WordPress Design Contributors Propose Shipping a Curated Set of Style Variations Instead of a New Default Theme – WP Tavern
WordPress design contributors are cooking up a new idea for this year’s default theme launch that will put the highlight on type variations as an alternative of the theme itself. The concept is rooted in feedback that Twenty Twenty-Two designer Kjell Reigstad made final yr when introducing the theme:
Themes are in a transition interval as we speak, and it looks like this can be an affordable time to step again and to re-evaluate the annual cadence with which we construct default themes.
Improvements like theme.json, block templates, and block patterns are making theme improvement far less complicated, and are offering new methods for customers to customise their websites. There’s purpose to consider that the neighborhood can leverage all this to construct extra frequent and numerous theme and customization options for our customers within the coming years.
As a substitute of making a brand new default theme this yr, design contributors are proposing making a curated set of favor variations from neighborhood submissions. The kinds can be utilized to a pared again model of Twenty Twenty-Two.
“What if, as an alternative of emphasizing the theme itself, we highlighted an opinionated set of favor variations designed by members of the neighborhood?” Automattic-sponsored design contributor Channing Ritter stated. “We might use Twenty Twenty-Two as the premise for a brand new theme that’s stripped again and minimal — a clean canvas to let a various vary of favor variations shine.”
Fashion variations have been introduced in WordPress 6.0 as a approach for theme authors to supply some preset design choices able to skinning the positioning with completely different colours, typography, borders, spacing, and extra, with only one click on on a card representing the variation. Reigstad first floated the thought for Twenty Twenty-Two’s type variations in November 2021.
“It might be fascinating to experiment with how opinionated we might make every of the variations,” Ritter stated. “Perhaps one variation makes all typography on the positioning use a single sort dimension in a monospaced font, whereas one other variation makes use of many completely different fonts paired collectively. I believe that pushing the boundaries of what may be completed with the type variation format needs to be the purpose — and we will have enjoyable seeing what sorts of issues we will provide you with within the course of.”
The concept is that the perfect community-submitted type variations can be chosen for a curated assortment that will be bundled with the brand new clean canvas model of Twenty Twenty-Two.
Responses to this point within the feedback have been overwhelmingly optimistic and designers and builders have been keen to boost their palms to take part. The dialogue has simply began within the feedback of the proposal and contributors are soliciting suggestions on the creation of the subsequent default theme.
