Magento create own package or use default

installationmagentopackagesthemes

The main reason I like creating a fresh package is that it allows you to keep a clean separation between your store themes and the default bundled Magento themes. On the other hand most extensions install layout and template files to app/design/frontend/default/default/ and if your theme is installed under the default package magento will find the extensions frontend files or else you'll have to copy extension files to app/design/frontend/package/default/ always. So it's a little more work using your own package.

I'm curious to see if I'm missing anything else so what are some of the benefits of creating your own theme package in Magento as opposed to using the default package?

Best Answer

First of all, creating a new package is something that Magento Official user guide is required to do.

http://info.magento.com/rs/magentocommerce/images/MagentoDesignGuide.pdf

Here is what it says: "Please ignore legacy Magento instructions and tutorials that instruct you to create your custom theme inside of the default design package, or to edit files in the default/default directory directly. Rather, the method that affords the best upgrade path for your theme and the most protection from accidental changes is to create a new design package and to create your custom theme inside of there."

My personal logic for creating a new package is if Magento requires few store views and they have differences, I need to have my own 'default' theme and that's exactly what I get by creating my own package (Magento will look for files in the my_theme theme in custom design package, then in the default theme and then fallback to the base package)

Related Solutions

Magento theme development base vs default

I do disagree with the solution of Mr Storm.

ref: http://www.magentocommerce.com/knowledge-base/entry/magentos-theme-hierarchy

Those documents recommend You avoid to use the package default (as the base package too)

You have to creating Your own package 'mytheme' and to define a theme 'default'

ref: http://info.magento.com/rs/magentocommerce/images/MagentoDesignGuide.pdf

"Please ignore legacy Magento instructions and tutorials that instruct you to create your custom theme inside of the default design package, or to edit files in the default/default directory directly.

Rather, the method that affords the best upgrade path for your theme and the most protection from accidental changes is to create a new designpackage and to create your custom theme inside of there."

So the correct answer is

app/design/frontend/your-package/default

Do NOT use:

app/design/frondend/default/your-theme

Css – Magento custom css overridden by parent css – using local.xml

Magento will process local.xml file after processing every layout files. So if you want to extend something or need to remove something, local.xml file can be used.

Normally the css files that are included through layout.xml will load at last. Suppose you are trying to load different css files through different layout files. See the demo

LAYOUT FILE         STYLE NAME          HANDLER USED
-----------------------------------------------------
layout1.xml     =>  style1.css      =>  default
                =>  style2.css      =>  cms_page

layout2.xml     =>  style3.css      =>  default

layout3.xml     =>  style4.xml      =>  default
                =>  style5.xml      =>  cms_page


local.xml       =>  style6.xml      =>  default

Note: layout files are shown in the loaded order in Magento.

Here as you can see local.xml file is loaded at last. But it adds style6.css using a handler default. Please note that some of other layout files that are loaded above local.xml file also uses some other handlers. Here layout3.xml and layout1.xml uses cms_page handler to add some css files. Of course those css files only going to load when a cms page is used.

So suppose we loaded a page that uses cms page inside it. Example is home page of Magento. So the order of layout handles there for

ORDER OF LAYOUT HANDLE INVOKES
----------------------------------
        default
        cms_page

Note: Ignores other layout handlers that are using to load 
      home page of magento for the sake of simplicity

Due to this, for the above depicted scenario, styles will loaded in this format

ORDER OF STYLES LOADING
------------------------
style1.css
style3.css
style4.css

style6.css (style that we added through local.xml)

style2.css
style5.css

Why this order

Magento first consider default handler. Then it will add css files that are specified under default handler from layout files. Layout files will be processed in the order they are loaded. After loaded all css files that are added through default handler, magento now consider cms_page handler and the process continues. So in our case, above css file order will generate and will load them in that order.

Specific to this problem

Here it seems that styles.css is added after your css file. This will not happen normally. That is because styles.css is added via page.xml file and through default handler. So it will loaded first before your css file loaded. So there must some wierd thing happens in your case for sure.

Special NOte: You dont want use this code

 <action method="addCss"><stylesheet>css/wc_styles.css</stylesheet></action>

in your local.xml file. This is enough

<?xml version="1.0"?>
<layout>
    <default>
    <reference name="head">
        <action method="addItem">
            <type>skin_css</type>
            <file>css/wc_styles.css</file>
        </action>
    </reference>
    </default>
</layout>