4 min read
Status update on TPL Edit - Our new theme engine for the future of e-commerce
Timeline and future steps
We have some customers who will need to have accessible websites as of 28 June 2025 as required by law. As this means some changes to our existing themes, we will make these changes in our new TPL themes. These themes will be available to all customers. However, we do not have a "hard" launch date but will roll out the updates gradually.
We have put a lot of effort into developing TPL Edit to identify the right requirements. Since the start of the project, we have explored different technical solutions and decided on the path that best meets, for example, our performance and availability requirements, but also the company's internal needs. We have also tested and adapted the platform in real customer projects to ensure that TPL Edit meets actual needs rather than just theoretical specifications or wish lists. So we will continue to work for a while longer, at least over the summer, to make sure we build the right solution.
After the summer, the next milestone is a closed evaluation with more customers involved, and then an open beta, and development of more themes. We don't have a date for when the closed evaluation and open beta will happen - it depends on the feedback we get along the way.
Current projects and client collaborations
Right now we have two active projects where we use TPL Edit to build pages. The first project is a simple website for one of Textalk's other products, Prenly. The goal of this project was to get basic technology in place and tested in the real world, without having to spend time on webshop functionality.
Our second project is a real webshop with a lot of customization for a customer with unique needs. The goal of this project is to make sure that TPL Edit is flexible and versatile and doesn't have to stay within the confines of a standard solution. This theme does not have an editor, but is customized as needed. More information about this customer will be available once the project is launched.
We are now in the starting blocks for our third project. In parallel, we are now developing a tool to make settings in the theme without code, as well as a default theme that will be available to all customers.
Through these projects, we ensure that TPL Edit is of high quality and adapted to real needs.
Interface development and technical benefits
Work on developing a good editor for themes is in full swing. One requirement we have for our new theme editor is that you should be able to see the results of your changes immediately, meaning that every time you make a change to the theme, you will immediately see how it affects your store. A graphic editor is a prerequisite before we can start opening up TPL for Abicart to more customers.
For those who are curious about the technical side, we can tell you that the new themes are more traditionally web-based, which means that it will be much easier for you to customize HTML and CSS without having to understand the inner workings of the theme engine. You'll have direct access to the source code via your browser, and you'll be able to edit themes using knowledge of HTML, CSS and a simple templating language called Twig. You don't need to know technologies like JavaScript, SCSS, React or other frameworks.
Conclusion
We look forward to offering you a more powerful and flexible platform with TPL Edit. However, there is still some way to go before it will be visible to the outside world. Stay tuned for more updates and don't hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns. We have worked hard to ensure that TPL Edit meets all modern requirements and your needs, and lays a good foundation to stand on for many years to come.