HTML5 Base Starter Themes in Drupal 7

Posted by & filed under Drupal.

With the emergence of the semantic web and the proliferation of mobile browsing devices, HTML5 is all the rage in front-end web development. We can better explain to search engines the context surrounding a piece of content by using HTML5. Along with CSS3, HTML5 allows us to make active exciting website designs without the overhead and compatibility issues of Adobe Flash — especially on mobile devices. In the Drupal community numerous HTML5 themes have begun to crop up. If you plan to leverage these advantages in your next website, the question is which HTML5 base theme should you use as a starter theme.

Finding the Best HTML5 Base Themes

Out of 174 Drupal 7 themes on Drupal.org, 16 of them claim to use HTML5 markup. From here we can pare down a little further:

  • We are only interested in the base themes that can be used as a starting point to create our own custom themes.
  • We want to stick with themes that are under active development, have a recommended release version, and have more than 100 reported installs.
  • This leaves us with a total of eight HTML5 base themes for Drupal 7.

Since I only have experience with one or two of these themes and it would take me weeks to build a theme using each of the eight candidates, I will compare and contrast the themes based on their Drupal project sites; if a particular feature isn’t listed on the theme project page, then it won’t be here. (If you are a maintainer or user of one of these themes and you have some firsthand knowledge, leave a comment and I will update the table.)

HTML5 Drupal 7 Base Themes Comparison

Sky Omega Adaptive Theme Framework Genesis Boron Layout Studio Panels 960gs
HTML5 checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png
Tableless Modular CSS checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png
960 Grid System checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png
Color module support checkmark.png checkmark.png
Skinr checkmark.png checkmark.png
Responsive checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png
Drush support (may require other modules) checkmark.png checkmark.png
Panels or Context Integration checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png
Content First HTML checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png checkmark.png

The table above is sorted by the popularity (number of downloads) for each theme. Sky, Omega, AdaptiveTheme, Framework, & Genesis show reported installs in the multiple 1000s, while the remaining three report less than 1000 installs.

Summary of Findings

As you can see, Omega has the most features of any of these HTML5 base themes and is one of the most popular. My experience with Omega is that it is an extremely well put together theme. There is a bit of a learning curve due to the vast number of configuration options, but once you have figured out how all of the settings relate to each other, most of the layout can be configured in the browser. It is my opinion that Omega is great for new themers, design shops that can systematize their process based on it, and anyone who would rather configure in the browser instead of writing CSS & PHP code.

Some of the other themes in the table tend to be more “minimal.” They are designed to bring Drupal html up to HTML5 standards, include CSS resets & content first HTML, and add some “preferred” feature that the particular developer likes. Since I am used to theming with Zen on D6, some of these minimal base themes appeal to me. I haven’t had the chance to take them for a spin, but I would suggest that you try them out if you prefer a clean slate for a base theme and like adding your own CSS & PHP layout logic directly to the files.

Conclusion and Predictions

As these themes develop I think Omega will likely become the dominant player in Drupal 7 HTML5 base themes. It is in active development and has its own microsite with detailed documentation. The unique features that really set it apart are the Context integration, Responsive layout (can adapt to different size displays), and Drush support. On top of that there is a UI sub-module in development that will allow drag & drop configuration of Omega layouts.

There will likely be a second theme that is minimal in it’s approach that will be competitive with Omega in reported installs, but it isn’t clear which theme that will end up being; Sky or an HTML5 port of Zen are likely candidates.

I hope this analysis is helpful in weighing your options for a starter theme. Researching & writing this article has definitely helped me understand the climate better. Please share your experiences and opinions in the comments below.

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Hardware is Cheap, Programmers are Expensive

Posted by & filed under Programming.

Given the rapid advance of Moore’s Law, when does it make sense to throw hardware at a programming problem? As a general rule, I’d say almost always.

