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Unlocking The Power Of SCSS: Efficiently Transforming PSD To WordPress

Unlocking The Power Of SCSS: Efficiently Transforming PSD To WordPress

August 20, 2019Posted By: Vishal Valand

CSS PreprocessoPSD to WordPressWeb Development Process

Introduction

PSD to WordPress with SCSS is a process that many developers follow to create unique, vivid, and highly aesthetic websites. By hiring skilled WordPress developers, you can ensure that your website doesn’t rely on typical templates and stands out.

The effective display of HTML elements on a web page is credited to CSS, a fact well-recognized by WordPress developers. However, as a dedicated WordPress developer, you might encounter challenges when working on large, bulky, or complex sites, especially when it comes to maintaining readable and organized CSS files.

As a developer, it’s not only essential to build the site but also vital to manage its standards and performance. This is why many developers recommend using a preprocessor language such as SASS, highlighting the SCSS advantages.

In the past, creating a WordPress website directly from a PSD was a challenge because it involved a multi-step process: PSD -> HTML -> WP. For years, PSD to WP with CSS has been my preferred method when developing websites. Not only does it save time, but it also saves money.

For years, PSD to WP with CSS has been my preferred method when developing websites. Not only does it save time, but it also saves money.

The SCSS preprocessor helps us address problems that CSS alone can’t. It allows us to use a structural and file-based design, is easy to update, reduces code redundancy, and keeps code lines in an appropriate structure, all part of CSS Compilation and Theme Structural Organization.

In this article, I aim to guide you through the process without delving into command-line configurations or package installations. It’s not meant to teach you Sass or explain its power.

Instead, it’s about integrating it with WordPress, the most common CMS available today and the one we love the most. If you find the process challenging, you can always hire a WordPress developer to assist you.

Process Of Creating An SCSS Structure

Once you have WordPress set up on your server, you need to create an SCSS structure within your theme.

Proper naming of files and directories is crucial, as it greatly affects SCSS comprehension and debugging when other developers need to add or edit features to the theme.

Typically, you’ll want to create an SCSS and CSS directory within your theme assets directory, and you’ll need to specify this path in the compilation plugin, a key part of CSS Compilation.

Here's A Basic Idea Of The Kind Of Structure You'll Need

abstracts

_core.scss
_function.scss
_mixins.scss
_variables.scss

base

_core.scss
_buttons.scss
_fonts.scss
_forms.scss
_normalize.scss
_typography.scss
_utilities.scss

blocks

_block-contact.scss
_block-faqs.scss
_block-gallery.scss
_block-testimonial.scss
_block-services.scss
_block-team.scss

layout

_core.scss
_default.scss
_device-menu.scss
_footer.scss
_header.scss
_navigation.scss

vendors

_core.scss
_fancybox.scss
_slick.scss

Managing Files In The SCSS Directory Structure

The following is the command for file management in the SCSS Directory structure:

Vendor contains all third-party libraries included in the theme for project enhancement.

@import "vendor/vendor-style";

Abstracts contain basic theme elements and core properties that need development.

@import "abstracts/abstracts-style";

Base Styles contain common CSS rules used throughout the project or theme.

@import "base/base-style";

Components contain common buttons

@import "components/components-style";

After successfully creating the structure, you’ll need to add a compilation plugin. You can download the plugin from [here]

(https://wordpress.org/plugins/wp-scss/).

Plugin Installation And Settings

Let me provide some configuration screenshots to help you set up SCSS for your theme or project. You can define the SCSS and CSS directory paths.

Configuration of SCSS for Theme or Project

Configure compilation options for generating CSS files. Here are the recommended settings for your project.

Configuration to generate CSS files

Automatically add the generated stylesheet to the header by enabling the following option.

Enqeuing Options

While development is ongoing, keep the following option enabled: have the SCSS file recompile every time you save changes, which will generate the corresponding CSS.However, once development is completed, please disable this option to reduce the server load. Otherwise, it continuously recompiles the CSS, increasing the server’s resource usage.

Advantages And Disadvantages Of SCSS Over CSS

Advantages Of SCSS Over CSS

SCSS offers several advantages over CSS, and the following are the salient ones:

It lets you set variables, functions, and mixins as needed.
You can write SCSS in a nested view, making it easy to understand and debug, and the compiler can generate CSS with various options like expanded, nested, compact, crunch, and debug.
It results in shorter code, allowing you to write CSS more efficiently.
It makes developing large or complex projects straightforward with minimal complexity.
If you are familiar with CSS, working with SCSS is easy.
It’s compatible with all versions of CSS, so you can use available CSS libraries.

There Are Some Disadvantages To Consider

If developers don’t follow proper naming conventions, it can be challenging to understand the theme’s flow.
SCSS will only compile main directories and files directly to generate CSS, so you must ensure that you import all subdirectory files into the main directory correctly.

Conclusion

SCSS lets you create a clean, organized, and efficient structural base with minimal CSS code. If you’re starting a new WordPress development project with standard designs or plan to add modules in the future, consider using SCSS.

It simplifies handling multiple modules in an organized way, allows basic calculations, facilitates the creation of functions, and lets you reuse multiple CSS properties with a single line of code using mixins.

If you still have questions or challenges with PSD to WP with SCSS, feel free to contact us at hello@zealousweb.com.

We’re here to assist you with all your queries and confusions. Additionally, if you find the PSD to WordPress conversion process challenging, you can always hire a WordPress developer from us to help you out.