Twenty Twenty-Four: Pushing Default Themes Forward  ## Metadata - Author: [[YouTube]] - Full Title: Twenty Twenty-Four: Pushing Default Themes Forward - Category: #articles - Document Note: --- tags: [wordpress-themes, twenty-twenty-four, default-themes] author: Jessica Lyschik source: WordCamp reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU date created: 2024-12-19 14:35 --- # 🏷️ Title: Twenty Twenty-Four: Pushing Default Themes Forward ## 🧰 Action Inbox - [H1] Review Twenty Twenty-Four patterns for next project — comprehensive pattern library available #wordpress - [H2] Consider accessibility-ready practices from TT4 development — early accessibility feedback integration #accessibility - [H3] Explore hover styles roadmap for WordPress 6.7 — designer limitation mentioned #core-development ## 🧭 Table of Contents - [📝 Summary](#-summary) - [📖 Main Content](#-main-content) - [🗒️ Notes](#️-notes) - [📚 References](#-references) - [🗣️ Paraphrase](#️-paraphrase) - [📰 Newsletter](#-newsletter) - [✅ Action Items](#-action-items) - [🧪 Hypotheses](#-hypotheses) - [📊 Methodology](#-methodology) - [❓ Questions](#-questions) - [🔮 Future Research](#-future-research) - [💡 Implications](#-implications) - [🧠 Learning Styles Assessment](#-learning-styles-assessment) - [📊 Accessibility Assessment](#-accessibility-assessment) - [🌍 DEIB Assessment](#-deib-assessment) - [✅ Logical Validity](#-logical-validity) - [🛡️ DARVO Analysis](#-darvo-analysis) - [🎯 Conclusion](#-conclusion) ### 🔗 References - [Twenty Twenty-Four Theme](https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/) - [WordPress Pattern Directory](https://wordpress.org/patterns/) ## 📝 Summary - Jessica Lyschik presented the development journey of Twenty Twenty-Four, WordPress's latest default theme - Why it matters: First default theme to showcase WordPress's evolution beyond blogging with three distinct use cases (business, photography/artist, blog) - Key stakeholders: Theme developers, WordPress users, accessibility advocates, designers - Risks and tradeoffs: Simple design due to 2.5-week timeline, balancing versatility with usability - Bottom line: TT4 demonstrates WordPress's versatility through extensive patterns, accessibility-first development, and real-world adaptability ## 📖 Main Content Twenty Twenty-Four represents a paradigm shift in WordPress default themes. Unlike previous themes that primarily showcased blogging capabilities, TT4 addresses WordPress's evolution into a comprehensive content management system capable of powering business websites, portfolios, and traditional blogs. The theme introduces three primary use cases: business websites, photographer/artist portfolios, and traditional blogs with sidebars. This versatility is achieved through an extensive pattern library, template replacement features, and block styles that allow users to mix and match components. Development faced significant constraints, with designer Bea having only 2.5 weeks for the design phase. Despite this limitation, the team prioritized accessibility from early development, earning the accessibility-ready tag. The theme showcases modern WordPress capabilities while maintaining backward compatibility and best practices for developers. Real-world implementations demonstrate TT4's adaptability, with sites like The Repository newsletter, Met Report, and various personal websites showing dramatically different appearances while using the same base theme. ## 🗒️ Notes #### ⏱️ [00:01:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=90) — [H1] Community Reception and Feedback - Key idea: TT4 received overwhelmingly positive feedback from WordPress community - Evidence: "It's a match made in heaven, it is the best default theme ever, and it's a game changer" #### ⏱️ [00:02:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=165) — [H2] Historical Context of Default Themes - Key idea: All previous default themes primarily resembled blogs, limiting WordPress's perceived versatility - Evidence: "What do all these themes have in common besides being a default theme? They all look like a blog" #### ⏱️ [00:08:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=510) — [H1] WordPress Economic Impact Beyond Blogging - Key idea: WordPress economy valued at $635 billion demonstrates platform's evolution beyond blogging - Evidence: "According to a study by WP engine at the end of 2021 the WordPress economy was estimated to have a financial value of $635 billion" #### ⏱️ [00:10:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=615) — [H2] Default Themes as Best Practice Resources - Key idea: Default themes serve as educational resources for developers showcasing WordPress capabilities - Evidence: "Default themes give you an idea what is actually possible" #### ⏱️ [00:12:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=720) — [H1] Three Primary Use Cases for TT4 - Key idea: TT4 specifically targets business, photography/artist, and blog use cases - Evidence: "2024 comes with three different use cases mainly we focus on these three: the business one, the photographer/artist one, and the blog one" #### ⏱️ [00:14:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=870) — [H3] Template Replacement Feature - Key idea: Users can swap complete page templates with a single click using pattern library - Evidence: "You can swap out a complete page, complete template... and it completely replaces what has been there before" #### ⏱️ [00:16:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1005) — [H2] Extensive Pattern Library - Key idea: TT4 includes comprehensive pattern collection covering diverse website needs - Evidence: "If you need a pricing pattern you have that, if you need a newsletter sign up you have that, if you need a gallery you have that" #### ⏱️ [00:18:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1100) — [H3] WordPress.org Pattern Integration - Key idea: Theme pulls patterns directly from WordPress.org pattern directory - Evidence: "There's even patterns, two patterns actually, that are pulled from the wordpress.org pattern directory" #### ⏱️ [00:19:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1155) — [H2] Accessibility-First Development Approach - Key idea: Accessibility considerations integrated from early development stages - Evidence: "The great thing is that the input for accessibility already came very early in the development" #### ⏱️ [00:21:30](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1290) — [H3] Asterisk Heading Block Style Challenge - Key idea: Custom heading style with asterisk required careful accessibility implementation - Evidence: "This one was particularly challenging to achieve... because every default theme gets the accessibility ready tag" #### ⏱️ [00:23:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1425) — [H2] Real-World Implementation Examples - Key idea: TT4 enables dramatically different website appearances while maintaining same base - Evidence: Multiple examples shown including Repository newsletter, Met Report, and personal websites #### ⏱️ [00:28:15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1695) — [H1] Development Timeline Constraints - Key idea: Designer had only 2.5 weeks for TT4 design phase - Evidence: "We only had two and a half weeks to design it or designer had only two and a half weeks" #### ⏱️ [00:31:20](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=1880) — [H2] Future Theme Development Philosophy - Key idea: Separate themes still needed to avoid overwhelming users with too many options - Evidence: "If you overwhelm them with too many options they will not use it... it would be too overwhelming for the user" #### ⏱️ [00:33:45](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU&t=2025) — [H3] Hover Styles Feature Request - Key idea: Hover styles identified as key missing feature for future WordPress development - Evidence: "Hover Styles... that would be great to see in 6.7" ## 📚 References - [Twenty Twenty-Four WordPress Theme](https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/) - [WordPress Pattern Directory](https://wordpress.org/patterns/) - [WordPress Accessibility Team](https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/) ## 🗣️ Paraphrase - Twenty Twenty-Four breaks the tradition of blog-focused default themes by showcasing WordPress's versatility across business, portfolio, and blog use cases through extensive pattern libraries and template flexibility - The development process prioritized accessibility from the beginning, resulting in an accessibility-ready theme despite tight 2.5-week design timeline constraints - Real-world implementations demonstrate the theme's adaptability, with websites achieving dramatically different appearances while maintaining the same underlying structure and accessibility standards ## 📰 Newsletter **WordPress Default Theme Evolution: Twenty Twenty-Four Sets New Standards** The latest WordPress default theme represents a major shift in how we think about WordPress capabilities. Instead of another blog-focused design, Twenty Twenty-Four showcases three distinct use cases: business websites, artist portfolios, and traditional blogs. **Key Benefits for WordPress Users:** - Extensive pattern library for quick page building - One-click template replacement functionality - Accessibility-first development approach - Real flexibility without overwhelming complexity The theme proves WordPress has evolved far beyond its blogging roots, with the WordPress economy now valued at $635 billion. Whether you're building corporate sites, portfolios, or traditional blogs, TT4 provides solid foundations while maintaining the simplicity users expect from default themes. **Practical Applications:** - Use patterns as starting points for custom designs - Leverage accessibility-ready structure for compliant websites - Study the lightweight functions.php for best practices Resources: [Twenty Twenty-Four](https://wordpress.org/themes/twentytwentyfour/), [WordPress Patterns](https://wordpress.org/patterns/), [Accessibility Handbook](https://make.wordpress.org/accessibility/handbook/) ## ✅ Action Items #### WordPress - Core: Implement hover styles functionality for WordPress 6.7 release cycle - Themes: Document pattern creation best practices based on TT4 development - Accessibility: Create early accessibility feedback integration guidelines for theme development - Community: Establish mood board collection process for 2025 default theme community input #### Community - Contributors: Submit style variations and patterns to WordPress.org directory - Maintainers: Review TT4 accessibility implementation for theme development standards - Sponsors: Support extended design timelines for future default theme development ## 🧪 Hypotheses - Default themes that showcase multiple use cases increase WordPress adoption beyond blogging - Early accessibility integration reduces development costs and improves user experience - Pattern-based theme architecture provides better customization than traditional approaches - Community input in theme development leads to more versatile and adopted themes ### 📊 Methodology - Survey WordPress users on theme selection criteria and use case preferences - A/B test pattern-based vs traditional theme customization workflows - Analyze accessibility compliance costs when integrated early vs late in development - Track adoption metrics for TT4 across different website categories ### ❓ Questions - How can WordPress themes better balance simplicity with design boldness? - What mobile-specific functionality should be integrated into core vs themes? - How many patterns