Wright Template Framework v.3.1.3 released

A new update for the Wright Joomla Template Framework

We are very excited.  It's now been a year since we released Wright v3.0 on the first week of September 2012. During the past year, Wright has benefited from more changes, updates, and work than it had during the previous two years. This increased focus on Wright is mostly due to our commitment to deliver better, more reliable, and ever lighter Joomla Templates. 

Wright v3.1.3 Highlights

Faster and optimized code

We love Joomla, and we love it more when the native Joomla functionality can work seamlessly with less additional code.  That's why we have been working to use the native Joomla 2.5 and 3.x view on our overrides to adapt them without needing any extra plugin to achieve a professional look. We have used the Bootstrap built-ins for both Joomla 2.5 and 3.x.

LESS compiler

Since Wright v.3.1 - released last June - all the CSS is now compressed and generated with Bootstrap's LESS base, using the same base variables and the same base used by Protostar's template (Joomla 3.x default template) to create a quicker and more understandable code, and also to allow further modifications.

Coder's tip

The inline LESS compiler comes in the wright/build folder or the Wright Framework when downloading it from its source code repository.   Node.js is required for compilation.

Seamless upgrade between Joomla 2.5 and 3.x

As you might now, Joomla 3.x styles are somewhat different to what they used to be in Joomla 2.5 and below.  Since Wright v.3 uses the same Bootstrap base for Joomla 2.5 and Joomla 3.x, the styles and overrides have been adapted in Joomla 2.5 to make them similar to those in Joomla 3.x.  This will greatly help you when you decide to upgrade to Joomla 3.x, because you're adopting the very latest styles.

Native inclusion of Bootstrap and jQuery in Joomla 3.x

Joomla 3.x has a native way to include Bootstrap and jQuery from the template itself, using the newest JUI methods. To avoid conflicts between your template and extensions in Joomla 3.x, Wright now uses the native way to call the native /media/jui css and javascript files.  This has  allowed us to include newer versions from jQuery and Bootstrap in our templates, regardless of the version that Joomla 3.x is using, and to provide those newer versions to your extensions. 

Extended issue list

If you want to explore the list of issues that have been attended both for Wright v.3.1.0 and 3.1.3, don't forget to check out the Github milestones, where you can explore technical details of what's been going on.

 

Facts and Trivia

  1. We practice what we preach, so our newly designed Joomlashack site template uses The Wright Framework v.3.1.
  2. We need to adapt all our responsive templates to use the new LESS-compiled code.  We don't mind doing the extra work because our products will work better for you and will help to optimize your sites.

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