Chapter 3. Branding SharePoint with Custom Master Pages and Page Layouts
In this chapter, we will use SharePoint Designer 2013 to create and customize master pages and page layouts. We will cover the following recipes:
Editing a master page in SharePoint Designer
Changing the site master pages in SharePoint Designer
Hiding unwanted master page controls
Restoring the Navigate Up button using a master page
Adding JavaScript and cascading stylesheet references to a master page
Creating a fixed width master page
Creating an expanding width master page with content padding
Creating a minimalistic master page
Creating a responsive mobile master page
Customizing the Windows 8 Start menu tile for pinning sites using a master page
Customizing the shortcut icon (favicon) using a master page
Creating a page layout with three columns of web part zones
Creating a page layout with web parts added to the page
Creating a page layout with a picture-library-based image carousel using JavaScript
Displaying specific content only to authenticated users
Displaying specific content only to anonymous users
Displaying specific content only to site administrators
Creating a master page with editing controls only available to editors
Introduction
With the 2.0 release of ASP.NET (.NET Framework 2.0), Microsoft added the concept of master pages. Master pages are used by ASP.NET web applications to provide a template, which the content pages use when rendering content. These master pages can also be nested, allowing for a main template with subtemplates used in different contexts. In addition, there is no limit to the number of master pages an ASP.NET web application can use. Being built on ASP.NET, SharePoint utilizes master pages for nearly every page rendered.
In addition to master pages, SharePoint uses page layouts to provide templates for creating content pages. Page layouts provide the content layout for a SharePoint page within the confines of the master page. The following diagram shows the SharePoint content page structure: