Lily is a wedding website powered by WordPress. It has been designed for couples who are engaged and are planning their big day.
Process
When beginning any project, I always like to start with pen and paper, the Lily theme was no different. The reason I like this approach is that it allows me to put all my ideas on paper without over thinking about things.
I usually fold the paper into 8 sections and start sketching. Once I’m happy with the layout of one screen I’ll move onto the next.
Then, unlike some of the web application projects, I moved over to creating some high-fidelity mocks. Considering I had free reign with this project, it gave me the opportunity to also move into browser to see how a specific section of the website may work.
After establishing the visual identity of the theme, I move over to development. This included creating the theme files using HTML, CSS, JavaScript and PHP.
Testing
Once all template files, styles, structure, etc has been implemented, I begin doing my unit testing by using wptest.io.
I do this to make sure all posts and pages will show the content without breaking any of the styles or structure which has been developed. When the theme is purchase you can never predict how it will be used, that is why it is super important to conduct this testing prior to submitting the theme to be reviewed.
Documentation
Next up, if all is looking good and any bugs have been fixed up, I begin creating the documentation.
The documentation will guide customers on how to setup the theme to have it look like the theme demo which they will see in the marketplace.
Submission to the marketplace
Once the docs are created, edited and reviewed, I will then prepare the files to be ready to submit to the marketplace. Review times vary but they can take up to a month at times, so this is where patience is a must 🙂
If all goes well, then the theme will be approved and made available for customers to purchase. If you’d like you can check out the live preview here.
Full page screenshot of the Lily WordPress theme