Web Design and Graphics

In this tutorial, we will together create a WordPress theme. If you do not understand an area, you are missing something important or have a suggestion for improvement, simply write a comment in the corresponding post.

prerequisite

Even if I try the tutorial as simple as possible to, I put forward at least:

• You know how to install WordPress: WordPress install in 5 minutes
• Understanding of (x) HTML
• Basic knowledge of CSS
• PHP knowledge (here you can learn PHP)

target

The aim of this guidance, it will be to create a simple template for WordPress or make easier with custom wordpress themes. Thus, the most important principles can be stated simply, I do not use unnecessary details and areas (which are discussed in later tutorials). Also you can on this simple basis cobble together your own template as you like.

What this guide covers

I use an understanding of (x) HTML, CSS and PHP ahead, so I will give no explanation of these areas. In addition, I will not delve into the structure and best practices in CSS or PHP (eg how you have structured CSS stylesheet makes sense). Still, if you have questions, suggestions, etc. have, using the comment form which appears on every page.

A basic broadband review and comparison should include the following, beginning with price as the measure of initial value. If we attempt to compare broadband from the four leading United Kingdom providers we would like to believe that their prices are all within 10 or 15% of each other. This is almost always true. So if price is already competitive, what other factors should we use for our broadband comparison? How about reliability? As anyone who has ever used an unreliable broadband provider can tell you, losing your connection in the middle of a project or even during an entertainment section defeats the entire idea of having a broadband connection in the first place. Much like telephone service or electricity, broadband is a utility we expect to be on all the time for whenever we want to use it. Another important defining factor in choosing the best broadband provider would have to be overall download speed. We mention overall speed, as claimed speed is for the most part completely fictional. Those 20MB speeds that are being promised are always diffused by both the connection hardware and the amount of subscribers tapped into that data stream at any given time. Price, reliability, and speed are all addressed in online broadband reviews. Also found on quality broadband comparison websites is helpful information that, should you decide to make a change, can prove to be extremely valuable. Consider the simple factor of Migration Access Codes. There is a “MAC code” assigned to every broadband account in the UK. Handing your MAC code over to a new provider as opposed to their requesting it from your current company can avoid internet connection downtime during your switch.
Thinking about trying a no phone line requires broadband provider such as Virgin Media? Broadband without phone line can save you quite a bit of money over the term of a year. An Ofcom approved broadband comparison site will show you the pluses and minuses of all the companies serving your address.

a) The Casual Surfer

These customers act in a similar way to customers of traditional web sites. Casual surfers are not really interested in any one thing, but have a few spare minutes between tasks to take a look around. In the world of desktop PCs, those few minutes might occur between meetings, or while the user’s on a short break. For a mobile customer, those few minutes might occur when the user’s sitting outside waiting to meet friends, in a car or taxi traveling somewhere, or even during the morning commute. If your site is focused on the sort of content that would appeal to casual surfers, then be aware of the limitations on the time and screen-size of your mobile customer.

The goal should be to make your content more “sticky”, so that casual surfers come back for more. For example, you shouldn’t serve up long pieces of content. Instead, aim for small, bite-sized chunks that are just enough to keep customers interested, but not so long that users can’t browse your site in the time they have available.

b) The Repeat Visitor

Repeat customers are those that are constantly returning for some sort of specific news or data. If your site is the kind of site that offers information about stocks, weather or sports scores, you probably have plenty of repeat visitors. The interface of a mobile device is very limited, so if you know what your repeat visitors are coming back for, time and time again, let that naturally bubble up to the top of the site. Avoid burying the content your customers want behind 3 or 4 clicks.

Mobile web site customization can be difficult, but it’s not impossible. A traditional site might ask you to log in, but on a mobile device, data entry is not as easy to perform, so it’s best avoided.

One option is to allow visitors to use their desktop machines to streamline their mobile experience. Take a page from Apple’s iTunes Music Store as an example. A repeat customer might customize his or her version of the mobile site while at a desktop machine; this could generate a special URL in which all of that user’s preferences are encoded. The next time the user visits your site from a mobile device, he or she can take advantage of this special URL, enjoying an experience that’s completely customized to his or her preferences.

c) The “Urgent, Now!” Visitor

Depending on your business, your definition of “Urgent, Now!” will vary. For an online store, a customer might consider the following message urgent:

“My books were supposed to arrive yesterday. They’re late. Where are they?”

A more seriously urgent scenario might be:

“I’m running 15 minutes late. Will I be able to catch my flight?”

For some customers, everything is urgent! But by identifying the most important needs of your customers and making the relevant information accessible within one click or less, you’ll increase the usefulness of your mobile site enormously.

4. Publish the Bare Minimum

One of the common myths about mobile web development is the misguided notion that content from your traditional web site can be easily re-purposed into smaller bit-sized chunks for the mobile version. A simple change of style from media="screen" to media="handheld" is all you need to do to magically mobilize your site, right?

Wrong.

While it’s indeed possible to filter content with the liberal use of display: none in your mobile style sheet, in reality, this isn’t a good idea. In fact, many CMS systems can output a mobile, streamlined version of your web site, but even this is not always what your customers will want.

The W3C defines the concept of One Web as follows:

One Web means making, as far as is reasonable, the same information and services available to users irrespective of the device they are using. However, it does not mean that exactly the same information is available in exactly the samerepresentation across all devices. The context of mobile use, device capability variations, bandwidth issues and mobile network capabilities all affect the representation. Furthermore, some services and information are more suitable for and targeted at particular user contexts.

As this definition suggests, some things are simply not available (or even usable) on some devices. Additionally, some devices (such as a mobile phone) are much better at certain activities (like making phone calls) than other devices. Therefore, a device designed for a specific activity should utilize its unique features on the Web.

While the concept of having only one site, and to simply style it differently depending on the medium the visitor is using, is popular with many standardistas, a separate mobile site is required in order to deliver an optimized experience for mobile users. Customers who are surfing on a mobile device have different needs and requirements, so to force-feed them the same content as that displayed on the traditional site is a recipe for disaster. The following images show a good example of this principle. The Best Buy mobile site displays only two functions (Product Search and Find A Store) — a far cry from the traditional site.