Make a wish

hey! is your calendar in a folder? ☺️ if your advent calendar script is in a folder and your header/footer files are somewhere else, you have to adjust the path in your config. I hope it's okay if I write a mini tutorial here directly, because normally (when not in a folder), the script just picks the files automatically.

the reason why it doesn't work for you is probably because the server starts looking from the directory of the current file.

so, for example, if your script is in a folder like event/adventcalendar.php, the server expects the header file in the event folder. you need to tell the server how to move to the correct location. this is kinda a general rule for most php scripts actually, just a tip for the future! ☺️

example 1: header and footer files are outside of the script folder, "one folder back":
📁 home
  ├─ 📄 header.php
  ├─ 📄 footer.php
  └─ 📁 event
          └─ 📄 adventcalendar.php

__DIR__ . '/../header.php'

the .. means 'go up one folder' in the server directory hierarchy.

example 2: header and footer files are two folders back:

📁 home
  ├─ 📄 header.php
  ├─ 📄 footer.php
  └─ 📁 event
          └─ 📁 advent
                  └─ 📄 adventcalendar.php

then you need to go up two folders:

__DIR__ . '/../../header.php'

each ../ steps up one directory.

also, when your header and footer files (and your css) are outside of the script folder, image paths in your css usually need to start with / so the server loads them from the root and not from inside the script folder. for example:
background-image: url('/images/snow.png');

also just a small tip: it's usually easier not to put php scripts deep inside nested folders, because paths can start acting unpredictable really fast.

but the solution above should fix your issues! I hope this helps! feel free to contact me if you need help. ✨

hi matt! there actually already is a starter theme generator for wordpress ☺️ it is called 'underscores', and it creates a blank theme with all the required core files: underscores.me

a more recent starter theme by automattic is 'blockbase', which supports the latest block-based features in wordpress. personally, i am not a big fan of those. i still prefer the old-school approach like underscores.

maybe i will make my own templates in the future, but i don't personally work with wordpress anymore (and neither does danny). wordpress has shifted heavily toward block-based editing and gutenberg, which i am just not really into. 🥲

Hey! Please don't laugh at me, but I use html to make the designs 😂 I make them with html/css & load the overlay.html as a browser source in OBS, record it as a video (.mp4), and cut it afterwards to make them seamless. So.. no After Effects involved. :( XD (I FEEL EXPOSED HAHA) // I included my tutorial as a youtube video!

Hey! Maybe the "locally" part is what makes the Script bug around. Have you tried it on server? You're welcome to reach out to us via Discord or eMail, so we can help you further. :) xoxo

oh, actually we're not using status.cafe here 🥹 we built our own cms that powers the whole site (and all our side projects, like the tutorials), and the status posts and reactions are just one small part of it. would you be interested in a self-hosted php script for that? it'd only work if your host supports php (so no luck on e.g. neocities, sadly). not sure when i'd have time to put it together though, life's a bit hectic atm. 🫠