Topic: [Resolved] New Buddypress Default Themes

[Resolved] New Buddypress Default Themes

mcgrafx
Participant

@mcgrafx

11 years, 10 months ago

Greetings buddypress gurus and followers like me,

I have been playing around with buddypress quite a lot recently and realized that it is probably the best thing that has happened to business communities trying to expand their network online – especially valuable organizations with zero revenue. It’s awesome and powerful!

Just wondering why no one has made another buddypress default theme (with different look and feel) that is updatable, similarily to how wordpress themes are updatable. I see that the theme area is empty on this website, so perhaps there are plenty in development, but still, why? I am not a programmer, though the buddy press default install is really easy so I managed that for my non-profit organization. It took me a week to make the header taller, just to find out that all my hard work will be replaced with an update.

Just create a child theme you say? Well, that’s great, but way too complicated and there are no clear directions anywhere on how to do this for someone who does not know how to code but willing to follow VERY detailed, step by step instructions on where to put what code where, etc,… You laugh, but it would take you 5 min perhaps – but for me months to figure out…
and besides, wouldn’t that coding be different for each theme? So,… that doesn’t work for the general buddypress population demographic with less programming skills like me.

Just some thoughts,…. perhaps I’m the only one who has these ideas…. but wondering what you all think. Please commment and let me know if you think more buddypress default themes would help.

peace,
mcgrafx

Viewing 4 replies - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

danbpfr
Participant

@chouf1

11 years, 10 months ago

That’s why BP 1.7 will be adaptable to “every” theme. 😉
For now, 1.6.2 has is own default theme and a few third party themes around. But understand that most of the BP users built their community tool around an existing WP site, and also an existing layout. This work is not intended to be shared easely or at all, i guess. And explains why you haven’t a big choice for BP templates.

And probably also, because many BP user are advanced user in comparison to common WP bloggers. This means particulary a certain level of quality exigency, because BP works really bad on bad developped themes. WP was more tolerant untill a little while back….and older and more popular.

Each community is different, and it’s a bit more delicate to distinguish communities only by theme as single blogs by theme. And as you know blogs are more used as BP sites.

A child theme is intented to modify a original theme, not to replace it completely. The interest of a child is that it lets you modify what you want without loosing your changes at each update of BP and/or the original theme.

Ben Hansen
Participant

@ubernaut

11 years, 10 months ago

i much like yourself don’t have much if any programming skills but reading your post gives me two thoughts.

#1 not sure i agree with you about the child theme thing unless you are saying the people shouldn’t need to know html/css in order to customize html/css. if you are not saying that then i think the regular wp child theme doc should be fine. https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes

#2 we (i use that term loosely) are actually working on a new default theme it’s called turtleshell which if I’m not mistaken is being designed as a completely fresh UI/X perspective and responsive from the ground up. i think you are more then welcome to be a part of that process, if you want more info start here: http://bpdevel.wordpress.com/

bonus the plan for 1.7 is (i believe) to make it work with any wp theme by default so maybe that this something to consider as well.

Hugo Ashmore
Participant

@hnla

11 years, 10 months ago

The point of 1.7 is to provide BP in a fashion to work with any theme, period!

But understand that although WP has created the impression that absolute non coders are catered for absolutely this is only partly the case, it’s the case if you simply accept the defaults, or accept the freely available theme – whatever that may be, or that freely provided plugin to perform some task, start to step outside that and you do need some development skills even if only at a basic level, creating a child theme is actually relatively simple and the WP codex quite clear on how to do this.

mcgrafx
Participant

@mcgrafx

11 years, 10 months ago

Thank you Gentlemen,

Your answer was more than I could have hoped for.
I am very excited to know that a new version of buddypress is on the make. I cheer the engineers on and hope they consider lots of flexible header options. 😉

Also, I’m now thoroughly studying the ‘https://codex.wordpress.org/Child_Themes’ with an aim to figure it out, as I think I might love coding, & though I have no idea what I’m doing half the time,… I seem to spend days on this stuff …. there’s no end to the fun.

Zuckerberg may have created the first ‘popular’ version, but not the last.

slanche!,
mcgrafx