constitute optimal choice without overwhelming users? ### 🔮 Future Research - Impact of hover styles on theme design flexibility and user engagement - Effectiveness of WordPress.org pattern integration on theme adoption - Accessibility-first development methodology adoption across theme community ### 💡 Implications - Practice: Theme developers should prioritize accessibility from project initiation rather than post-development audits - Policy: WordPress theme review process may need updating to accommodate pattern-based architectures - Education: Documentation needs updating to reflect WordPress's evolution beyond blogging platform - Funding: Default theme development requires sufficient timeline allocation for quality design work ### 🧠 Learning Styles Assessment Reading level estimate: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level 9-10 #### 👀 Visual learners - Present: Comprehensive theme screenshots, before/after comparisons, real website examples - Improve: Architecture diagrams showing pattern relationships, visual timeline of theme evolution #### 🔊 Aural learners - Present: Conference talk format with clear narration and audience interaction - Improve: Audio descriptions of visual examples, pattern usage demonstrations #### 🗣️ Verbal learners - Present: Clear definitions of block themes, patterns, and accessibility terms - Improve: Glossary of WordPress theme terminology, metaphors for pattern mixing #### 🧩 Kinesthetic learners - Present: Live demonstration of template replacement and pattern usage - Improve: Hands-on workshop materials, step-by-step pattern creation guides #### 🧠 Logical learners - Present: Chronological theme history, systematic use case categorization - Improve: Decision trees for theme selection, pattern taxonomy visualization #### 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Social learners - Present: Community feedback examples, Q&A session, real user testimonials - Improve: Theme development collaboration guidelines, community contribution processes #### 🧘‍♀️ Solitary learners - Present: Detailed technical specifications, individual website examples - Improve: Self-assessment checklist for theme selection, personal experimentation guides #### 🌿 Naturalistic learners - Present: Organic evolution of WordPress from blogging to CMS platform - Improve: Ecosystem thinking about themes within broader WordPress community ### 📊 Accessibility Assessment #### Screen reader semantics - Present: Proper heading structure discussion, accessibility-ready tag explanation - Improve: ARIA implementation examples, semantic HTML pattern guidelines #### Keyboard navigation - Present: Focus on early accessibility integration in development process - Improve: Keyboard navigation testing checklist, focus management examples #### Contrast and readability - Present: Multiple color contrast checks mentioned during development - Improve: Specific contrast ratio examples, color palette accessibility guidelines #### Text resizing and reflow - Present: Responsive design considerations in pattern creation - Improve: Text scaling behavior documentation, reflow testing procedures #### Media and captions - Present: Conference presentation includes live captions - Improve: Alt text guidelines for theme screenshots, media accessibility standards #### Forms and interactions - Present: Accessibility considerations for interactive elements - Improve: Form pattern accessibility guidelines, error handling standards ### 🌍 DEIB Assessment #### Cultural breadth - Present: Global WordPress community perspective, diverse website examples - Improve: International use case examples, multi-language pattern considerations #### Inclusive language - Present: Respectful technical terminology, welcoming community tone - Improve: Plain language summaries, jargon-free explanations #### Neurodiversity support - Present: Clear section structure, consistent navigation patterns - Improve: Cognitive load considerations in pattern selection, simplified workflows #### Representation - Present: Female developer presenting technical content, diverse community examples - Improve: Varied demographic representation in website examples #### Psychological safety - Present: Encouraging tone about community contributions and experimentation - Improve: Clear contribution guidelines, supportive feedback mechanisms ### ✅ Logical Validity #### Strong reasoning - Deductive strength: WordPress economy data supports platform evolution beyond blogging - Inductive strength: Multiple website examples demonstrate theme versatility - Causal reasoning: Accessibility-first approach leads to better user outcomes - Analogical strength: Pattern library compared to building blocks metaphor #### Fallacies - Appeal to novelty: Assuming newer approach is automatically better without comparative analysis - Hasty generalization: Limited real-world examples extrapolated to universal success #### Tone of voice - Overall tone: Professional, enthusiastic, community-focused with technical expertise and collaborative spirit ### 🛡️ DARVO Analysis - Deny: No significant denial patterns present - Attack: No attacks on critics or alternative approaches - Reverse victim/offender: No victim/offender dynamics present - Emotional cues: Genuine enthusiasm for accessibility and community collaboration ## 🎯 Conclusion Twenty Twenty-Four represents a fundamental shift in WordPress default theme philosophy, moving beyond blog-centric designs to showcase the platform's true versatility. The theme's success lies in balancing extensive customization options with user-friendly - Document Tags: [[core]] [[wordpress]] [[accessibility]] - Summary: Twenty Twenty-Four: Pushing Default Themes Forward - URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjYSDzfo_TU we have arrived at the third talk for today