but WP is a new thing for me to get the hang of, so creating my own theme may be a little far-fetched at the minute. But thanks though, I’m sure with time when I’ve made a few websites into dynamic WP sites, I’ll gain more confidence with PHP and it’s tags etc.

[chrisburton]

@Joshwhite I think most themes are kind of heavy only because it has things that I really don’t need. However, comparing HTML5 Reset and Starkers, it’s much lighter. Especially within the code. I have done the same thing with functions.php. Mostly stripping menu ID’s, classes, removing sections from the backend and so on.

[Watson90]

Hey, sorry for the late reply but since this post I have got to grips with WordPress ALOT! I have basically started the theme from scratch and built it up from there, with help from this guy on YouTube. If any of you are also new to WP, I really recommend watching these tutorial videos.

I’m amazed at how brilliant WP actually is, I just wish I started using it sooner!

I am now well on my way to finishing off my friends photography portfolio website. He now has a dynamic menu with fly out to the right sub-menus added from the back-end of WP, and also the freedom to create blog posts on his blog page.

Thanks again guys!

[nearaquietstream]

This discussion was very helpful to me. Thank you also for referencing the additional YouTube link, Steven.

[bruninho4ev3r]

@nearaquietstream > It was very helpful to me too! Thanks.

[Ricky55]

I’d also check out wp tuts adaptive theme video series. Building a theme from scratch.

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