SharePoint 2010 Starter Master Page
Guest Author: Kyle Schaeffer
KyleSchaeffer.com
I’ve been working a lot lately with the SharePoint 2010 product, and I have to say that my first impression as a designer has been really positive. Microsoft has embraced many of the things we’ve been asking for (including a DOCTYPE declaration!), and you’ll find that creating themes and branding the SharePoint 2010 product is easier than ever before.
As with SharePoint 2007, templates are a great way to get started in crafting your own SharePoint 2010 design. I’ve created a starter master page that I’ve been using, which includes a clean and formatted master page and comments to let you know what each SharePoint control actually does. This is a combination of Microsoft’s v4.master file and Randy Drisgill’s starter master pages he’s put out on Codeplex.
So, without further adieu…
Minimal Starter Master Page
Only the base controls you’ll need to render a SharePoint 2010 master page.
Fixed Ribbon Starter Master Page
The exact same version as above, but with a few added DIV tags that allow the SharePoint 2010 ribbon control to be fixed to the browser window.
Guest Author: Kyle Schaeffer
KyleSchaeffer.com
Kyle is a designer, speaker, and blogger living in Williamsburg, Virginia. He is a Senior SharePoint Consultant at SusQtech, where he has years of experience creating and implementing user experiences on the SharePoint platform. An advocate of simple and elegant web design, Kyle shares lessons learned and best practices on his blog, KyleSchaeffer.com.
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Hi,
I think the links are broken, I get a 404 type error.
The links to these text files aren’t working. Anyone else having a problem?
Same result here
Sorry everyone. Please try the links again. They should be working now.
Thanks,
Natasha
Works now, Thanks!
Are there any notable differences in this masterpage compared to Randy his?
Hi, Nico. Yes, there are some major differences between my starter master and the one that Randy Drisgill has placed on Codeplex. I initially created this starter master because I was getting errors on my SharePoint site when using Randy’s starter master page. I think these errors have been resolved in subsequent releases of his master on Codeplex. Other than that, here are the major differences:
Many fewer DIV tags present when compared with Randy’s master. These tags are not required, and I find it easier to start without them.
More compact <head> section of the master page.
Alternate (publishing-centric) top navigation menu and utilizing the top navigation place holder.
Please note that I don’t intend for my starter master page to be a substitute for Randy’s. I still use his master from time to time…this is merely another tool in our toolbox as designers. I like to start with mine when I’m doing a comprehensive design, where I’m breaking the entire SharePoint user interface and building it back up again from scratch. If I’d rather do a simple design that is really just a re-skin of the SharePoint interface, I’d probably start with Randy’s instead. It just depends on what type of site you’re building and how you intend to design it on the whole.
Best of luck! Thanks for the comments.
Thanks Kyle for the answer. I’ll be sharing you post here for sure.
Updated my minimal master pages today with a new hidden placeholder (PlaceHolderSiteName). This is only required if you are creating a master page that will also be used as the “system” master page, but it doesn’t hurt to include it regardless of how you are using your master. There was an issue, specifically on the site collection features page, that this should resolve.