in track one um 2024 pushing default themes forward by uh Jessica luik see I nailed it um is a front-end and workers developer at grade uh she's been doing that for 17 years which ultimately letter to co-develop co-lead uh our default 2024 theme anybody have used that there is people who use it wonderful um Jessica will tell us all about how that journey is and all the wonderful things she learned from that welcome to the stage thank you you actually took away my question damn it welcome everyone just a quick overview of what rcos just told you in case you missed it or did not understand what he said but he said it pretty well so before I begin I have to ask the same question again who has who here has experimented or even created a website with 2024 already raise your hand oh quite a few awesome and you're not alone with this so the feedback has been amazing for tt4 as we also call it and I have some quotes here from a couple people who have shared online uh what they think of it that it's a match made in heaven it is the best default theme ever and it's a game changer these are all like real comments from real people who have been trying out 2024 and I'm so happy that all the hard work of the contributors um resulted in this theme being loved by so many people but before we dive into 20 24 itself I would like to uh take you on a short trip down the memory lane and look at the previous default themes um to help you understand and like how uh or why 2024 came together as it is so let's make it a bit fun and you can guess the WordPress version which these default themes came with maybe you remember um but yeah let's get it started who remembers this one oh just a few hands a few single hands which WordPress version does anyone know it's actually WordPress version one 1.0 and it's still downloadable from the WordPress repository how about this one how many remember this one yeah a few more hands we're getting there and uh the WordPress version from this was 1.5 to 2.9 so and it's also available in the theme directory still so you can still download it and still use it 2010 was the first of the 20 family to uh be created as a verus version who knows that one no few more hands and it was uh it came with version 3.0 so uh you may not notice a direct um like rhythm in the version numbers yet but this could come 2011 how about that one oh okay we have few more version 3.2 and this theme was the first one to have actually supported post formats which had been added in uh 3.1 uh WordPress version 3.1 and uh yeah 2012 has been around since vers version 3.5 2013 3.6 yeah it's a bit tedious I know but I want you to just quickly see all the default themes together in one row um 24 theme 14 was with WordPress 3.8 and this was the WordPress version that uh brought the new edmin design which is now 11 years old and we still use it but changes are coming so 2015 yet another one for version 4.1 2016 4.4 2017 was a bit different one than the previous one uh WordPress version 4.7 and this theme marked a different uh different way of themes being created because 20 2019 was shipped with word press 5.0 and we all know what else should with WordPress 5.0 it's what was the blog editor and this was the first theme that actually could work with uh the blog editor then we had 2020 uh what was version 5.3 2021 I also worked on this one and we had 2022 and this was the first block theme like the actual block theme as we know them today because previously were all like what we call now classic themes 2023 was first theme that uh used Community submissions as style variations because previously all default themes were created beforehand by a designer so we had this Blan um canvas and we could add the community was asked to add their own sty variations but before we move on I would like to ask you a question what do all these themes have in common besides being a default theme does anyone know or they're amazing that's that's one good point but yes they all look like a block and wordpess has been known as a Blog software like ever since but over the past two decades it evolved into so much more than just being a Blog system or blog software and you can use WordPress today for any kind of websites you're totally not limited with all the features that got added over time you can run just a copyright website you can run an e-commerce system with it you can can do a membership site whatever you need and maybe something even totally specific uh that does not cover any of the cases I just mentioned and with the extensibility and the design veril uh versatility with themes you can build any website that is more than just a simple blog but according to a study by WP engine at the end of 2021 the WordPress economy was estimated to have a financial value of $635.00 thing you cannot tell me that this only comes from blogs so sure there's still a lot of blogs around but web press would not have become the product is today and be this successful if it would have been just blocks so when you look at the 2020 F 2020 family of the past I think they did not reflect this versatility that much maybe 2017 and 2020 went into that direction um to uh go a bit a little bit more in this corporate website area but that's it and now here's the question if WordPress is capable of being a software product that can be used for many different use cases why did the default previous previous default themes never really showcased that and WordPress has already grown Beyond being just a block software so why are default themes also important um they have been showcasing new functionality ever since like I mentioned with um 20111 with the post formats and we're still bringing new features in every year into WordPress so it's always a good um thing to Showcase that because WordPress is evolving so