Themes make your website aesthetically pleasing and visually appealing. They are the face of your site. Right storefronts that instantly connect customers to the store contribute to the conversion rates of the website.
Magento 2 by default offers 2 options to its customers when it comes to themes – Luma and Blank. Luma is the demonstration theme while Blank allows custom theme development. eCommerce businesses can use both of these settings for their store.
If you want to create a custom theme, with regard to your expectation, you can customize the designs. However, Magento always recommends avoiding alteration of the default setting as it may break the eCommerce website during version upgrades.
So, here is a step-by-step tutorial to create an awe-inspiring custom-made theme.
But before we get started let’s get a clear understanding of what is Magento Theme Development.
Magento Theme Development:
Magento Theme is the look and feel of the website or eCommerce store. From the storefront to the admin panel it includes everything on display. The 4 major components that make up a theme are,
- Layout
- Templates
- Locale
- Skins
Procedure to develop a Magento Theme from scratch
If you want to create a Magento 2 theme from scratch below is the step-by-step process for it.
1.Create Theme Directory
In the Magento 2 root directory/app/design/frontend build a Magento 2 theme directory.
This directory will have the theme vendor.
Then generate a directory for the theme below your theme vendor.
2. Declare Theme
Generate a theme.xml file.
Or you can copy it from default themes – custom Magento theme development directory. Declare your theme app/design/frontend/mconnect/m2theme
3. Theme into Composer Package
Pack default themes as a Composer.
Include composer.json file in your theme directory. By this, you distribute the theme as one composer package.
4. Register Your Magento 2 Theme
Include the registration.php file in your theme directory and register your theme in the system.
5. Construct Product Catalog Images
To configure other images and product catalogs, create an etc folder.
Copy the view.xml file to the parent or Blank Theme’s etc folder.
6. Create Directories (for Static Files & Folders)
Create directories for styles, JavaScript, fonts, and images. Each one must be stored in individual subdirectories of your theme.
7. Declare Theme Logo
Declare your theme’s logo. If the logo doesn’t follow the default naming convention declare it by adding the default.xml file in your theme directory folder.
8. Layout Elements
Magento page design includes blocks and containers. So define these components for the right page structure.
9. Layout File Types & Conventions
Override theme layouts by adding the layout file in /app/design/frontend/Magento/luma/Magento_Theme/layout/ default.xml.
It will override mconnect/m2theme/Magento_Theme/layout/default.xml.
Advantages of Magento 2 custom theme development:
- Improved security.
- Enhanced user experience
- Offers HTML and CSS support
- High Responsiveness of theme regardless of device, screen size, or operative platform.
- Built-in LESS processor.
- Asynchronous module to upload (Uses RequireJS without manual coding).
- Uses jQuery UI.
- Consumes Magento UI library for flexible rendering.
Wrapping up,
So, we have covered everything from what is Magento theme development, the process of developing a theme in Magento 2 and also looked over the benefits of Magento custom theme development.
It is always recommended to hire expert Magento developers for some outstanding themes and complex theme development.
The Commerce Shop has 12+ years of experience in Magento development and has handled many theme development projects. For exceptional insights and results, you can always reach our experts.
For more information of Magento development services feel free to contact us.
