photoblog with movable type, help.

August 19, 2005 8:06 AM

What are good sites/resources for figuring out how to customize MovableType templates for photoblogs? I'm finding it difficult without a WYSIWYG editor, or photoblog templates to base it on.

I am interested in the non-scrolling one-photo-a-day blogs with simple menus, and archives that are sortable by category, like dailysnap, owl and dragon, and EXP.

posted by xo to computers & internet (11 comments total)

I'd recommend ditching MovableType and trying out PixelPost which is desinged to create just what you're looking for.

Check out the demo on their site.

I just installed it for my brother's new photoblog, and it's perfect for this.
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:00 AM on August 19, 2005

What is it with these things? Both pixelpost and the other PHP photoblog software whose name escapes me have websites emptied for maintenance. Gragh.
posted by bonaldi at 9:05 AM on August 19, 2005

I just did this for a friend with MT. Though she has fondled it a little more than I like, if it is close to what you are looking for I would be happy to send you a set of generic templates to customize.

My contact info is in my profile.
posted by cedar at 9:07 AM on August 19, 2005

PhotoStack! That's it. It looks great, but the version I installed didn't work, and the site is devoid of information beyond vapourware promises.
posted by bonaldi at 9:29 AM on August 19, 2005

Oh, and from the looks of it, Owl and Dragon is using PixelPost, too.
posted by Robot Johnny at 9:45 AM on August 19, 2005

It's really not that hard, here's my approach to designing a photoblog (or any blog, for that matter):

1. Design a page how you'd like it to look in photoshop

2. Code up your mockup in HTML

3. Review the MT documentation to figure out where to replace your HTML with $MTEntryFoo$ tags.

That's it!
posted by mathowie at 11:12 AM on August 19, 2005

Um, Pixelpost is not empty; the "download" link works! Having just installed PP for a family photo gallery, I'd recommend it over MT for photoblogging simply because it's more focused - that's all it does, and the user forums are filled with links to alternate templates that are basically plug and play as well as tips and other discussion. If, like me, you'd prefer to use MT because you want to integrate it with the rest of your site (or for whatever reason), I recommend Learning Movable Type's Creating a Photo Album; in addition to her tutorial, Elise links to a number of other resources, including templates and other tutorials.
posted by deliriouscool at 12:36 PM on August 19, 2005

StopDesign's Douglas Bowman has a very nice photo gallery done with Movable Type, and a detailed description of how he set it up.
posted by kirkaracha at 1:00 PM on August 19, 2005

I'd recommened Pixelpost as well. I've used several different CMS for my photoblog and pixelpost has been by far the best. It's quite easy to use. It is being actively worked on, despite most of the site being reworked. The download link should be active and the forums are pretty busy as well.

That said, I'd be quite interested in some MT template resources as well. I just set up a MT installation and am trying to achieve a specific look while having no real skill.
posted by sinical at 1:01 PM on August 19, 2005

PixelPost aside, Matt's suggestion sounds overly simple, but it really is the best way to get to know MT. You'll need to know some HTML and CSS to have any competent control over your templates, but MT really is as easy as plopping in custom tags to an html file where you want things to go.
posted by Robot Johnny at 1:25 PM on August 19, 2005

I was going to post the link to StopDesign, but I see that kirkaracha beat me to it. Another suggestion is to play around with Adobe GoLive2; it has native support for all of Movable Type's template tags, so you can design your whole site from within GoLive, and it'll write your templates for you.

(And seriously, related to all the Pixelpost answers: why do people continue to not answer the questions asked, but rather suggest alternatives to the basis for the question? It gets a bit old. It'd be as if I asked how to wire my iPod to my Subaru stereo, and everyone told me to ditch the Subaru and get a BMW...)
posted by delfuego at 2:04 PM on August 19, 2005