quickly that one um and as in for new users it is their first experience if there if you come if you have a new user that has never been work has that has never worked with WordPress before this is the first thing they interact with and and I think most advice unfortunately out there is to just go and say yeah install WordPress and then you install theme XYZ because it's so much better than the default theme which is actually a shame to be honest and um I barely recommended anyone recommending a default theme to actually use it as a base to start working on a website but it's also uh but it also serves as a um resource of best practices for developers um for example 2023 was really simple and it didn't have uh even didn't even have a functions PHP file and because it's technically not needed anymore um but with 2024 we did something else we added a functions PHP file again and showed how you can achieve some functionality within that PHP file and there's no right or wrong how you create a theme it showcases just what's best possible and it also um depends on like the use case you have and the type of functionality need and you can choose freely what you want to use or not use um and the default themes give you an idea what is actually possible so now we've looked at back at the previous default themes looked at WordPress in general and importance of having a default theme I hope it will be easier to understand now why what my vision for 2024 was I thought it was time to push the next default theme forward and showcase that it can be as versatile as the website that it needs to be built with what are some common use cases uh and how amazing how could amazing patterns look like what could it look like having a default theme that just is as versatile and can we create something that we give a wide variety of patterns and templates that users can mix and match this was the overall idea behind this so 2024 comes with three different use cases mainly we focus on these three the business one on the left the photographer SL artist one in the center and the block one on the right so don't worry we did not completely break the the rules here we added a block template so you can still do a block of course that's not a problem at all and we also brought back the sidebar on the Block layout that has been missing for a couple of default themes before that so it's not super easy you want a Blog no problem want an artist website you can use 2024 showcasing their work is super easy want to work uh create a corporate website you have various patterns that are helping you achieving that and it has been created as a playground to experiment and the patterns are so versatile you can mix and match them however you want you can change them however they want and because they're patterns you can make them totally your own and before I show you some examples of how 2024 is used like real life examples let's take a look first at some functionality that might be hidden a bit more um but that is present with 2024 so let's see how that works so first we have this replacing feature where you can swap out a complete page a complete template so you open up this uh model and then you get presented with the match patterns we created and you can simply click on one and it completely replaces what has been there before so it's never been easier to actually change the overall look uh of a template this fast can we okay next thing is uh the large variety of patterns as I've already mentioned it there are a lot of patterns and we've created them in a way that uh these patterns are really giving you a suggestion how could things look like and being different from each other so that if you need a pricing pattern you have that if you need a newsletter sign up you have that if you need a gallery you have that so it's a very um very much different we also added various futter patterns so the bottom of your site or the end of your site uh can be totally different whatever use case you have and there's even um patterns two patterns actually that are pulled from the wordpress.org pattern directory so these are not physically in the theme itself as a PHP file and the patterns directory but they are uh pulled from wordpress.org directly and this is also one of the things that showcases how this new functionality is actually working and another thing that is interesting is the various block styles that we have added to give a more uh yeah design V variety within the theme and the most obvious one uh is this is the headings one where you have like the regular heading which is just the heading and then we have the one with the Ester risk which you're seeing highlighted here and this one was particularly challenging to achieve um we discussed it long long how we can actually make that happen because with how can we create this with accessibility in mind because every default theme gets the accessibility ready tag so this was one of the more challenging points to happen I will talk about this in a minute and I think I have not seen another theme using um uh block Styles before at the heading block so personally for me this was a new completely new thing to see and then we have as I mentioned the very lightweight functions PHP file so this doesn't sound like a brand new feature it has been around forever um but you don't need it anymore but you can use it if you want to uh achieve some things and um when I say like look at it at Best Practices um because it only has about 200 lines it's very light when they say best practices or that it showcases that it could be used as a best practice never take it as you have to exactly do it like this this is just an option how you can use the functions PHP file but it registers some functionality in here with 2024 we have the block Styles we have a