Blog Designs ~

Creating your own theme

Before you can create your own theme you need to learn how to create your own theme. Here's a list of resources about the subject:

• W3Schools Online Tutorials
  
• CSS for Dummies!
  
• The Style Council
  
• The My Opera CSS Generator
  
• Pimp My Blog :: Reloaded!
  
• How to change your blog banner
  
• Basic CSS Template
  
• Free graphics for your design
  
• Licenses explained

Installing your themes

In order to make the theme easy to maintain and easy to install you should create a group and add the theme source code to the group's custom css. Include the code block below in the group description to make it easy to install.

[U][B]Installation[/B][/U]

To install this theme you need to [I]import[/I] it to your account's custom CSS, [I]select a TOPBARCOLOR top bar[/I] and [I]apply BASETHEME as your theme[/I]. To do so you need to follow these steps:

[LIST]
  [*]Copy the following code to your clipboard: 
  [FONT=courier new]@import url(http://files.myopera.com/GROUPURL/user.css);[/FONT]
  [*]Click [I]My page[/I] -> [I]Appearance[/I]
  [*]Select [B]BASETHEME[/B] as your theme
  [*]Click [I]custom style sheet[/I]
  [*][I]Paste[/I] the the code from your clipboard in the text field
  [*]Select [I]STYLESHEETSETTING[/I]
  [*]Click [I]SAVE[/I]
  [*]Click [I]« Back[/I]
  [*]Click [I]Change color of the My Opera top menu[/I]
  [*]Select a [B]TOPBARCOLORHERE[/B] top bar
  [*]Click [B]SAVE CHANGES[/B]
[/LIST]

Go to your page and reload it to see the changes.

[U][B]License[/B][/U]

The THEMENAME theme is the COPYRIGHT of AUTHOR. Permission granted to use this theme ((optional:) under [URL=LICENSEURL]LICENSE[/URL]).

[U][B]Credits[/B][/U]

THEMEGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT/LICENSE: [URL=SOURCEURL]CREATORNAME[/URL].
THEMEGRAPHIC COPYRIGHT/LICENSE: [URL=SOURCEURL]CREATORNAME[/URL].

Change the words written in UPPERCASE to the information required by your theme.

Giving permissions

Using a license is optional. You can select a license for your theme here. If you give your theme a license we don't have to ask for permission to publish it in the Blog Designs repository. We can also publish your theme upon request.

Software licenses like GPL, LGPL and BSD are particularly good for themes since themes really are source code. GPL basically makes the theme "free software" and will require that any themes importing your theme or copying your source code remain "free software". LGPL basically does the same but allows other to import it to their custom theme without licensing it. BSD basically allows people to do what they want with your source code as long as they don't use your name in the promotion of the themes based on it. Regular Creative Commons licenses can be used as well, if you'd like.

You'll need to comply to the licenses of the original owner to use source material. If the source content doesn't have a license, it's copyrighted by law. But the use of the graphic in a theme could be considered fair use if people know what/who the source is. If people most likely don't know, you should include information about the source in the descriptions and source code.

Share with the community

If you want your theme included in the community wide list of themes include the word "Theme" in the group title.

Once you've created several themes we'd recommend publishing them in your own group repository. Create a group, take screenshots of your themes and upload them to a group album. Include a link to each theme's respective group in the description. Include "blog designs" in the group title to include your group in the community wide list of authors.

Collaboration

You can also invite others to work on your theme. But the following things are very important to remember when doing so:

Any change you do to the theme CSS will change instantly across all installations of the theme when you click SAVE. Import the theme to your blog CSS or another group's CSS while developing. Be very sure you know what you're doing when saving the main theme source code.

When you save the main theme source code you can't undo. Post all main versions of the source code either in the theme blog or in the theme forums. If you do something wrong you can recover the previous source code from the blog or forums.

Anyone you set as a moderator of your theme group can change the main source code. Be very sure you trust the people you appoint as moderators. Be very sure they know these guidelines as well.