Website templates and jQuery enhancements
I am currently writing on a how-to that I promised to do when I released the Basic Contact template, explaining how to insert a working contact form script into the template. The positive feedback from the Gallery template and the “How to add an image gallery” tutorial has inspired me to learn more about how jQuery can be used to enhance the features and usability of templates and simple HTML-based websites. Since I am a complete jQuery beginner myself, I am simply experimenting and trying different things. Whenever I manage to do something useful I write about how I did it, hoping that my experiences can be useful for someone else.
But I am much more of a designer than a coder, and I can not really present any learning material for jQuery itself. While it may be both interesting and educating to read about a beginner who is experimenting, it would of course be a lot more interesting to read tutorials written by developers who works with jQuery on a daily basis. I have previously encouraged both template and theme designers to join in and share their work and experiences here on andreasviklund.com, and it has led to some exciting co-operations and current projects which I will write more about later. But I would also like to extend my invitation to developers and backend coders. If there are any jQuery wizards out there who have worked with the andreasviklund.com website templates and enhanced them with different kinds of scripts, I would be happy to publish guest blog posts if you want to share your experiences or contribute with a tutorial or some other kind of material that could be useful for template users. Send me an e-mail if interested!
This article was written by Andreas Viklund
Web designer, writer and the creative engine behind this website. Author of most of the free website templates, along with some of the WordPress themes.
1 comment:
Hi Andreas
The use of jquery even in its simplest form to give a simple slideshow makes a real difference to a website. It also removes the need for Flash in most cases which is a n added bonus. I have used jquery in lots of sites over the years without actually understanding how it works out of the box as there are so many good tutorials out there that can be used with some very minor tweaking and you are on your way.
I read this one the other day and it is up and running in less than 5 minutes http://snook.ca/archives/javascript/simplest-jquery-slideshow (no t his isn’t me spamming links I just like it and have no relationship with the guy).
At the end of the day like anything it is how you use it and not overkill and the link above would be neat to use in one of your header images that you sue in your templates where you could transition an image in and out. You see it all the time now in templates (perhaps even overused) and the less technical of my customers call it flash and I rarely correct them as it is the effect t hey mean more than the technology.