Custom Web sites built on SharePoint are cropping up everywhere (just visit topsharepoint.com to see). With that said, my question pertains to creating a fully customized, branded site using SharePoint as the CMS as depicted by many of the topsharepoint.com sites.
I understand the concept of creating the custom master master page(s) (SharePoint 2010 even includes a minimal.master to start). The problems I have are:
- What site template does one use? In 2007 the recommended front-facing Web site site collection template was the Publishing Portal. Is this still the case?
- What navigation do you use? Do you leverage the OOB navigation? If so, how do you style it extensively?
- How do you keep the on-page editing capabilities within the new site template?
- Are there any online tutorials are walk-throughs that address all of these issues? I have been searching, but it's really sparse out there.