Themes For Both Admin And Client Area

[Jason Ryan]

Hello -

I am new to Blesta as it was recommended by a friend of mine. I currently have a trial version running and so far I like all of the functionality that it provides and will most likely buy a paid version. However, being a n00b to Blesta, what is everyone's recommendations for theming the Admin and Client areas? I have extensive HTML, CSS, and SASS knowledge, and a little php and JS knowledge as well. Where is the best place to buy a theme and then customize it?

I am strictly using this for client management and ticketing and is hosted on a sub-domain off of my main website. So I am looking to brand it similarly using a theme that closely resembles it and just make the necessary mods to it.

Any insight would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks.

[Michael]

Admin area | Client colour themes:

- http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/forum/33-contests/

- https://licensecart.com/themes/

 

Client themes:

- http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/3018-template-professional-client-side-admin-lte/

- https://whtheme.com

- Blesta Integration 3.3.x (Advanced) Make your own client theme.

 - http://www.blesta.com/forums/index.php?/topic/6422-template-biserver-blesta/

- https://licensecart.com/premade-themes

[Paul]

Just a tip, since you have experience with HTML/CSS. You can clone the client area templates (/app/views/clients/bootstrap/) and name it something else. Then, select the theme under Settings > Company > Look and Feel > Template. This will allow you to modify a clone of the client templates. You'll be able to change it back if you want, and upgrading wont overwrite the new theme. (Though you should run a diff and merge changes)

[Jason Ryan]

Thanks guys, being able to modify the client theme and not having it overwritten when updates are pushed out is optimal and look forward to digging into this. @Paul, I am assuming your "tip" is similar to LicenseCart's link mentioned previously?

Blesta Integration 3.3.x (Advanced) Make your own client theme.

With the exception of cloning the bootstrap directory and modifying the structure.pdt file in the clone directory instead, just so I am clear. Also, is there a way to do this with the admin theme similarly to the client theme?

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.
 

[Michael]

Thanks guys, being able to modify the client theme and not having it overwritten when updates are pushed out is optimal and look forward to digging into this. @Paul, I am assuming your "tip" is similar to LicenseCart's link mentioned previously?

Blesta Integration 3.3.x (Advanced) Make your own client theme.

With the exception of cloning the bootstrap directory and modifying the structure.pdt file in the clone directory instead, just so I am clear. Also, is there a way to do this with the admin theme similarly to the client theme?

Thanks for the help! Much appreciated.

 

 

 

Sadly there's no way to do that with the admin theme and I highly recommend you don't try because it's so complicated in there at the moment from javascript etc. And correct when I wrote that I was editing the bootstrap theme. I think in 3.4 or something the option came around to change it I could be wrong though.

[Jason Ryan]

Sadly there's no way to do that with the admin theme and I highly recommend you don't try because it's so complicated in there at the moment from javascript etc. And correct when I wrote that I was editing the bootstrap theme. I think in 3.4 or something the option came around to change it I could be wrong though.

 

To be honest, I have worked on other proprietary apps before built on CakePHP with Bootstrap/Foundation and this app is far simpler then anything I have worked with, I could probably throw this up on a repo and have it completely reworked in 2 weeks time. But that wouldn't do me any good as the admin isn't set up like the client side where you can choose another "template". Is this something that is coming down the pike? If I had the capability to just "drop in" a new theme and select it from the admin UI this would open up some major doors.

At least for now I can work with re-theming the client UI and get that out of the way. The admin side of things would take a little bit of thought as to how to drop in a theme over top of the existing and not have it overwritten by updates.

Again, much appreciated for the insight!

[Paul]

To be honest, I have worked on other proprietary apps before built on CakePHP with Bootstrap/Foundation and this app is far simpler then anything I have worked with, I could probably throw this up on a repo and have it completely reworked in 2 weeks time. But that wouldn't do me any good as the admin isn't set up like the client side where you can choose another "template". Is this something that is coming down the pike? If I had the capability to just "drop in" a new theme and select it from the admin UI this would open up some major doors.

At least for now I can work with re-theming the client UI and get that out of the way. The admin side of things would take a little bit of thought as to how to drop in a theme over top of the existing and not have it overwritten by updates.

Again, much appreciated for the insight!

 

Most people just customize the theme and add their logo to the admin area. (via Settings > Company > Look and Feel)

 

There's no way to select a different theme for the admin area, but you could still copy the directory (/app/views/admin/default) as a backup and modify that one. It's certainly possible that we may enable the admin theme to be selected in the future, but there has been little demand for that. I think most people are mainly interested in customizing the client area to a larger degree than is possible with color themes (Settings > Company > Look and Feel) for a tighter integration with their site, and only Staff access the admin.

 

But, either way you can still customize it.

[Jason Ryan]

Most people just customize the theme and add their logo to the admin area. (via Settings > Company > Look and Feel)

 

There's no way to select a different theme for the admin area, but you could still copy the directory (/app/views/admin/default) as a backup and modify that one. It's certainly possible that we may enable the admin theme to be selected in the future, but there has been little demand for that. I think most people are mainly interested in customizing the client area to a larger degree than is possible with color themes (Settings > Company > Look and Feel) for a tighter integration with their site, and only Staff access the admin.

 

But, either way you can still customize it.

 

 

Thanks @Paul for your response, as a front-end developer I tend to tinker with everything I can just for the sake of doing it (I get really bored sometimes). The reason I wanted to mess with Admin is because some of the fields are tied in with things that have no relation. i.e. The "Header Top" background color of the admin UI dictates the page background of the login screen (thought that was kind of odd). This is where I'd like to separate things out a little more to have more control over the different areas of the app. I may just use your suggestion and copy the "Default" and mess around with it a bit. Also, the fact that the Admin is not responsive it kinda killing me (not a deal breaker). I know I can still access the app via my phone, but it not being responsive will make it incredibly difficult as I often check on things remotely for my business and may not have access to WiFi.

Thanks again though for the suggestions, it is much appreciated.

[Segun Solomon]

On 6/18/2016 at 3:16 PM, Paul said:

Just a tip, since you have experience with HTML/CSS. You can clone the client area templates (/app/views/clients/bootstrap/) and name it something else. Then, select the theme under Settings > Company > Look and Feel > Template. This will allow you to modify a clone of the client templates. You'll be able to change it back if you want, and upgrading wont overwrite the new theme. (Though you should run a diff and merge changes)

Excellent insight! Thanks for mentioning this.