This is a really useful tool if you are experienced in Dreamweaver but new to Joomla.

Yes, it is a bit pricey but worth it as it saved me hours and hours of work and grief. By the time I had gone through the 2+ hours of tutorials (which took about 2 days as I was creating my template whilst doing it) I had advanced weeks in my knowledge.

Do the full video tutorials they are totally worth it, the tool is just a useful back up to them. Yes you could learn this all yourself but it would be the hard way. This way isn't exactly the easy way but very do-able, well structured, challenging learning.

I love it. Everthing is structured and I love the J-CSS feature. Can't wait to try it on a project.

The tool is a great time saver from having to write out so much code but it does nothing you can't do on your own. So if you know how to code then save your money.

The site advertises the cost is for the tool and the training videos you need. However the videos spend most of the time covering topics that are available in the Joomla Docs. The other time is spent explaining pretty obvious features of the extension.

In all honesty I feel the extension over complicates the process of making a Joomla template.

If you want to save time writing a few lines of code I recommend the extension. However I suggest you learn the inner workings of the Joomla system by reading the Joomla Docs and just do it yourself.

1. Have just a bit of CSS experience. If you do not, research www.w3schools.com for the required info.
2. Are a designer that simply wants to know about Joomla! templates. (this was me)
3. Use Dreamweaver for creating/editing websites.

The folks that felt it necessary to leave bad comments for this extension do not understand its use. The videos, regardless of whether or not they could use a bit of further editing, are the single best videos I have seen for explaining how Joomla! works. Serious. The extension is great, does what it says, but the videos, the sample_layout.html and the JCSS_Designer are worth the price alone. Lots of time and effort went into this, and it saved me lots of time and effort. Time I don't have.

I do not know you Brian, but you did a good job. I would like to see more video tutorials. Very straight forward. Good luck!

Thanks,
chromahoen

Good Product. Some buggy issues but seems to work with CS4 Ok. I like the ease of its use and the layout structure of the product. Yeah the videos are kind of 2nd rate however they do cover the product so that you can get the hang of the product. Actually I appreciate that author isn't afraid to show that he is human. Shows humbleness. I like the css layout structure and will use it from here on. All in all I would buy this product again and its worth the money.

This is so worth the money. It takes a bit of getting used to if you are not a code expert but if you keep at it you will love it. I highly recommend it!

I must say the following:
To be honest, I tried reading ebooks on Joomla templates and how to build them manually, but they were long, not comprehensive enough, and quite frankly needed good knowledge of the whole system, CSS, XHTML and some PHP.
If you know all of the above, you will NOT need to waste your time or money over this tool.

In case you have no idea how to approach Joomla templates, but willing to learn, and know how to use dreamweaver and have some knowledge of CSS - not only will this tool help you build templates in no time, sooner than you think you will learn how the whole system works.

100 USD is not a bargain, so you do expect to find some serious people behind this script, updates, and most importantly support.

For my 100 USD I got fairly fast support via the forums. Many times the admin gave me support over than he is required to (fair is fair - he gave a bit more). Updates are great - and the videos are very informative.

First, let me say that if you have no idea how to code in xhtml/css, then this is probably not for you. Then again, you should probably be using a pre-built template.

If however, you are fairly proficient in using Dreamweaver, xhtml and css, and just need to know how to use it to create a Joomla 1.5 template, then you've hit the motherload!

It is a shining example of what an extension should be. It fits a specific need, installs flawlessly, and is documented better than any extension I have ever seen.

Yes, it is commercial, and right now, runs around $100 which in my humble opinion, pays for itself in the very first template you create. Gone are the days of purchasing an overly complicated commercial template, then tediously trying to modify it to fit your needs. In the time it previously took me to try and hack an existing template, I had a template designed that perfectly fit my needs, without a lot of extraneous styles that I wouldn't use.

This includes several very detailed videos, which will take you awhile to get through, but it is an invaluable education that you can use over and over and sooooooo worth it.

Kudos to the developer for building the absolute perfect template building system. Thank you!

I love these template tutorial videos. Thanks a lot for great work,
Lewis

This product has greatly simplified my life. The time spent to create a template has been cut in half and this extension for dreamweaver is extremely intuitive. It installs very easily and is well worth the money spent. Great job!

I am not going to pretend that someone who does not know how to use Dreamweaver is going to find this useful.

BUT... for those of us who have coded in HTML/CSS, and enjoy using Dreamweaver, this really is the mut's nuts.

I am not normally one to be so enthusiastic, but credit where credit is due.

It does exactly what it says on the tin, and on the way everything you ever wanted to know about joomla and were afraid to ask is revealed.

I really had to scrape the cents together to get this, and I am absolutely delighted.

The documentation is excellent, the videos are great and very friendly. I seriously recommend the manual, well written and you learn so much about how joomla works let alone this DW extention.

Frankly, Joomla should be paying this guy, what you learn here in an afternoon, you could spend a year working your way through the wiki joomla documentation to find out :-)

Bottom line, if you care about making your own original templates for joomla and your clients, and you use dreaweaver... go without food, drink and dr*gs until you can afford this extension. It is indespensible!