custom block stylesheet for the button variation how you can make that happen in case you need it for whatever reason and we register some pattern categories and yeah that's really not that much but it's so interesting to see how you can achieve different things with it and accessibility was also a major Point as I said it gets the accessibility ready Tech and the great thing is that um the input for accessibility already came very early in the development so very early we were getting feedback hey these colors don't match this doesn't work with screen readers and a variety of uh things that popped up during development and we were able to solve them in time um but as I said it's everything uh and we can look at it very proudly that we have achieved this and yeah the color contrasts were a thing that has been checked multiple times because sometime uh some things also changed during development and the heading s risk block style was particularly the one as I mentioned um that we have uh added via CSS actually and if you try to use a empty heading block just to display the icon I have to disappoint you it doesn't work because we made it happen that this icon will only show up if you actually use characters in The Heading uh itself so you cannot use the icon with an empty heading this is for accessibility reasons actually and we also wanted to make sure that the heading structure in the page templates is in the right order so that the headlines or the headings are uh uh H1 H2 H3 and not mixed uh all over the place and yeah that was a very I learned a lot during this uh development myself also so now that I've shown you a bit the history that I've shown you a bit the uh what is in 20124 actually I want to show you some real websites that have been created with 2024 and maybe you will see some um similarity to the design you have in your head when it comes when someone asks you what 2024 looks like but these have changed quite a bit so let's take a look so this is the uh repository a WordPress newsletter and I think it was one of the first websites that actually migrated right after um 6.4 was released who here thinks that it looks kind of still like 2024 a bit or maybe not no hands okay looks a bit different you say great the next one is the Met report I think this is a bit more recognizable as 2024 because of the overall setup with the header and especially the um uh the pattern where it says listen this is one of the patterns we had and it just Matt who created this website changed the um the image of course but also the text but it still can be recognized as being created with 2024 and um Matt who did this uh website he also has several YouTube videos which are Super interesting where he is uh working with 2024 and looking at it as some someone who has never worked with it before that's super interesting to see this is also 2024 totally doesn't look like it but um it's still 2024 another the hood so you're totally not limited to design that is provided and this is a great example of how differently a website can look like when you have uh the creativity in mind to make it your own this is also 2024 this is Amber hein's website She's also a speaker here uh at the Work Camp and Amber also um wrote down how she recreated her old website um with using 2024 and the interesting here thing here is um she was looking at it from an accessibility point of view so her blog post is all about how can I as a non-developer recreate my previous website with 2024 and accessibility in mind um super interesting to read and I think she eliminated about 95% of accessibility errors on her website just by using this and slightly adjusting the colors I think so that's definitely a wonderful achievement and of course I also used 2024 on my own website and compared to the previous examples I kept mine very simple just changing uh the colors and uh the fonts and some patterns and I hope these examples give gave you some inspiration for your next project and what you can actually do with 20124 and I'm proud of what all the contributors have achieved in the short time the very short time of developing this theme and we have created a solid default theme that you can and should make your own thank you thank you um we have time for some questions the microphones are to my left and to my right or left right I um I mix those up hey there thank you for your your talk thank you uh I want to um give you some perspective from uh from from a tech blogger you know that does that does that for for passion mhm I always like the idea of default themes and you agree when you say that um it should be a standard approach right everyone should be should say Okay I want that uh um that theme what I noticed in the last years is that uh what I was saying from there is uh it's basic because the more you go the more you see that that the last few years the the themes that are really basic as a design not it's not a bad thing I'm not saying it's a bad thing don't take it as a bad thing I'm saying the design so you see for example it doesn't have so much you know uh thing it it's good for every side so it just uh there's not so many buttons many round many specific um not I'm not sure if my my my point is is it's understandable I hope yes but the the thing is actually it's uh it's really stand there it should be like a bit more you know understandable that I us uh I have found another um block theme that have exactly that uh I'm not connected with that it's a free thing I'm not going to to tell the name here because I don't want to say be said that other time but I I really hope for the next year to see a bit more um how can I say a a bit more um worked on I'm not sure my my I think I get your point um and last but not least I wanted to say that um no that's no no thank you so much for