Feature: #108539 - Introduce default theme "Camino" 

See forge#108539

Description 

A new default theme has been added. Its main purpose is to build new sites more rapidly in TYPO3 v14.

The name Camino (spanish "the way") was chosen as v14 development series, marking the first steps on the way to a glorious future for TYPO3.

It serves to show that a new site in TYPO3 can be set up within minutes, being customizable (at least in a limited way), without having to rely on any external library, and to avoid ANY error message for newcomers to TYPO3.

Camino will be packaged for new installations by default and can be activated for new sites alongside existing sites.

The theme shows off basic page structures as well as some default content elements - completely without any third-party dependencies nor requiring the "Fluid styled content" extension.

The rough structure of the theme:

  • Four different color schemes can be selected in the site settings
  • The main menu structure and footer structure can be configured on the root page inside the backend layout / colPos positions
  • Common content elements for a Hero area and regular content is available
  • Minimal configuration is handled in TypoScript

The theme is not meant to evolve within TYPO3, as it will be moved to TER/Packagist/GitHub in a separate repository in v15.0. In v15.x a new theme will be added with more modern features, and it will utilize features that will be added during v15.x development.

The theme is 100% optional and encapsulated - existing setups will have no interference.

The theme will be fine-tuned before the TYPO3 v14 LTS release, specific documentation for its features will be provided in the theme's documentation.

Installation 

For now, the theme is the same as a regular TYPO3 extension.

On fresh classic-mode installations, the theme will be enabled by default. A new site and a first page will be created, which can be used to insert content.

On Composer-mode installations, the package typo3/theme-camino needs to be required, and a fresh installation will also create the site and a first page.

For existing installations, the theme must be enabled first (depending on the TYPO3 setup) either via extension manager, or by requiring the Composer package.

Once the "extension" is activated, the steps to enable the Camino frontend are:

  • Create a new root page in the Content > Layout page tree. Be sure to edit the created page properties and enable Behavior > Use as Root Page .
  • This will automatically create a new Site. Check Sites > Setup to see the created Site. Edit that Site's properties. In General > Sets for this Site ensure that the Theme: Camino Site set is added as a dependency.
  • (Depending on the TYPO3 setup, TYPO3 caches might need to be cleared)
  • Then edit the created root page properties via Content > Layout again, and pick Camino: Start page from the tab Appearance > Backend Layout (this page only).
  • Now the Camino theme will be applied to the site. Content can be added in the specific columns, and sub-pages can be created (ensure to set the backend layout of subpages to the appropriate Camino backend layout, either Camino: Content page (full-width) or Camino: Content page (with sidebar).
  • A custom logo can be set in root page properties Appearance, just above the backend layout picker.
  • In Sites > Setup, the Site set configuration can be accessed to adjust the color scheme and further options.

Impact 

A default frontend theme is now available. It can be easily activated in the TYPO3 installation process, or also be enabled afterwards.

It is dependency-free and provides and utilizes site sets.