AI-generated summary
Users share their preferred Discourse themes, with Foundation being the most common choice. kairo162, NateDhaliwal, singi2016cn, and asa all prefer Foundation for its familiarity and simplicity, often using it across mobile and desktop or in full-width mode.
Others opt for custom or branded solutions. nickdb is launching a custom theme built on the new blocks API to ensure consistency across devices and seamless updates. satonotdead uses a custom Horizon variant with retro/brutalist elements and mentions considering an ultra-lightweight classic view. Some users, like NateDhaliwal, mix themes, using Meta Branded on desktop and Foundation on mobile.
The discussion also clarifies terminology: merefield suggests “Theme” is more idiomatic than “interface,” noting that some extensions go beyond simple theming (e.g., terminal clients). Lilly agreed with this distinction and edited the topic title accordingly.
2 Likes
Built our own based on the new blocks api. Going live tomorrow. Being able to create a consistent experience across mobile and desktop surfaces was important. The latest view automatically refreshing for new posts and translations is just more seamless.
Use cases vary but, for ours, a clean and intuitive theme can only be achieved by customisation.
1 Like
Arguably the “interface” doesn’t change much between instances. I think it might be better to use the idiomatic word “Theme”.
That said there are a few “apps” and other interfaces that go well beyond theming.
eg > termcourse: read & post on Discourse instances from the terminal
I like the Meta Branded style, I noted that we share some of their overall design (headings in Inter, violet palette as the primary color) from before they implemented it.
In the forum I’m about to re-launch we use a custom Horizon, and we are about to launch our branded version as well, with a fusion of retro/old-school and comic-style brutalist elements. Subtle, along with the unification of several components that we will integrate into our main theme.
I also like Foundation, but I got used to modern interfaces, and I no longer feel comfortable with such simple styles. I am also thinking about keeping a classic view with categories like forums used to be, ultra-lightweight and almost without images. For now, it’s on the backlog; everything is moving very fast, and priorities have to be set.
1 Like
I use Foundation usually, like on mobile here on Meta (but use Meta Branded on desktop). I don’t reslly lile the UI for Horizon, so I’d tend towards the forum’s default theme (something custom) or Foundation.
agreed. edited title.
1 Like
Foundation(full-width)
I always use Foundation, whether here or on my installation. It’s the most familiar to me and I “feel at home” 