Member Avatar for Acute

Hi everybody,
who knows a really good tutorial about how a complex Joomla template is made?

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Dani AI

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Quick, practical roadmap for that builds on the replies from and without repeating general search advice.

Start by choosing the Joomla major version you will target (templates differ between 2.5/3.x and 4.x). Work locally (XAMPP/MAMP/LAMP) and open a shipped core template to learn the structure. Key pieces to inspect are the layout file (index.php), the manifest (templateDetails.xml which lists module positions and metadata), the css/ and images/ folders, and the html/ folder used for overrides. Copy a core template, strip it down to a minimal layout, then add styles and responsive breakpoints as you go.

Concrete, repeatable steps: 1) Identify the core template for your Joomla version (Protostar for Joomla 3, Cassiopeia for Joomla 4) and copy it. 2) Edit index.php to change layout blocks, update templateDetails.xml to declare positions, and place styles in css/template.css. 3) Use Template Manager preview (?tp=1) and browser DevTools to find and tune module positions and responsive behavior. 4) Use overrides in /html for component output instead of editing core files. 5) Package as a zip and install via Extension Manager for final testing.

Workflow tips: avoid heavy frameworks until you understand the basics; keep accessibility and mobile-first CSS in mind; keep templates version-specific and document supported Joomla versions. For reference material and up-to-date specifics, consult the official Joomla Documentation: Joomla Documentation.

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Member Avatar for Mike_Slough

Give me the main link of your own template.

Member Avatar for Acute

No, i don't have my own joomla template yet, i want to learn about it, and then built my own one.

Member Avatar for Member #120589

Searched the Joomla website? Looked at the manual and documentation? Searched the forum? There's a LOT of stuff there. Google is also a great place to try - you just type in 'joomla template tutorials' and WOW!

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