your for your time sorry if I spoke I was thinking with that in the meantime I was saying sorry no okay I I think I know what you what you want to say so yes the design is fairly simple I totally get that the thing is we only had two and a half weeks to design it or designer had only two and a half weeks so it's I think but for the time she had she did an amazing job but I totally get your point that a theme could also be more advanced in design have more uh have a more bold design and um we have or Rich has been uh collecting Rich tab has been collecting ideas yesterday at contributor day and there is an official mood board for 2025 for the next default theme so you can bring in any inspiration that you have to uh the next default theme and tell people like hey this would be a very nice thing to uh actually think about in the next default theme can we make it a more bold design that's that's totally possible uh thank you um I don't see anybody at them yeah there is hello hi um in the in the recent years with all of those new possibilities appearing how to customize the the themes to me um the question more and more arises how much the C concept of a theme itself continues to make sense if like like you just wonderfully showed with just one theme you can already create so many different styles so does do WordPress does WordPress even still need themes like this bundle thing or should it just be an empty canvas which you then just use patterns and all these kind of pieces to create what you need I just was wondering what your thoughts on are on this um that's a very good question thank you I think that we should still have different themes because you cannot put everything into one thing you cannot put a super um light website together with a very fancy design website you could technically you could but the question is how can you um make it easier for users so if you overwhelm them with too many options they will not use it if you give them the opportunity to only use like a photography theme or only use a magazine theme that's easier to customize and easier to like grasp what you can actually do with it that they have a specific use case and I think that's where it should focus because then at the end of the day you will get in hundreds and thousands of patterns the question is is that useful for the user I don't think so because it would be too many options for the user to choose from so that we have different themes we can like um condense down in this specific use case if you have a photography blog where you show your photos you do not need like a pricing page for example a pricing pattern in theory you would need not need to so I think it's still a good idea to have uh different things going on as a within a theme you can make it a theme like 2024 you can do a copyright website and a photography website of course but if you would only have one theme and would try to um put everything into this I think it would be too overwhelming for the user thank you yeah next question yes hello my name is Stefan from Switzerland Hi and hi I appreciate very much your work thank you and I have a little bit experience with uh uh the websites are getting very fast responsive MH for a smartphone and everybody is using a smartphone if it's sitting in a bus in the train and so on but I don't see a theme which really put in the functions for communication for making photos or something like what uh with WordPress and I would know if you think about to make a theme which integrate more functions of smartphones today thank you thank you that's an interesting question I think this slightly overlaps with functionality that a theme cannot cover because the most functionality that how a theme works is actually done in the Gutenberg plug-in so it's in WordPress itself a Blog theme today is only a configuration file don't want to say it but it's actually like it is it's only a configuration file of how what colors do you use what fonts do you use what are the spacings how does a heading look like how does I don't know a quote block look like whatever you can all configure this in a theme in in the theme itself but um what you're talking about is I guess a bit more functionality specifically for mobile and this functionality cannot be covered by a theme it has to be in WordPress itself okay thank you Benard um was there something in the process of creating 2024 you would like to have incore already or is that something you're looking forward to being available for 2025 so some of the features would say ah if I would only have this it would be so much more amazing hover Styles oh yeah hover Styles that's a good one who else wants hover Styles cool yeah that would be great because that was a point we were reaching during the whole process like the designer Bea she uh created a design that was beautiful and different uh hover styles for the buttons and then we have to say sorry but repress can of do H stles and that would be really great to see in 6.7 thank you yeah go hey Jessica this was uh really great so um awesome job today thank you my uh my question is about the next default theme theme is there like one thing or one vibe in particular that you would like to see in the upcoming default theme oh that's a good question I'm not sure if I have an answer to this otherwise it should be great you could design it maybe no um I think some what we have an early question here with being a bit more bold and a bit more um because 2024 had this calm Vibe and I think if we create something that is has a bit more yeah boldness to it I think that would be a cool thing to do yeah sounds good thanks awesome all right thank you so much Jessica one more thank you thank you [Applause], Twenty Twenty-Four: Pushing Default Themes Forward, YouTube, 01ka7czz15zqxrsmqtzdx8nc2p.