Zen Wireframe v2.0 Core Unleashed!
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Zen Wireframe v2.0 is a plug and play TYPO3 site starter complete with TypoScript, pages, user groups, member registration, forms and more! Zen Wireframe is the Core XHTML template set in Zen Wireframe Business and future T3D binary distributions. Live demo here.
Zen Wireframe represents our toolkit for building new commercial websites for clients and was developed on the sole principle of Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS). Zen Wireframe aims to be nothing more than a simple and flexible wireframe toolkit packed with functionality and Typoscript snippets for building complex or simple sites. Zen Wireframe can also be used as a TYPO3 learning aid or as a pre production tool for client demos, mock ups and testing.
Zen Wireframe is the result of our experience building commercial websites using TYPO3's robust, scalable capabilities. It was developed with a focus on the most effective TYPO3 functionality set to handle most web sites. These templates save all of us days and weeks of unnecessary and repetitive work. For people new to TYPO3 these templates can trim months off the steep learning curve.
We are working on additional tutorials to make the product more user friendly for those lacking design or CSS skills. The tutorial section will also include visual instructions for editing TS templates and extending functionality. Please send us any suggestions for new tutorial topics at our forum. www.mediatech.net/typo3_tutorials.html
The goal of Zen Wireframe is to provide a simple toolset to build more complex works on. The target audience for this toolset are TYPO3 freelancers like myself and full service web agencies in need of a system to kickstart their TYPO3 projects faster for closing proposals, putting up client demos and educating designers new to the templating system and basic TypoScripting.
For those of you new to TYPO3, there are 2 popular methods for TYPO3 templating; Modern Template Method and Futuristic Template Building. What's the difference? The MTB method can be simpler to grasp when one is learning basic Typoscripting concepts for the first time. As to version 2.0, Zen Wireframe includes additonal CSS divs for those wanting to Map the templates to TemplaVoila.
For those of you who prefer the MTB method, there are several extensions available to produce FCE like content elements. Such as KB Nested Content Elements and Content-Element Columns. Zen Wireframe includes support for KB Nested Content Elements. KB Nested Content Elements provides an simple, fast yet powerful solution for designers needing more flexibility using the MTB method.
KB Nested Content Elements is an extension I highly recommend sponsoring. This extension has been sponsored by "Typoheads" at www.typoheads.at. If you wish to directly sponsor the author, Bernhard Kraft, please do so at kraftb@kraftb.at
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Gregory Remington
Mediatech Consulting