A review of Template Creator CK, by Joomla Template Maker (.com)
If you are a first timer, or new to the concept of developing your own Responsive Joomla Template, everything just got easier for you.
The only downside to Template Creator in previous versions was that it was a little ‘techy’, there was a steep learning curve to unearth all of it’s glory. That being said, Template Creator CK was/IS a great way to get your creativity onto the big screen and show the world what you and your business is all about.
So, let’s look under the hood in this review of Template Creator CK v4.
Before I start I want to make a bold statement:
"Template Creator CK is the ONLY True Joomla Template Making Platform out there."
Many, most, all of the other software options available only allow you to modify the component area of Joomla, they are just 'Page Builders' that make it seem like a template. But, you still need a template for them to work within!
Template Creator CK - IS , The Joomla Template, and leaves the component area free for you to use as you wish.
In this review of Template Creator CK, we'll let you know our unbiased opinions, good or bad. So, let's read on.
We think the biggest single change the developers have made to Version 4 of this Professional Joomla Template making software, is to make it more user friendly. Which is great for everyone. For the professional developer it speeds up the creation and review of the template creating process, and for the beginner, as it is now easier to use, it keeps their interest because results are instant and easy to achieve.
If you have used Template Creator CK before, you will notice right from the outset it has changed quite a lot. To make life easier for the beginner, you now get to choose ‘start from a blank template’ (a modifiable pre formatted layout), or you can choose one of 14 ready made templates to modify to suit your needs. In previous versions you only got the opportunity to ‘start from a blank template’ although you could at a later stage import a compatible template to modify.
In previous versions of Template Creator CK, once you had chosen the blank template style you wanted to begin with, and the screen loaded that option, you were left wondering what you should do next and where to find out what to do, or how to do it (as we said, it was a little ‘Techy’, and instructions were few and far between). In V4 things have changed a great deal, now you are greeted with a modal window showing you all the basic options you need to consider for your new Joomla Template project. You can name the Joomla template, set the width of the template, whether you want it responsive or not, and you can set the basic typography and buttons. Click save and close.
You are now in the main Joomla Template creation platform, let your creative juices flow!
At first glance, the layout seems very familiar if you have used Template Creator before, however there are some fundamental differences. So, lets take a look at some of them.
On the left hand side of the main work space, is the options and settings area for the Joomla template you are about to create. From here you can add sections and structure to your Joomla template project, as well as style them to suit your needs.
With V4 of Template Creator CK comes a new option to add previously formatted template sections, headers and module positions. Which is a great way to kick-start your project. Just drag and drop them into your template. Once positioned, you can re-position to the desired location, and rename them to something more meaningful if so desired. Then go to the front end and review the website you made with Template Creator.
The next big change you will notice is in the main editing section of the screen. As you hover over each element they are now clearly color coded. This helps the design process a lot because now you can clearly distinguish between the different ‘layers’ within a section and style it accordingly. A new addition to the layout screen, is the ability to now be able to set the vertical alignment of each element within its row, top, middle or bottom. Which is handy as many people find positioning of elements vertically quite difficult. As you use Template Creator, you can easily review your changes in both the back end and front end, as you proceed with your design.
Although Template Creator V4 is radically improved and upgraded, it still retains most of its familiarity for seasoned users. But, one significant change to this is the way in which styling changes are made to individual elements on the page. A huge ‘bugbear’ for us, is waiting, this has now been addressed in V4. Gone are the popups for styling, gone is the validation button. Styling in V4 now happens ‘on the fly’ with your modifications now instantly shown in your template layout screen, you are able to review template creators changes as they happen in real time.. Just click on the edit button on the element you want to style and the styling options are loaded as a drop-down list into the left-hand pane. Now as you make changes to the styling you can see the result instantly. There are also a couple of new styling options to the module elements on the page. Font Awesome has been fully integrated and you can now add styled icons to elements easily. You also now have the option to add background video at individual element level. A nice touch added in this major update is the addition of Google Fonts in the styling options of individual elements, all you need to do is add the font name in the input box and once saved, that font style will be applied to that element.
Sometimes it's the small things that count. We were pleased to see in this release of Template Creator the addition of the font weight styling option. It was something we missed having in previous releases we have used, yet it was something we needed a lot. The point here is that, Template Creator has enough of the options you will need to style your own Joomla template with out having to use the 'additional' CSS style-sheet. And this will improve the loading time of your website, as one less call will be made to your server.
Template Creator CK comes with 4 additional ‘widgets’. A fixed top bar, which is great if you want a sticky menu, or a notice banner at the top of the page. There is a ‘scroll to top’ button for long website pages. You can set animated actions for elements on the page, dependant on scroll positioning. And, add parallax effects for sections on the page.
There have been some small changes to the top row of option buttons, but the biggest of these is the inclusion of a layouts button.
This button now gives you the ability to pre-style the content of your articles and blog posts. As well as create custom error pages and search forms. These are a welcome addition for any developer, novice or otherwise. Although still in ‘BETA’ phase the options are working and usable and should make your creative life a lot easier.
There are many other improvements that the developers of Template Creator CK have made, but as we don’t want to spoil your fun in this review, we will leave you to discover them, one by one.
Conclusion: Review of Template Creator CK
Template Creator CK is a must have Joomla extension, if you are serious about what you do, and want the best end-user experience for your visitors/customers. But, most importantly, by using this platform you will quickly and easily create a UNIQUE Premium Joomla Template for your website that is free from bloat and unnecessary extensions, you will create a Joomla website that is fast loading and error free, and both Google and your visitors will love you for that. If there is a downside to Joomla Template Creator CK it would be this, there is little documentation for the software within the back-end. It would be nice to see handy pop-up tool tips with a few hints about what is expected from the user in the styling options. However, there is a new help section on the developers website that answers most of your questions.
If you like our review of Template Creator CK, let us know by awarding it 5 stars!
