MyBB 1.4 is available for testing and I’ve got my hands on a copy. I started updating my themes this morning and as of now there’s one fully functional 1.4 theme. N.Design, a huge success for 1.2, has been updated and will be available for download when MyBB 1.4 final is released. I’ve tweaked the header, forum display and welcome block quite a lot. I prefer this version even to the wildly popular phpBB rendition, its going to be great.
Using the new ACP, and specifically the new Template/Theme system has been a treat. It provides a greater level of robustness and organization. I especially appreciate the new ‘Edit Style Sheet’ mode wherein you can jump right in and edit you theme’s full style sheet. I plan to write more about upcoming themes and MyBB 1.4 over the next few weeks, but i leave you now with a screenshot from N.Design 1.4.
I’ve been putting together the new site for a while now. Its got a different look and is based on an excellent blogging (and content management) software called WordPress. The old site was more of a sandbox than anything. I tried different coding and CSS techniques with it, but it didn’t make for the best first impression. Hopefully perspective clients will like this look more, and perhaps my WordPress experience will prove valuable. I’m already in the process of transitioning some clients’ sites over to WP. Its great because I’m still in control of the design and back-end, but they can update the content at their own leisure.
This site is still a work in progress. I have some great plans and I’ll keeping everyone updated. Thanks for visiting!!
When choosing a digital camera most people pay attention to its size, number of megapixels, lens or features like macro and manual ISO (exposure). Few people, even enthusiasts like myself, think about the most basic component of a digital camera; the battery. Perhaps it’s because good battery life is a given in this day and age, but as I recently discovered this is not always the case.
Continue reading ‘An Important Consideration…’
Great, you’ve added a forum to your website. Now what? Giving your forum the right look and feel is more important than you might think. In this post I’ll go over the basics of creating your very own MyBB theme.
- Choose your colours: always pick ones that have good contrast and compliment each other. You can read a good post about colour schemes on the MyBB Comunity forums.
- Pick a font: stick with one basic font throughout the content areas. Variations on size and colour are acceptable, and the header is free for creative expression.
- Plan your header: the top of your site is the first thing your visitors will see, and it makes big impressions. Be creative with your header and make it unique. Stay away from things like flash banners or unoptimized images.
- Spacing and borders: consider how much spacing you want between elements of your forum. The balance of padding, margins and borders is crucial for both functionality and ascetics.
- Think different: I can’t say this enough. Customize the theme to fit your forum’s purpose as best you can. Users will develop a stronger connection with forums that have interesting discussion and a unique look.
These are some brief considerations to help start the planning of your theme. In future posts I intend to look at the technical side of things and even develop a new theme step-by-step.
I’ve been holding back as far as MyBB 1.2 themes go. Version 1.4 seems to be fothcoming and I don’t want to put that much effort into themes I’ll have to update in a month or two. That said, I did break down a few weeks ago and released something new. Dark Intentions is an adaptation of work I did for a client’s site. Its based on the K2 theme for WordPress (both of which quacktacular.net are running).
Only weeks later I’ve already found some things I’d like to change in this theme, and I have some great ideas for new ones too. Following the release of 1.4 I’ll be putting out a number of fresh themes for the MyBB community.
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