Can we change the design of all pages in our network

[Chris Retajczyk]

Hi,

can we change the design & layout of all pages in our network.I am willing to add new customised design for my network which is not listed in the given templates provided by Ning Site.I have the CSS/JPG files wilh me but as per the development team,it is just not possible to add customised CSS files due to code restrictions and our site can choose out of predefined templates only.

I am writing their words here.

"Actually Ning.com is the main site which runs several macro sites on its network.MDhsare calls most of its coding functions from Ning source code. Also, currently design on MDshare is using some predefined common templates implemented in the source code of Ning site & we are restricted to use only these templates."

I am also attaching the new design in jpg format.

Can any one help me.

Thanks in advance.

[Chris Retajczyk]

To make it more clear,they said,we can add new CSS files for the pages but we need to create these new CSS files only using predefined tags which are used in current CSS files.The new design we have attached can not be created using available tags for CSS files.I hope this clarifies my problem.

[Phil McT]

Hi Chris,

If you opt to get the source code for your site ("decentralize"), you'll be able to do whatever you like. Take a look at http://www.cbsmobilezone.com/ for an example of what could be achieved.

Without some significant effort though, I think the message you're getting is correct. CSS provide flexibility only to a point. If you have a specific design in mind, you need the mark-up tags to support it.

[Chris Retajczyk]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for getting back to me.

Can we use additional tags with the current CSS file implemented on Ning.Does Ning source code support this.

I downloaded the source code of the site but the problem is that it invokes coding of ning source for most of its functions which means we need to do the change in source code of Ning to support additonal tags which is not feasible I guess.

[Phil McT]

Hi Chris,

I'm not sure what you mean by 'tags'.

You can add additional mark-up to the existing code if you want to, and then style that mark-up to get the effect you're looking for.

I suspect you might mis-understand the purpose of downloading the Ning source code: You can modify the source code and then upload it back to the Ning server, and then you'll be running your modified code. The intention is not to allow you to execute the code on your own server (which is technically not feasible).

[Chris Retajczyk]

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the update.

I am sorry for the confusion but by additional tags I mean classes & ids we need to write the CSS file.Each design needs its own set of class & ids for CSS & as per the current structure,we can not add new class & ids to the existing set of current CSS.Kindly update me if I am wrong.

[Mike Nicholson]

Hello Chris!

While you can probably get pretty close to this design working only with CSS, to fully change the appearance you'll need to work with the PHP template files and the layout objects. This will require PHP expertise and familiarity with the code that powers your social network.

If you're planning on sticking to the CSS technique, the best way to map the IDs and attributes to skin each page would be to use a web page inspection tool such as FireBug. It's much easier to see the elements that you're trying to skin in action than to look them up from a list!

If you're planning to dig into the PHP code you'll be able to add ids and classes wherever you like. This will require some time to learn how the pages are designed, though. Check out our Hello World tutorial to start your research.

Cheers!
Mike

[Chris Retajczyk]

Thanks Mike!
Do you know of any movement to create a mobile version of Ning that will run on the new I-phone platform?
I've just seen the facebook app for that and seem like Ning could do the same?

thanks!

[Mike Nicholson]

Hello Chris!

This is indeed possible, but it would require a lot of design work. I'm not aware of anyone that has done this, but it would involve refactoring nearly all of the templates on the social network.

Also, although the IPhone is cool, it represents only a very, very small fraction of our global users. The phone isn't even available in many countries yet. In other words, it's unlikely that we'll be developing this as a feature on a standard network in the near future.

Cheers!
Mike