Elbee Elgee Parent Theme
LICENSE
All code (PHP, HTML,CHI Wet To Dry Flat Iron, CSS and JavaScript) is licensed under the GNU Public License version 2 (). All header images were taken by me and are also licensed under GPLv2. All icons are from the Icon Set for Bloggers by .
DESCRIPTION
Elbee Elgee (LBLG) is a parent theme with multiple layouts, including 1, 2 and 3 column fluid and fixed size designs. Its original inspiration was the (the “LG” in “Elgee”), whose extensive use of negative margins and creative use of floats gave 40 total layouts using a single HTML structure. I have pared down the options a bit, as WordPress’ dynamic sidebars have negated the need for several of the “mirror image” designs originally provided by Layout Gala.
It supports most advanced WordPress features, such as Featured Images, widgetized sidebars, custom header images, and custom backgrounds. It also features templates for BuddyPress and a custom BuddyPress menu widget, allowing BP admins greater flexibility in choosing a site design.
It also separates layouts and styles into two separate folders, layouts/ and styles/ and auto-loads theme options (by default) from includes/parent-options.php. If a child theme is active,beats by dre solo hd, it will also attempt to auto-load options supplied in [child theme]/includes/child-options.php and can supplement, replace, or entirely negate the parent theme’s options, allowing for greater child theme flexibility. (See documentation in includes/parent-options.php for further details.)
Additional layouts and styles can be added by simply placing new .css files in the layouts/ and styles/ subdirectories, respectively.
INSTALLATION
Via S/FTP
Via Mercurial (Hg)
Via Git (git)
Via Subversion (SVN)
FEATURES
Sidebars
Elbee Elgee features four native sidebars/widget areas: Primary, Secondary, Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right. In most layouts, Primary will be placed either directly above (e.g. in 2 column layouts) or to the right of (in 1 or 3 column layouts) Secondary. Bottom-Left and Bottom-Right, as their names suggest, are located at the bottom of the design in the footer on the left and right, respectively.
Menus
Elbee Elgee supports one menu by default (“Front Page”). A second menu (“Elbee Elgee BuddyPress Menu”) is activated when an active BuddyPress installation is detected. This menu will be automatically populated with the most commonly-used BuddyPress links. You may alter it as you see fit or choose not to use it at all.
BuddyPress Support
Based in part on code provided by the
Elbee Elgee supports use of the social media framework out of the box. Support for BP has gotten better with further testing from willing end-users. If you have a bug that you run into while using BuddyPress, please let me know so that I can correct it.
Theme Options Page
I have planned Elbee Elgee to be a flexible parent theme from the very early stages. One of the coolest features (in my opinion) is its ability to auto-load theme options from either the parent theme or child themes. This primarily takes place in includes/functions/options.php and allows for an arbitrary number of theme options to be set and configured by end users.
This effectively creates a parent/child relationship for theme options. Child themes of Elbee Elgee can either default back to the options provided by the parent theme, they can extend said options, they can override them entirely, or they can disable all theme options.
bbPress version 2.0 (aka “The Plugin”) Support
Based on the bbp_twentyten parent theme provided as a part of the default bbPress plugin install
Elbee Elgee features support for the “plugin-ized” version 2.0 of (the WordPress-based forum solution). If an active bbPress installation is detected, Elbee Elgee will populate the theme admin page with bbPress-appropriate options.
Multiple Layouts
The HTML markup, combined with different CSS layout files, offers Elbee Elgee around 30 possible layout configurations right out of the gate. You can choose between 1, 2 and 3 column layouts,CHI Pink Dazzle Flat Iron, each of which offers static width, percentage-based and fluid width variants.
As of version 1.0 of Elbee Elgee, selecting a layout can be a bit confusing. Essentially, the CSS layout files are named in the following format:
[number of columns]-[fixed/fluid/percentage-based]-[sidebar locations].css
So, for example, 1-column-fixed.css is a single column layout with fixed width (960px by default),beats by dre powerbeats, while 3-columns-fluid-sb-fixed-both.css is a 3 column fluid width design with fixed size sidebars on either side of the content area.
In successive versions of the theme I hope to implement a graphical layout-picker in order to make the layout selection process a bit more user-friendly.
Demonstration Stylesheet
A stylesheet, layoutgala.css, is included with Elbee Elgee but is not intended for “production” use. Instead, it is intended as a learning tool. Due to the large number of layout stylesheets, the exact proportions and placement of the various theme elements can be a bit confusing (I mean, could you tell the difference between 2-columns-sb-right-under.css and 2-columns-sb-right-under-full.css just by looking at the name?). I have therefore included a styling scheme, based on the original Layout Gala markup, that nicely demonstrates the layout features.
Hooks
Elbee Elgee has a few notable hooks, with many more planned. I welcome your suggestions.
Settings API
I have tried to hew as closely as possible to the recommended best-practices in the form of the WordPress Settings API. Elbee Elgee should leave a minimal database footprint (at the moment, it is two options, soon to be only a single option). By supporting the Settings API, Elbee Elgee can gain some manner of future-proofing and it obtains security features at a minimal cost.
AREAS FOR IMPROVEMENT
ONGOING DEVELOPMENT
I have switched my development workflow from Subversion to (I spend a great deal of time on the train and Hg’s distributed nature is ideal for such disconnected development) and, as such, host my code at . Please submit feature requests and bug reports using the issue tracker available at BitBucket.
If you are interested in learning more about Mercurial, is an excellent starters’ resource (and it’s even pretty good for moderately-skilled Hg users, too!)
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