When creating a new website based on DVG it can be difficult to determine how to handle custom development / configuration.

Change the default layout

When creating a new template for DvG, you have 2 options, using the dvg theme as base theme or using dvg_abc as a startertheme. The latter has active development.

Option 1, using dvg as a base theme

1. Create a new theme (eg dvg_myclient) and place it in sites/all/themes.
2. Use the dvg theme as base theme (base theme = dvg in dvg_myclient.info). By doing so, all theme logic from dvg (template.php and template files) are inherited. By using a child theme you can still override the basic configuration but also benefit from dvg theme updates.
3. It might be good to unset the dvg CSS if you want full control over the layout. This can be done in your child theme template.php:
   

   <?php
   function dvg_myclient_css_alter(array &$css) {
     unset($css[drupal_get_path('theme', 'dvg') . '/css/dvg.css']);
   }?>

Option 2: using dvg_abc as a startertheme

There is currently active development in the dvg_abc theme. You can use this theme and rename it to your template. A base theme is no longer needed.

Change the default configuration

1. DVG uses Features to control configuration. Every change to the dvg (such as adding a field to a content type) makes that the default features become overridden.
2. The Features Override module comes in handy here. You can then create custom Features that contain feature overrides and new items (fields etcetera).