ASP.NET 2.0 All-In-One Desk Reference For Dummies®

Chapter 4. Working with Themes

In This Chapter

✓	Creating themes for different audiences
✓	Making use of skins, style sheets, and graphics in a theme
✓	Deploying themes on one site and on a whole server
✓	Finding free sample themes

Don’t underestimate the value of customization to consumers. Just ask anyone who works in the automobile after-market business. Whether it’s a chromed die-cast “hang five” accelerator pedal, large dice to dangle from the rearview mirror, or a full-blown flame-effect paint treatment, people spend megabucks to turn a very ordinary car into a personal statement. What they’re stating about themselves isn’t always clear. Does a mass-produced footprint accelerator say that the driver is a wannabe athletic surfer? By burning up the highway in a car with hot licks, are they saying they’re hot too? Maybe it’s all just a way to brag that they have a lot of disposable income.

Okay, you’re wondering what hot rods and custom car accessories have to do with ASP.NET and themes. Not much, except that ASP.NET helps Web sites appeal to a deep-seated need to customize by letting visitors choose among decorative themes. I’m sure you can attract thousands more hits if your pages include flames in the background, shift knob dice for buttons, and chromed bare feet as menu items.

Understanding Site Themes

If you use Windows XP, you already know about desktop themes. A theme provides a unified appearance to visual elements such as windows, buttons, icons, and backgrounds. You can recognize ...