A single column main body theme layout would likely have many uses ... I think it would be fine to not have a left or right column sidebar provided you are going forward with the footer "sidebar" capable of handling widgets ... which would also preclude you from removing the Appearance | Widgets menu item as it would them remove core functionality from the end-users options. Although having no widget areas whatsoever is not strictly against the guidelines (at least not that I recall any interpretations to that effect) I wouldn't recommend it, but I definitely would skew the design towards it in this case.<br>
<br>A clear "Theme Description" stating there are "no sidebars aka left or right column(s)" or something similar would be strongly recommended ... but even that would not be a requirement, just a nice-to-do for your potential end-users.<br>
<br><br clear="all">Cais.<br>
<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 5:32 PM, Amy Hendrix <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:sabreuse@gmail.com" target="_blank">sabreuse@gmail.com</a>></span> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
I agree (and I'd support the change in core) -- we show the Header and<br>
Background menu items conditionally so we don't have to show an ugly<br>
"ha ha your theme can't do this!" page, and widgets should behave the<br>
same way.<br>
<br>
On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 5:25 PM, Justin Tadlock<br>
<div class="HOEnZb"><div class="h5"><<a href="mailto:justin@justintadlock.com">justin@justintadlock.com</a>> wrote:<br>
> Honestly, core should really remove this menu item if the the current theme<br>
> doesn't support widgets. I don't see any reason for it to be displayed and<br>
> consider it a UI/UX fail.<br>
><br>
> On 8/31/2012 4:07 PM, Otto wrote:<br>
>><br>
>> Question because I haven't tried it lately: If there's no<br>
>> register_sidebar in a theme, does Appearance->Widgets even show up?<br>
>><br>
>> - If not, then I can see a case being made for it to be optional to<br>
>> use it at all, but required if you make "sidebars" of any stripe.<br>
>> - If Appearance->Widgets always appears regardless, then it should<br>
>> just be required.<br>
>><br>
>> Having a sidebar or not is a stylistic choice. Supporting the core<br>
>> functionality displayed to the user isn't.<br>
>><br>
>> -Otto<br>
>><br>
>><br>
>><br>
>> On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 3:54 PM, Chip Bennett <<a href="mailto:chip@chipbennett.net">chip@chipbennett.net</a>><br>
>> wrote:<br>
>>><br>
>>> My initial thought is that dynamic sidebar content - either as a<br>
>>> traditional<br>
>>> "sidebar", or in the footer - is *expected* end-user functionality for<br>
>>> Themes, and as such should be required.<br>
>>><br>
>>> At the very least, it makes sense to me that the functionality be<br>
>>> included<br>
>>> as *required* in the guidelines. Themes that have valid reasons for<br>
>>> omitting<br>
>>> this functionality can still request an exception.<br>
>>><br>
>>> Chip<br>
>>><br>
>>> On Fri, Aug 31, 2012 at 3:48 PM, Justin Tadlock<br>
>>> <<a href="mailto:justin@justintadlock.com">justin@justintadlock.com</a>><br>
>>> wrote:<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> I've been thinking about the requirement for dynamic sidebars for a<br>
>>>> while.<br>
>>>> <a href="http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review#Theme_Features" target="_blank">http://codex.wordpress.org/Theme_Review#Theme_Features</a><br>
>>>><br>
>>>> For the most themes, this makes sense. If your theme has sidebars (most<br>
>>>> do), use the functions in place to do so.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> Right now, I'm building a minimalistic blogging theme that focuses<br>
>>>> solely<br>
>>>> on the content. But, I'm undecided if I want to add sidebars. If<br>
>>>> anything,<br>
>>>> the theme would support a sidebar in the footer area. It just depends<br>
>>>> on<br>
>>>> whether it fits into the design.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> I think this is one of those times where an exception would be okay.<br>
>>>> But,<br>
>>>> I'd like to just get everyone's thoughts on it beforehand.<br>
>>>><br>
>>>> You can follow the development of the theme here (it's a long way from<br>
>>>> being ready):<br>
>>>> <a href="https://github.com/justintadlock/just-me" target="_blank">https://github.com/justintadlock/just-me</a><br>
>>>> _______________________________________________<br>
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>>><br>
>>><br>
>>><br>
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