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How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
I was wondering what type of process everyone went through when developing a website from scratch, using TXP.
My TXP workflow:
- Design at least two mock-ups in Photoshop. One for the homepage, the other for the main content areas.
- Build an xhtml page, and accompanying stylesheet in Notepad++ on my own machine, looking to just get the layout and position straight for the main browsers/OSs.
- Once the structure is complete, I go on to colors, and typography in building two more stylesheets.
- Once the main pages are created completely locally (usually two pages, one for the homepage, the other for the content…sometimes only one), I’ll upload the latest version of TXP to the host in a freshly created folder for the site.
- I scrap the default stylesheets, and pages, and upload all my stylesheets. Then I copy & paste my xhtml for the homepage into the default page template. Do the same with the content template(s).
- Then, it’s a process of finding and removing all the filler (lorem-ipsum) content and replacing it with TXP tags that call forms I haven’t created yet, but intend to. As I make these form names up, I keep a list (on a sheet of paper) so I don’t forget.
- Then I get to making the forms. A lot of times, I’ll copy and paste entire chunks of xhtml from the original page I created, and put in into notepad, in a doc called ‘forms.txt’. For example, where the main blog entry would go, I have a bunch of lorem ipsum text all marked up with classes etc…I’ll just pull that entire DIV, and put it in a form. And then delete the filler text, and replace once again with tags.
- After that I get to debugging (or thats what I call it, no offense to the true programmers out there, this is as close to coding as I’ll get), which mostly involves remembering to appropriately change the path names of background images so that they’ll appear, making sure that I included all the appropriate classes.
- Sometime while I’m testing I’ll insert a number of blank articles (and if appropriate, links, etc…) just to see what the site looks like when it’s populated with content.
- At this point, I’m either very excited or ready to get this site done and over with (usually the case), and then it’s a mad dash to just figure out what needs to be done before launch.
My Tips/Tricks
- Sidebar as a form: Lately, if I’m developing a site with a traditional sidebar, I’ve been breaking it out into it’s own form. It helps a little in developing, but I’ve come to find out that it might be better located in the original page template. The page templates I make are never really that long to begin with, and the page template textarea is much larger by default.
- Breaking out the header/footer as an output form: This may seem old hat to some of you TXP vets, but using an output form to house the header and footer is soooo much easier when you need to make changes. Generally speaking my header/footer is the same for every page of a site I design, so using the output forms makes updates supa-quick.
- Editing the pages, once in TXP: This isn’t really a trick or a tip, more like a question: What do you guys do when the need arises to edit the page templates, or stylesheets? Half the time I just edit the html/css in Textpattern, and the other half I’ll copy and paste back into an editor (Notepad++). Either way it can get a little frustrating. so any advice would be much appreciated.
I’m anxious to hear how other people do it (assuming we all don’t do it the same way).
Cheers
Chris
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
Hi Chris
Amazing, I work exactly the same way like you, I also use Notepad++, the biggest broblem I have is to modify CSS in txp tab, because that’s take long time scrolling to find what i search, then sometimes I copy/past into notepad++, maybe adding all class and id in sidebar must help!
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#3 2007-07-22 18:07:43
- speedking
- Member
- Registered: 2007-07-05
- Posts: 22
Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
Hi Chris,
Being new to Txp and CMS type site creation your post is very much appreciated so thanks!
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#4 2007-07-23 06:49:05
- jpdupont
- Member
- Registered: 2004-10-01
- Posts: 752
Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
Hi,
Do you know the Firefox Extension “It’s all text” ?
http://docwhat.gerf.org/2007/03/its_all_text_v06/
Easy to edit templates, forms, css … with Scite, Notepad++, etc.
Last edited by jpdupont (2007-07-23 06:50:57)
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
Thanks jpdupont that’s will save me a lot of time!
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#6 2007-07-26 19:12:44
- Qwest
- Member
- From: London, UK
- Registered: 2007-01-24
- Posts: 112
Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
I’m fairly new to txpm and have only been using it for the past 6 months. I must say that i dont have a routine when it comes to setting up new TXP installations.
Generally, I install txp on my pen drive (XAMPP) so i can code on the go. I then butcher the default template that comes with TXP. Cut ‘n’ carve into a general rough look of how i want the site to be. I then crack open Photoshop and do a mockup. And then finally, i slice up the photoshop mockup and then throw it all into TXP, and hope for the best.
Generally it hasn’t been too bad.
Because im quite new to (x)html + CSS (been doing websites for 10 years tho lol!), im still learning, and i dont want to charge in, and delete all the existing CSS only to screw certain elements up!
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
jpdupont wrote:
Do you know the Firefox Extension “It’s all text” ?
http://docwhat.gerf.org/2007/03/its_all_text_v06/
Easy to edit templates, forms, css … with Scite, Notepad++, etc.
Is there someone who has ‘It’s all text’ running on a Mac? Let me know how, please!
Last edited by RedFox (2007-07-26 19:39:09)
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
RedFox wrote:
Is there someone who has ‘It’s all text’ running on a Mac? Let me know how, please!
yup, i’m using it all the time, couldn’t do without it anymore i guess. what’s the problem you’re having with it on os x?
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
@sthmtc: I just can’t connect it with BBEdit, my main webedit app. Can you explain to me how I can?
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
RedFox wrote:
@sthmtc: I just can’t connect it with BBEdit, my main webedit app. Can you explain to me how I can?
you just have to define BBEdit as default app to open .txt documents. so select a .txt file on your system, hit command + i and change “open with” to BBEdit an below select “change all”. that’s it.
edit: spelling
Last edited by sthmtc (2007-07-27 13:36:34)
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#11 2007-07-27 15:44:24
- balci
- New Member
- Registered: 2007-07-04
- Posts: 1
Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
Am I the only one who does the site/page design with a pencil and paper?
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Re: How do you guys develop TXP sites (workflow)? Tips/Tricks welcome!
balci wrote:
Am I the only one who does the site/page design with a pencil and paper?
no you’re not. i guess this thread is more about the txp development workflow than the design process in general.
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