Serendipity Forums

OK, looks like I need to try and emulate my site with a custom template. First place to start are the existing template....

First thing I notice is this: Why do so many templates seem to ignore the sidebar placement for left, and is there an easy way to correct that?

At least when I look at them, I noticed the following did not place the side bar on the left:

Kubrick 1.2.6 port, Connections WP-Port

There may be others....

I noticed one that DID work OK, and I am sure there are others:
codeschmiede, MT-3 - chalkboard

Most templates allow sidebars on either side. I assume you've configured your site with a plugin in each sidebar, so you can see what's found and what's missed.

Changing the side is a matter of editing the template files. Kubrick may be a bit challenging, especially since you mentioned earlier that you had no CSS/HTML experience.

To duplicate your blog's theme, the easiest method would be to copy its HTML directly into index.tpl and entries.tpl. Just replace the existing Serendipity HTML with your new HTML, but leave the Smarty stuff (everything in {}) in and surround it with your HTML.

I hope that made some sense. Essentially, stuff like {$CONTENT} and {serendipity_printSidebar side="left"} need to stick around; they're how the blog gets displayed. But the rest of the template determines whether they get displayed inside a <div>, a <tr>, or a bunch of HTML you made yourself in FrontPage.