Dotnetnuke Skinning at PSDtoDNN
Our Dotnetnuke skin build and DNN skin conversion process pretty much always follows the same path.
1. Visual Blocking
Before we get into coding your DNN skin we like to make sure that we're all working from the same page. To do this we create a blocked visual showing all of the dotnetnuke skin elements we see the skin using. This includes the placement of the login, user, and search controls and the placement and configuration of the panes which are used for content. This blocked out visual is passed to you for feedback and based on this we either make changes to the placement of the DNN skin tokens and panes or we move onto phase 2.
2. Valid XHTML and CSS layout
We find that the key to a good working DNN skin is to work backwards. We take the visual that we have blocked out and create a working XHTML and CSS version of this, as we would like the final pages to look. By making sure this is all included at the start it becomes easier to make changes when we're working in the skin. an example of this would be that we create a fully working top level navigation using list items and CSS. When it comes to converting the menu into DNN we already have most of the style done and it is a case of converting this into the CSS for the DNN Menu or Solpartmenu, much easier than starting with a blank DNN Menu.
All of our XHTML and CSS is validated and cross browser tested for the following browsers:
- IE6, IE7, IE8
- Firefox
- Opera
- Safari
- Google Chrome
- Flock
During the process of creating a DNN skin pack because we create HTML layouts we also offer a PSD to HTML service for those looking to convert their artwork to HTML rather than DNN.
3. Conversion of XHTML & CSS into DNN skins and containers
We now take the XHTML and CSS from step 2 and convert it into working Portal, Admin and Container skins.
Project Timescale
It should take between 7 and 10 days for you to receive a working first draft DNN skin pack after sign-off of the blocked layout.
If you are interested in a PSD to DNN, PSD to HTML or HTML Email project, contact us for a quote.
Working with PSDtoDNN made the transition as smooth and effortless as we could have ever imagined...
Justin Ober, Tonger Industries Corp
