The initial hesitation I almost always receive from web designers is "What is the difference of creating themes on NationBuilder versus a platform I'm already comfortable with?". This is a superb question. It's also one of my favorite to answer.
I love discussing this topic because, for the moment, it relieves the need for a technology tirade. Instead, the focal point becomes the philosophy of designing "the NationBuilder way". Understanding the root cause of why our customers use the platform in the first place paves the direction of development and design.
Designing for action
There is a certain school of thought when it comes to brewing themes on NationBuilder. It's not about designing a sparkly flyer or compiling a bunch of slick animations that leave no room for engagement. It's about using brevity and aesthetic to tell a compelling story that motivates activity as quickly as possible.
The majority of our customers have a clear set of goals that need translation into a visually stunning design. This is achieved by stimulating these goals with a way for the site's visitor to get involved in some capacity. Whether it be a signup form, a donation prompt, a pledge button, or even a "read more" suggestion, the big idea entails designing with the notion of call and response.
Building for extensibility
By developing a NationBuilder theme, you're creating just that: a theme. The theme becomes an ecosystem's design recipe that maintains consistency as the site evolves and the community grows.
The benefit of separating theme from content is to alleviate "code fright" for customers wanting to edit their own content or add additional pages to their site. The dynamic shell provided by the theme allows someone not versed in HTML or CSS to add diverse slices of functionality in a far more intuitive way. These slices will then inherit the customized design that intends to captivate and charm an audience.
Although the technical comprehension plays a major role in how to design and develop within the NationBuilder framework, the ideological comprehension is equally as important.
