Creating a Basic Web Design Template

A "template" is simply a design format which you can apply to all (or most) of the pages in your web site. The first advantage of using a "template" system is that it allows you to make your most important design decisions at the beginning, and then just focus on content. The second advantage is that it allows you to quickly create new pages based on your standard design.

The disadvantage is that many template-based websites look homogenized and seem to lack a unique character. Designers who sell templates tend to use the same formats over and over again, insert the same generic images, and use the same techniques.

Just as important, templates are often not ready-to-go right out of the box. They almost always need modification, and often modifying a professionally prepared template is difficult because the designer will have used techniques you may not fully understand or are specific to the tools he or she used to create it.

So it is preferable not to think of a web template as the kind of thing you buy from an online template store. Rather just think of it as a basic page format that can be used over and over again. The best template is therefore one that uses "standard" techniques that can be modified without the use of specialized tools or programs (like Front Page or Dreamweaver).

Creating a Basic Template

If you are not familiar with web design, try working with a "bare bones" template to begin with. There are two ways you can go. You can work with basic html and tables, or you can create your basic template with CSS. Since CSS is rapidly becoming the new standard, it is probably better to begin with CSS -- especially if you have not yet become used to constructing web pages with tables.

CSS stands for "Cascading Style Sheets", but at the beginning it is not important to understand what that means. What is important is to understand that CSS allows you to create a set of formatting parameters in a "style sheet" (a seperate file) which you then can very easily apply to your individual pages. In other words, you seperate the "style" from the "content".

A simple style sheet can contain just three or four design elements. Here is an example which you are free to copy (right click and "Save target as" to a location on your hard drive, then change its name to "sample-1.css".)

Style Sheet Sample (be sure to change its name to "sample-1.css").

This template contains a definition for the body text, a header component (with a background image), a "navbar", and a definition for two headline styles, h1 and h2.

Now that you have a style sheet you can begin building your web site by creating a basic home page. Here is an example which embeds the style sheet referred to in the previous paragraph. You can get the html code by just opening the page in a browser window, looking at the "Source" code, and saving the resulting file on your hard drive as, for instance, "sample-1.html".

Now you should have two files in the same location on your hard drive -- "sample-1.css" and "sample-1.html". You can get the image file by just right clicking on the image in the sample page and saving it to the same location on your hard drive.

Your second step will be to create the pages referenced in the "navbar", so make sure you think of names for these pages before proceeding (e.g., howitworks.html, products.html, about.html, sitemap.html, contact.html). Then build your hyperlinks into the navbar. (Look at the code of the sample file to see how it is done.)

Once you have your basic home page with links, this then becomes your template. Just save it as "howitworks.html", "products.html", etc., and make the changes to the specific pages.

The result (once you upload it all to your host server) will be a basic, functional website containing a number of properly interlinked pages. It will also be search engine friendly because the design is not cluttered with scripts, and the most important elements are clearly laid out at the top of the page.

For more web design tips and techniques see the Linknet Marketing Resource Library.

Rick Hendershot is a marketing consultant, writer, and internet publisher who lives in Conestogo, Ontario, Canada. He publishes several websites and blogs, including The Linknet Network of Websites. This network provides an inexpensive way to advertise your website, and get as many as 100 low cost links.

---

Custom Website Design - 7 Steps to a More Professional Website

If you are trying to sell a product or service... Read More

How To Design A Web Site

I'm not a professional web site designer and openly admit... Read More

Why You Should Use CSS

It seems more and more webmasters are using CSS for... Read More

How Do You Make A Website?

No, that's not the real question. The real question is... Read More

Meta Tags ? An Introduction

A long, long time ago? In a galaxy far, far... Read More

Eliciting Constructive Website Feedback

"It's good.""You've done a nice job.""I don't like it."At some... Read More

Quality Web Copy is the Key to Success

Many websites make the mistake of being all flash and... Read More

Do You Own Your Web Site Design?

Your web site has been up for a few months... Read More

You Need RSS, Atom, and ROR/RDF Codes on Your Website--Now You Need Google Sitemap as Well!

Do you have a website? If so, you need an... Read More

Web Usability: The Basics

What is web usability & why is it important?Web usability... Read More

Testament To Testimonials

We have all seen websites showcasing their testimonials either spread... Read More

11 Steps to Sticky Web Site!

An attractive and user-friendly Web site is crucial to attracting... Read More

How To Write An Effective FAQ Page

Websites that have multiple pages usually have a Frequently Asked... Read More

What Your Website REALLY Says About You And Why It Matters

Everything you say and do says something about you. This... Read More

How a Custom Designed Website Can Help Your Business

Over the years, the internet has grown into a marvelous... Read More

Get FASTER Download Times By Making BIGGER Web Pages!

As a webmaster you already know how important it is... Read More

Why Use Professional Web Site Designers For Your Next Web Development Project?

Probably you know someone who has created a web site... Read More

Web Design:10 Magnificent Millionaire Dollars Ad Copy Secrets To Empower Your Website..

Hello, how is your website doing?Are sales flowing in?If you... Read More

10 Web Site Design And Writing No-Nos

1. Don't load your web site with a lot of... Read More

Will You Site be a BIG SUCCESS. 7 Reasons Why It Might Not!

With so many new websites going up, it is hard... Read More

Basic Graphic Design

Wether you design your business brochures, flyers, web page, or... Read More

Ten Steps to a Winning Home Page

There's no doubt about it - the first page your... Read More

Using Server Side Includes to Simplify Your Web Design

An "include" file is a piece of code that can... Read More

Why a Website Design Speaks Volumes About Your Company?

Whether a business has just got off the ground or... Read More

Is Your Website Color As Inviting as Your Home? Does Color Really Matter?

We've all read the countless publications about effective web site... Read More

Re-Use The Links You Have When Revising Your Site!

Many times I've seen a web site undergo a revision... Read More

Power of Squeeze Pages for Realtors

Squeeze pages are a very hot topic in the internet... Read More

Free Web Design Advice

In this article I will give advice and tips of... Read More

Quality of Your Text Layout and Design

Why is the quality of your text layout and design... Read More

Building Your Website to Save You Money

Does your website make you any money? Does it SAVE... Read More

Ten Tips For Your Web Site Home Page

1. Loading time:try to be below 20kbless number of imagesspecify... Read More

Increase Sales on Your Website! Use Graphics!

How many times have you clicked on a website only... Read More

6 Tips To Improve Your Business Website

There are six important characteristics that can play a major... Read More