Consider the average programmer salary here in the US:



You probably have several of these programmer guys or gals on staff. I can’t speak to how much your servers may cost, or how many of them you may need. Or, maybe you don’t need any — perhaps all your code executes on your users’ hardware, which is an entirely different scenario. Obviously, situations vary. But even the most rudimentary math will tell you that it’d take a massive hardware outlay to equal the yearly costs of even a modest five person programming team.

For example, I just bought two very powerful servers for Stack Overflow. Even after accounting for a third backup server and spare hard drives for the RAID arrays, my total outlay is around $5,000. These servers, compared to the ones we’re on now, offer:

  • roughly 50% more CPU speed
  • 2 to 6 times the memory capacity
  • almost twice the disk space (and it’s a faster RAID 10 array)

Under this new hardware regime, we can expect average page response times to improve by about half. All that for less than one month of an average programmer’s salary.

I’d say that’s a great deal. A no-brainer, even.

Incidentally, this is also why failing to outfit your (relatively) highly paid programmers with decent equipment as per the Programmer’s Bill of Rights is such a colossal mistake. If a one-time investment of $4,000 on each programmer makes them merely 5% more productive, you’ll break even after the first year. Every year after that you’ve made a profit. Also, having programmers who believe that their employers actually give a damn about them is probably a good business strategy for companies that actually want to be around five or ten years from now.

Clearly, hardware is cheap, and programmers are expensive. Whenever you’re provided an opportunity to leverage that imbalance, it would be incredibly foolish not to.

Despite the enduring wonder of the yearly parade of newer, better hardware, we’d also do well to remember my all time favorite graph from Programming Pearls:

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Blogging:Top 10 Bloggers You Should Learn From

Posted by & filed under Blogging.

I’ve recently stumbled upon a good article introducing top 10 blogging teachers,after sharing I’m reposting it here(more complete posts in blogging are coming soon):

Creating a single-author blog is not a task for the faint of heart. Even just regularly contributing to a blog can be a huge undertaking. Thankfully, others have blazed a path before you, including the 10 bloggers profiled below. These bloggers include those who still write every post on their site themselves, and others who now accept guest posts or staff bloggers. However, each one started out the same way: just them and their blog.
We have selected some blogs with great content about writing, blogging, marketing, and online media. The list also includes a few blogs that are completely different, but are all created by individual bloggers with unique styles and voices. Let at least a few of these inspire you to find your true voice and blogging style. Read more »

It’s All About Pricing: How to Price Your Software Efficiently

Posted by & filed under Freelancing.

Eran Galperin wrote a post in SmashingMagazine about pricing softwares with the help of Don’t Just Roll the Dice, Neil Davidson I recommend reading It! For a freelance designer/developer it will be an excruciating task when he/she doesn’t a solid marketing experience.

 

Pricing your own product is always a tricky proposition, and the more critical the price is to your product’s success, the more difficult it is to set. It’s easy to look at another product and say how much you would be willing to pay for it, but how can you know how much people would be willing to pay for yours?

There are no absolute truths or perfect formulas for finding the best price, assuming that the “best price” even exists. Instead, take a structured approach to finding a good starting point, and improve it through feedback and testing. But first, you need to understand what the best price actually is…

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The third age of blogging!

Posted by & filed under Personal.

Here, I’m back and my third age of blogging experience started.I’m not a pro in blogging and I think will not become so soon, count on me as an enthusiast newbie.I’m thinking right now if some day(hopefully in near future) I write a original blog post more than 20 line, I must nominate myself for some grand prize in blogging.

Why not get the prize right now, OK the only thing I need now is a simple subject for writing… writing itself! not exactly but something like that.Short history of my blogging experience:first I started with WordPress,wrote 2 or 3 original introduction posts each one about 10 line or less some re-sharing and then I went to hibernate (about 2 years ago).

After a year I came back on my own CMS (TOOS) as a blog engine but said to myself: That’s not gonna work, although your self written CMS is simple & fast but it will take a long time to prepare so many ready-to-work plugins that is right at cursor-tip(finger-tip!), so I came back on WP & I need your opinion to have great RESTART!