Developing Themes

Overview

This manual serves as a guide for developers who want to create custom themes for the Oqtane framework. Whether you're looking to customize the appearance of your own site or contribute themes to the Oqtane Marketplace, this guide will help you get started with theme development.

Getting Started

To begin developing themes for Oqtane, you'll need a basic understanding of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Familiarity with Razor syntax and Blazor components is also beneficial, as Oqtane themes are built using these technologies.

Theme Structure

Oqtane themes follow a modular structure and consist of various components, including:

Layouts: Define the overall structure and design of the theme.
Views: Render content and components within the theme layout.
Stylesheets: Define the visual appearance and styling of theme elements.
JavaScript: Add interactivity and dynamic behavior to the theme.

Theme Development Tools

Several tools and resources are available to aid in theme development for Oqtane, including:

Visual Studio: A lightweight and versatile code editor with support for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Visit Visual Studio for more information.
Visual Studio Code: A lightweight and versatile code editor with support for HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. Visit Visual Studio Code for more information.
Browser Developer Tools: Built-in tools for debugging and inspecting elements in web browsers (F12).

Best Practices

When developing themes for Oqtane, consider the following best practices:

Keep your theme code modular, organized, and well-documented.
Optimize your theme assets (HTML, CSS, JavaScript) for performance and accessibility.
Test your theme across different browsers and devices to ensure compatibility and responsiveness.
Stay up to date with Oqtane updates and conventions to leverage the latest features and improvements.