This project is typical of the type of custom Joomla template development work I undertake where I am required to develop a custom template that is not only unique in look but also in functionality.

 

So my job not only entailed developing the template but also working out how to configure the template and Joomla to achieve the desired result. This particular website has several features that not only required experience in developing custom Joomla templates but it also required indepth knowledge and understanding of how Joomla works.

 

The site layout was produced by a graphic designer and I was provided with screenshots of how they wanted various pages to look and function together with a Photoshop file from which I had to create all the images. Not having been involved in the project from the beginning makes my job harder because the person who has designed the layout doesn't usually have experience of Joomla and how it functions and the client has already approved the designs and doesn't want to change it.

Main features

The home page has a three column layout, left navigation, main content area and right navigation. The main content area has a background image which shows through the home page content but not the left and right navigation menus. On full width content pages the background image does not show through.

Above the right hand navigation is a module position which holds a clickable image. This again only appears on the home page (but can appear on other pages if required).

Towards the bottom of the page there are four module positions each linking to a particular content page. On the home page these module positions show an image with text but on all other the pages throughout the website only the image appears. If a user clicks on any of these four images they are then taken to the relevant content page which uses a different coloured template. So within this one site we have 4 templates and 4 colour schemes in use. Each of these content pages opens full width without the left and right columns, but the client has the choice to include left and right menus on the pages if they wish.

 

The template has a very flexible layout. Not only does the client have the choice of 3 columns or full width content, in total there are 4 layout options available. If no published module appears in the left or right columns then these will colapse and the content area will stretch accordingly.

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