Having been inspired by so many sites and helped by so many bloggers via various online tutorials I consider good manners to document how I accomplished mamajunkyard’s new look and to acknowledge all those who had a hand in the outcome.
As much as I loved the previous colourful and slim Mama JunkYard design I couldn’t help but envy the versatility and practicality of those wide width blogs with lots of white space such as Mshairi, KikuyuMoja and White African. In fact it was White African’s elegant customisation of Michael Heilemann’s Kubrick that led me to K2.
K2 is:
an advanced template for the blogging engine WordPress developed by Michael Heilemann, Chris J Davis, Zeo, Steve Lam and Ben Sherratt.
After staring at the design of White African I decided I was going to re-install Kubrick and perform only the basic customisation thereby retaining the best feature of the theme; its simplicity. With Kubrick being the default WordPress theme and having used WordPress for the past two years, I consider myself fairly competent at tweaking it. So when I learnt that K2 was being developed as the successor to Kubrick I assumed that I would find it equally straight forward to customise.
In fairness K2 is built for customisation and is quite easy to modify – if you approach it with the right attitude. I approached K2 as if it was a bog standard WordPress theme and from that point forward I was destined to fail. K2 may have the outward appearance of a theme but in reality it is so much more that that (most K2 aficionados refer to it as ‘mod’)
I experienced my first bit of K2 ‘drama’ whilst tinkering with K2r167 beta. I was fully aware of the problems associated with beta versions in general and I was quite happy to spend time just to getting to understand how K2 worked. After two days of a non-stop K2 crash course I discovered that K2 0.9 had been released replacing the beta version that I had been working on. So it was back to square back one. This experience certainly brought home the one aspect of K2 that I had chosen to ignore; K2 is under constant development. There are people working on a daily basis to put together a more stable version of K2. While this may mean the occasional re-install, in the long run it can only be a good thing because with every version released the developers are getting closer to K2 1.0. (As I type this I notice that K2 0.9.1 has just been released)
Another advantage that stems from the ongoing development of K2 is the extent to which the development team rely on user feedback. There is a Bug Tracker set up for users to report any bugs and there is also a Support Forum to discuss K2 issues. For someone like me who doesn’t know my PHP from my TCP the forums have been a Godsend. Nearly every question I thought of had been asked and answered.
As mentioned earlier, K2 is built specifically for user customisation. Everything that can be classed as ‘front end’ (in relation to K2) is fairly straightforward and a basic knowledge of CSS should be enough to get you your own unique look. The ‘back end’ is what distinguishes it from the average WordPress theme. For instance, K2 comes with it’s own Sidebar Module which is described as being “like WordPress widgets, on drugs… the good kind” So that is one less plugin to install, though installing plugins with K2 is fairly straightforward thanks to its ability to recognise a range of WordPress plugins – such as Extended Live Archives which can be seen in action here. A full list features can be found at the K2 Blog.
Whilst I enjoy all the bells and whistles that K2 comes with, from a customisation perspective I found it a bit intimidating because I had no idea what bit did what and I was too scared to change anything in case it broke. It is possible to redesign K2 without ever delving into its ‘internal elements’ however I find this approach has its limitations. I like to know how my blog works or failing that have a clear understanding of what I should or should not mess around with. Usually I mess with my site ‘just for fun’ and so I don’t mind taking weeks to learn something or even to try out different themes. On this occasion I am working on two separate websites and an unrelated fast approaching deadline. Time is not on my side. This leads on to the number one reason I fell in love with the K2 theme and the community who develop and use K2.
Since K2 is pitched as an advanced template there are many K2 bloggers who are working to ensure that any WordPress blogger can install and use it. They do this not just through the forums but also by compiling comprehensive tutorials on how to customise K2. Paul Stamatiou is just one example. His five part guide ranges from basic CSS to tips on how to improve load time. His along with JTP’s are two tutorials that I would recommend to anyone working with K2.
I know the site is far from complete but I can honestly it has been fun working with K2 and my only regret is not getting into it sooner. I still have a lot to learn about K2 but I am certainly a lot closer than I was two weeks ago thanks to all the people who have provided online support.
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sokari says
You pass me on this one – i got lost somewhere around “K2 is” – HOWEVER what is important is the site looks good AND from the sound of it the design has been well thought out and hard work.
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M says
Hey stranger!!!
Wow. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new design. Easy on the eye, nice big fonts, subtle mix of color and very very easy to read.
Tres cool!
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hash says
Wow! This looks great. I’m very impressed with your new look – really. Since I did the barest of changes to Kubrick, I do feel somewhat embarrased that you even mentioned my blog, but thanks all the same.
K2 is a great theme though. It really is one of the few where the developers thought beyond a basic static skin, and it shows. It’s just so versatile.
Are you doing all your own graphics? If so, what are you using to do them in – Photoshop?
Keep up the good work!
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Nick says
lookin good
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Shiron says
The site is great.
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half 'n' half says
liking it very very much. Wish I had the skills
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mshairi says
I am honoured to see my blog mentioned as a source of inspiration but also to be mentioned in the same breath as hash and JKE!
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D-Notice says
Oooohhh… very nice!
Like the colour scheme!
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alexcia says
brilliant
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mama junkyard says
@Hash Yes, we do our own graphics using photoshop.
@Everybody Thank you very much.
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Ostalgia says
It certainly worked. You have a great site.
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JKE says
Yes, the white space had been the reason why I changed from Kubrick to Sirius Theme. Also, most Kubrick-based templates are limited to a pixel width of 450px, and Sirius offers a littble bit more space (500px) and more freedom on the sides. The other way of course is to scale pictures the way Hash does it.
I think, upgrading from your previous (already beautiful but surely limited (narrow & darker) template to K2 is like a quantum jump – K2 is a great mod and I enjoyed playing around with it, not only because of this awesome Ajax implementation (like the comments, etc.). K2 is just a very *cool* mod – and your version of it rocks. Nice, I especialle like the header image with your own signature. Looks great, smooth colours, maybe still some anti-alising at the right corner of the header image (where goes around this half circle). Even a small test with the Shift key and /- to change the size of letters is positive!
The last time I checked out K2 it was still this 1.67beta version – and now they are havig 2.0xx? woah! I will need to check it soon.
Also, what I like is that your page loads pretty quick. I wish mine would behave in the same way….maybe I will also switch to K2 one day 😀
Btw, can I just call you fhqwhgads?
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JKE says
Oh, and btw, I wonder that there are so many nice templates out there and yet, the internal WYSIWYG editor of WP is still very basic. Even adequate plugins to enhance the editor’s functionality don’t really change anything to the better…..any ideas?
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mama junkyard says
Asante JKE! I have never had an issue with loading time when I visit your site. Alafu all those things you mentioned about Photoshop (anti-aliasing etc) truth be told….I have no idea what they do. This is the first time I have used Photoshop and I just click and preview everything until I find something that works – or I follow a tutorial.
The only plugin I have found (and used) that deals with the ‘insides’ of WP is Tiger Administration I am not sure if this is what you are after because it doesn’t really change much other than the layout.
You can call me fhqwhgads only if you write me a song.
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Chaka says
I also read that K2 was updated and the latest version is benig suggested for upgrading.
Can I ask a quick question? If I update my version of k2, will all the tweaks I made go away? Do you know?
The k2 form is down now so I am not sure where to find the answer.