Themes
If you have scanned the Elgg directory structure, then you have not found a directory labeled themes
. This is because in Elgg, a theme is a plugin. Themes live in the same directory as plugins. They have the structure of plugins. They are activated like plugins. This is unlike many of the web applications that you may have used in the past.
Since a theme is a plugin, you may be wondering where the theme plugin distributed with Elgg is. There isn't one. The default theme is built into Elgg. You do not turn off the default theme and replace it with another theme. Instead, a theme plugin modifies the default theme. To use an analogy, theming with Elgg is like remodeling a house rather than building a new one. Painting the rooms of the house can create a very different look. You can also rip out some walls if the floor plan does not match what you want. The amount of work depends on how different the current house is from your dream home. The same is true for theming. You can achieve a...