DotNetNuke® Websites: Problem — Design — Solution

5.1. Problem

Many "skinners" do not package all skin and container files nicely into a single install file. They choose to package skins and containers into separate install files. Technically, this is acceptable. However, it is not unusual for a DNN website to have several different skins and/or containers applied to the same instance. For example, the MBR Design skins have several different versions that provide different content structure. This provides a lot of flexibility in terms of page/content layout within the site. Having skins and containers nicely grouped together maintains good organization. What's more, some of the skins and/or containers applied to a DNN website may not be named intuitively, which only adds to the confusion when determining which skins and containers are the correct versions that should be applied, especially when there are several skins and containers installed on the same instance. Luckily, it is easy to minimize the confusion with a little forward thinking when packaging skins and containers, as you're going to do with the MBR Design skins. However, you would be surprised how many designers still don't apply names to their files that are easy to understand. Some designers name their files skin1.html or container2.html. This type of naming convention provides absolutely no indication of what the skin or container may look like without applying them to a page. This makes editing a DNN website inefficient and annoying to say the least.