I would like to deploy a web template which has absolutely no dependency with the created site so that I could retract the web template solution from the farm, and the sites created with it would continue working.
How can I ensure that there is no dependencies between the web template solution package and the created site collections?
I am trying to only provision content: Add a new Default.aspx (I'm creating the web template from STS#0), add a master page, add list instances and web parts.
When you create a site using a Web Template there is no dependency from that site to the Web Template that created it, that's one of the major differences between Site Templates and Web Templates.
BUT the Web Template may use custom features which then create a dependency between the Site and the solution(s) containing these features. These dependencies may come from the fact that the features contains <Module> elements which provisions files and the site then becomes dependent on these files existing in the file system as long as the files are uncustomized or they may contain List definitions.
If you want a custom page and master page, but with no dependency to the feature, then you have to create the page and master page using code.
