Tutorials – Learning Composr
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Tutorials
Tempcode programming
You'll be shocked at how much themeing control you can muster using Tempcode. Learn all about it...
Themeing your site
Our key themeing tutorial - how to re-theme your site, by changing CSS, templates, and theme images.
The Laws of Simplicity (Simplicity: Design, Technology, Business, Life)
Finally, we are learning that simplicity equals sanity. But sometimes we find ourselves caught up in the simplicity paradox: we want something that's simple and easy to use, but also does all the complex things we might ever want it to do.
Communicating Design: Developing Web Site Documentation for Design and Planning
Successful web design teams depend on clear communication between developers and their clients -- and among members of the development team. Wireframes, site maps, flow charts, and other design diagrams establish a common language so designers and project teams can capture ideas, track progress, and keep their stakeholders informed.
Themes 101 - replacing the header
A live themeing tutorial showing how to change the header. Note that this was for an older version so is quite outdated.
Customising Your Composr Website's Design
How knowledgeable you are in CSS and HTML will determine how detailed a customisation you will be able to make. This tutorial aims to make it easier to find your way around the files you need to edit.
Changing the ocPortal header image
A live themeing tutorial showing how to change the page header. Note that this was for an older version so is very outdated.
Using Chrome development tools to help with themeing
This tutorial shows how to use the Google Chrome developer tools to help you with your themeing.
Fixed-width layouts
A very practical tutorial showing how to created a fixed-width layout, and how to change the site header.
Supplementary web technologies (media, social networking, etc)
This tutorial will explain and detail some of the features of web technologies that are often forgotten.
About Face 3: The Essentials of Interaction Design
Effective and practical tools you need to design great desktop applications, Web 2.0 sites, and mobile devices.
Guide to web technologies (including HTML, CSS, and JavaScript)
This tutorial is an introduction to the main standard web technologies that Composr is built upon.
Designer themes, implementing a clean-room design
This tutorial is a deep-end introduction to Composr for web designers.
The Design of Sites: Patterns for Creating Winning Websites
The definitive reference for the principles, patterns, methodologies, and best practices underlying exceptional Web design. If you are involved in the creation of dynamic Web sites, this book will give you all the necessary tools and techniques to create effortless end-user Web experiences, improve customer satisfaction, and achieve a balanced approach to Web design.
Graphic Design School: The Principles and Practices of Graphic Design
Packed with practical guidance and beautifully illustrated throughout, Graphic Design School provides a solid foundation for the design student as well as offering a back-to-basics tool for more advanced designers in search of solutions to graphic problems.
Themes 201 - building a totally new design
A live themeing tutorial showing how to build a totally new design. Note that this was for an older version so is very outdated.
The Design of Everyday Things
Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we try to figure out the shower control in a hotel or attempt to navigate an unfamiliar television set or stove. When The Design of Everyday Things was published in 1988, cognitive scientist Don Norman provocatively proposed that the fault lies not in ourselves, but in design that ignores the needs and psychology of people.
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 - Composr version 10.0 compliance
A formal description of Composr's compliancy with the ATAG accessibility standard.
JavaScript: The Definitive Guide
A programmer's guide and comprehensive reference to the core language and to the client-side JavaScript APIs defined by web browsers.
Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things
Did you ever wonder why cheap wine tastes better in fancy glasses? Why sales of Macintosh computers soared when Apple introduced the colorful iMac? New research on emotion and cognition has shown that attractive things really do work better, as Donald Norman amply demonstrates in this fascinating book.
Browser version requirements
This tutorial details the browser requirements for visitors to a Composr site, determined by the CSS/XHTML/JavaScript in our default theme.
Helping improve site accessibility for disabled users
We discuss how to ensure your website remains accessible to people with disabilities (Composr meets WCAG out-of-the-box).
Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
Since Don't Make Me Think was first published in 2000, hundreds of thousands of Web designers and developers have relied on usability guru Steve Krug's guide to help them understand the principles of intuitive navigation and information design. Witty, commonsensical, and eminently practical, it's one of the best-loved and most recommended books on the subject.
Designed for Use: Create Usable Interfaces for Applications and the Web
Explanations of how to make usability the cornerstone of every point in your design process, walking you through the necessary steps to plan the design for an application or website, test it, and get usage data after the design is complete. He shows you how to focus your design process on the most important thing: helping people get things done, easily and efficiently.
CSS3: The Missing Manual
CSS3 lets you create professional-looking websites, but learning its finer points can be tricky -- even for seasoned web developers. This Missing Manual shows you how to take your HTML and CSS skills to the next level, with valuable tips, tricks, and step-by-step instructions.
Releasing a theme
A short tutorial explaining how to share a theme with other Composr webmasters, by exporting it as an addon.
Theme Lifecycle
How the files in a theme are managed, from initial theme creation, through upgrades.
Early access codes for sharing early content and designs
This tutorial covers how you can distribute early access codes for early access to restricted site content and designs.
HTML5: The Missing Manual
HTML5 is more than a markup language -- it's a collection of several independent web standards. Fortunately, this expanded guide covers everything you need in one convenient place.
How to Change Your Favicon and Site Logo in Composr
There are two styling elements you will probably want to change when you begin working on your new Composr website. You will need to change the site logo and you will also need to change your website's favicon.
JavaScript & jQuery
JavaScript lets you supercharge your web pages with animation, interactivity, and visual effects, but learning the language isn't easy. This fully updated and expanded guide takes you step-by-step through JavaScript basics, then shows you how to save time and effort with jQuery.
Changing the login block in the header
Themeing tutorial, putting the login block into the header. Note that this was for an older version so is quite outdated.
Inline editing in Composr
An explanation of how the inline editing functionality deep within Composr works.
Universal Principles of Design
115 Ways to Enhance Usability, Influence Perception, Increase Appeal, Make Better Design Decisions and Teach Through Design. The first comprehensive, cross-disciplinary encyclopedia of design.
Need better information?
The Composr documentation is user-driven:
- If you have found documentation problems that you'd like someone else to solve log an issue to the tracker.
- If you'd like to contribute a chunk of documentation to go into a tutorial, also log an issue to the tracker.
- If you want to contribute a new tutorial you can submit a link.