I have been using this product for past year, upgrading to the new version was an obvious choice. I know there are some free options out there; however, they do not come close to Joomla Template kit. The development time you will save in your first project will pay for this product.

In addition to a great product, the provided support, online tutorials are above expectation, in fact, Media 65 have raised the bar for other providers. My words fall short; so just visit their site and see their product videos yourself.

Media 65, congratulations on a job well done and Thank you!

Let me start with the bad stuff.
The download is nearly half a gigabite and it won't download with a download manager. Their server is slow too so getting the product after you pay for it may be quite frustrating.
The Manual is online only and not downloadable and again, their server can be slow. But the manual content is well organized and presented and seems to be updated regularly.
Now the good stuff.
If you need to design templates for Joomla and have no idea where to start then this is the place. 99.99% of the interminable download is a set of videos which literally pull apart the guts and theory of a Joomla template so that even before you start discovering the extension itself you are well armed with some pretty neat stuff about what you are going to be doing. Multiple taemplates per site and conditional statements to show positions. The videos cover both the extension and the Joomla options in the backend which is a real bonus.
When you do get to the video covering the use of the extension itself you are taken theough an intriguing 50+ minute voyage of discovery which builds a template from scratch and you are off and away.
You will need a pretty good basic grasp on CSS but without it you could cope because the sample template shipped inside the extension itself is very customizable.
On the support website is another great video which takes you set by step through a conversion of an existing HTML page to a Joomla template.
So with what Brian provides you should be in the template development business quite quickly but another bonus of this package is that it tells you where to start looking for the more advanced stuff relating to the deeper elements of Joomla.
Another bad thing is that your $100 will only buy you one year of updates and support. After that you need to buy again. That's a great pity and the policy should be changed!

This product not only allows fast and effective template creation, the included videos help you understand the inter workings of the entire process. Quite simply the best tool of template creation for Joomla I've ever used. Excellent support also.

I research and research and finally I feel very comfortable with Designing Templates for Joomla.

At first, after viewing the 2.1 Videos, I was a little disappointed, but after installing the software and watching the VideoSet 1 Videos for 3.0, I'm glad I made the choice of purchasing the extension. I am very satisfied with the extension and the manual and JSS Designer html reference file. Awesome Tool!!!

Having purchased an earlier version a couple of years ago - I thought I'd try version 3.

I paid and downloaded the file - unfortunately an earlier version had been left in my download profile.

Unfortunately, v3, in my opinion, is difficult to use with only two templates available to base new designs upon. These are built with a number of different CSS files - it is difficult to understand the CSS.

Consequently, it is very difficult make changes easily to these templates.

This product is feature rich and provides the quickest set of tools I have seen to create great templates. I do not design templates and have used many of the same ones you have used like RT, JA, etc.

I found this program and decided to give it a shot. The template make is, by far, the best utility I have ever bought for Joomla.

The product includes a very clean and easy to understand video seminar/teaching guide.

Support
The support is very responsive and understanding of someone diving into template making. He is fast, concerning, friendly and knowledgeable.

Product
Installs very ease. Buttons and template making are literally 5 buttons away. From there you are on your way to designing the module layout. It even comes with a fully functioning, complete, template.

Price
Well within reason for what you are getting. Should not be an issue. Once you see it and your PC you will thank the developer!

My hat is off to m65.net

In the IT profession there's a field called Rapid Application Development. Tools used for such are a/o Visual Basic/C etc.
Now we have something really cool that will help developing a Joomla template at almost the speed of thought - you still have to click a few buttons, right ;)
Hence, Rapid Template Development.
The kit does what it's supposed to do. Judging the kit on the sound quality of the tutorials and giving it a bad rating doesn't do any justice to the kit itself. The kit is superb!

Probably geared toward the patient, very patient. As mentioned in another review, the audio is often times choppy, rendering some remarks unintelligible. Who is at fault I do not know - maybe Mozilla, maybe Adobe, maybe Camtasia, maybe the author's equipment. Regardless of the audio shortcoming, and while the author obviously has good intentions, someone else (a professional) should conduct the tutorials.

The author often jumped from point to point so quickly I was still looking at the Dreamweaver screen and had to rewind the video to catch up - a script is desperately needed.

I spent a lot of time researching this extension, and finally bit the bullet and purchased it. It was a huge mistake! If you are already experienced at making Joomla templates, and you are looking for a tool to help you do it, then this may be a good fit for you.

But if you are like me, someone who has developed several websites with Joomla and feel comfortable with it, but are looking for a user friendly template creator, then stay away from this extension. Run away!

The "tutorial" video is so amateurish that I rebooted my system several times, thinking it was a problem on my end. The audio is absolutely horrible. Many times, the audio quits before the film segment does. The developer seemed to be teaching off the cuff, with no prepared script or idea of what he was going to talk about. Finally, every new feature and version that he promises is always "coming soon" but never seems to arrive.

I wish someone had been honest enough to include these things in their glowing reviews. It might have saved me $100. Oh - by the way - no refunds.