Creating template from scratch

[Feznizzle]

I have decided to finally learn CSS. To do that, I created a template from scratch following directions found here:
http://www.zen-cart.com/content.php?...ustom-template

After creating the file structure, uploading, and resetting the side boxes, I ended up with a completely flat site.

Did I do something wrong? Can somebody take a look at my site:
www*DOT*bizsitehost*DOT*com

I assumed that there would be some sort of basic structure there that I could begin playing with!

Thanks,
Mike

[Feznizzle]

Did I step on somebody's toes around here? How come nobody ever replies anymore?

It's not like I am a 100% taker around here. I post solutions whenever I can, though admittedly I ask for help more than give. But that is why I make my monthly donation to Zen via my paypal account.

*tap* *tap* *tap* Is this thing on? I swear I can hear crickets!

~sigh~

I know, I know... everybody is busy.

[schoolboy]

Well, I had a look... and unless you tell us what you are after, we can't really help. I see no side columns, which suggests you have turned them off. And there are suggestions of some crude hacks in core code.

Why not go choose a nice template (such as those from Picaflor Azul) and tweak the graphics and CSS to your liking?

[gjh42]

You have the /template_default/ stylesheet, which does give a flat-looking page with no "pretty" styling, and odd colors for many elements. These are to make it obvious which style rules go with which elements. It would be even more oddly colored if you had the sidebars active.

The Classic stylesheet is often a better starting point, as it has a number of esthetic styles applied already so you have examples to work from. Even more so one of the templates from Plugins; some are lightweight and mostly only use the stylesheet (e.g. Future Zen), while some have a lot of custom code in other files as well.

[Feznizzle]

You have the /template_default/ stylesheet, which does give a flat-looking page with no "pretty" styling, and odd colors for many elements. These are to make it obvious which style rules go with which elements. It would be even more oddly colored if you had the sidebars active.

That makes sense. I guess I was expecting it to look like Classic or something, right out of the bag. I will try Picaflor Azul or Future as a jumping off point.

And there are suggestions of some crude hacks in core code.

Fooey! I used a base install, thought when I used it I had correctly used the override system so there should not have been any core hacks once I switched to the new template starter files. SchoolBoy, can you tell what the "crude" hack was so I can figure out what I did wrong?

Thanks for the feedback!

[Feznizzle]

I cannot cannot find ZC 1.5 versions of Picaflor Azul or Future Zen!

[gjh42]

Future Zen is good for any version since v1.3.0, and picaflor-azul's templates should all be up to date. There may not be changes needed for v1.5, unless the template has admin functions added or touches a file that was changed in v1.5.

[Feznizzle]

I didn't realize the picaflor-azul was an author, thought it was the name of a template.... thanks for the info, I'm off to try some stuff!