From the category archives:
WEB 2.0 templates
Display Your Email Newsletter Perfectly With HTML
HTML formatted email can look just like a web page. We’re talking everything from layout, graphics, active links, colorful fonts, interactive form, charts you name it. Combined, this allows the customer to interact with the brand and its identity in a way that no other medium can offer. Needless to say Outlook Express, Netscape Communicator, Hotmail, AOL, Yahoo and most popular email clients support HTML also.
Used properly graphics and visual imagery in ads can also be more effective. How? One way is through the use of related technologies such as Cascading Style Sheets that can better assist you in structuring such concepts as grouping.
Containment is the technique of tying related elements together with in a box. The box can either be visible (with a border or background color of some sort,) or it can be invisible which involves putting your material in close proximity and keeping a moat of while space around the group. Content is then laid out in a way that’s more visually appealing, and much easier to scan and navigate, than plain text email.
Such practices are invaluable when trying to get your most important points across, which isn’t always an easy task especially in terms of email. Grouping is also one of the main tools used by the brain to simplify a complex situation.
Creating an HTML email is simple, there are many advanced mailing list management script such as add2it mailman phplist that make it easier to write send and manage your HTML messages to your list of subscribers. Phplist in particular (which is what I use and recommend all my clients to use) is great for newsletters, publicity lists, notifications, and many other uses.
Phplist also has a built in WYSIWYG HTML editor that allows you to create and view your HTML message even before you send it out, though I prefer using an actual HTML editor like Dreamweaver to create my emails; kind of defeating the purpose you might say yet, I just think phplist is best suited to manage the actual message delivery system itself.
The Multiple List Management feature, for example, is great for if you need to have more than one list (as it lets you assign lists to List Managers, who can manage their users and lists,) likewise the Message Queue ensures that every subscriber gets the email message, and that no subscribers receive two copies of the same message, even if they’re subscribed to more than one list!
Similarly Dreamweaver is better suited to handle HTML as it provides a number of easy ways to display your images and control your text with style sheets in HTML.
Regardless of what HTML editor you choose here’s are few things to remember.
1 - Always use absolute URLS for your graphics (ie http://foamers.net/newsletter/pics/issue2.gif )
2 - Do not save your images as attachments (nobody in their right mind will ever open some strange attachment,) but store them on your web server so that they may display properly in the email.
3 - Send it to yourself before sending it to your subscriber list. And if possible send it to a buddy who has a different email program than you, to be sure most of your subscribers can read it on their computers.
4 - Once your satisfied with your newsletter, save it as a template. Then you can just open the template whenever you want to send html mail and most of the work will be done for you.
5 - If you still feel uncomfortable around HTML I highly recommend that you go on a multimedia or web design course just to get a feel for the fundamentals – and to pick the brains of other Internet entrepreneurs, which is always useful. One way to learn from us right here is simply to subscribe to this feed. And should you wish to have me customize your HTML email template newsletter (at just $180 a pop,) jump over to the contact form and tell me what you think.
{ 0 comments }
The Best Flash Site Templates Ever!
Back in the day, if you had told me some little animation app would catch on as quickly and as suddenly as Flash. I would have said you were an idiot. And if I had told you that Flash would become the design and development community’s number one tool you probably would have said I was an idiot in return.
That’s what makes Flash such an amazing program. Not only did this small animation app come
full circle, but it led also to the creation of some of the most groundbreaking, incredible and right down crazy cool websites you ever did see.Through my work at premier template customization site (http://foamers.net) I’ve worked with a number of different clients and projects to attain their unique online presence through the template customization process.
Briefly, the template customization process is the method where with we customize the look and feel of the website template and then merge it with your own content files to create a website that’s both unique and can adapt to each individual client’s needs.
And so, over the years I’ve had the opportunity to see and work with both the best of the best and worst of the worst Flash template ever. The top 5 templates of all time are not easy to compile, but since I’m a firm believer in the notion that you, me, all of us have the ability to teach ourselves anything just as long as the inspiration and desire are there, my attempt focuses primarily on website templates which not only brought us some amazing visuals, but that also generously taught me so many neat new tricks.
Do you agree with my selection? Do you think I’m being too uncritical of the ones I’ve picked, or which one do you think is the best? Lets talk about it – add comment
Number 5
I really like the whole two toned very retro atmosphere here and specially the little mp3 player at the bottom because I can take that whole movie clip and reuse it on any other projects. Template No. 20164 is an original design by author Oldman. Ever since it’s release date it has had 1 download. And there’s even a non-Flash version also included with this template.
Number 4
This one really blows you away. It’s a perfect example of what Flash 8’s all new filters were created for. I love how the animation transitions perfectly smooth, and the blurring on the big numbers for each page its really neat also.
And not only do you get the source FLA files, but also all of the PSD files are available too so you can look at all the different layers, filters and masks that went into the making. Template No. 18708 is an original design by author Maxwell. Ever since it’s release date it has had 1 download.
Number 3
There’s nothing really too fancy about this one maybe other than that whole panoramic slide with the scene effect. What I really like about it is that the author made full use of vector graphics, as well as some very useful ScrollPane components. Template No. 18668 is an original design by author Modlin.
Number 2
Perhaps the most radical innovation in Flash as far as website templates concern is XML Flash Sites, this is just one I choose only because it came with a gallery but there’s lots more and they all come equipped with a system that allows you to edit its content without having to use the Adobe Flash software.
So you don’t have to learn any Flash you simply edit the template’s content from a text editor; so if you’re just starting to learn about Flash and would like to see hands-on how Flash and XML work together this is the perfect way to play around and start getting your hands dirty. Template No. 20234 is an original design by author Cowboy.
Number 1
Drum roll, please… “Straight in at number on!” Ok, here we go… the best Flash template ever is Template No. 20361 an original design by author Hugo and one of the true innovations in cutting-edge web design! It’s based on ActionScript3 and made with the PaperVision 3D engine (An open source 3D engine for Flash), which features an impressive 3D interface as well as a wide range of other really neat stuff.
Just like the method used in XML Flash Sites this one allow you to circumvent the need to modify FLA source files whenever you need to change some text or move stuff around etc, etc.
{ 2 comments }
Top 5 Design Principles Behind Web 2.0 Templates
Many of the best examples of web 2.0 have some elements that make them, well, Web 2.0 style. Yet Web 2.0 is an oft-overlooked design style, and even more often misunderstood especially in terms of value and implementation. Making a site interactive and yet still comprehensive is not an easy thing to do.
Wikipedia describes Web 2.0 as “a second generation of web-based communities and hosted services such as social-networking sites, wikis, blogs, and folksonomies, which aim to facilitate creativity, collaboration, and sharing among users”. While this is an accurate description of the term, nothing says Web 2.0 more than central layout, big text, strong colors, round corners and an intuitive navigation.
Web 2.0 templates are a lesson in Web 2.0 style – it’s as simple as that! Their beauty comes from an intuitive use of layouts, rounded corners, bigger text and brighter color surfaces, which give them a polished Web 2.0 style.Centralized layouts: As apposed to jamming everything in one place (e.g. left-orientated scalable layouts), Web 2.0 templates centralized layouts bring simplicity into focus by positioning the content in the center of the page. It’s not overwhelming, there’s less information to process and the right allocation of large fonts and white space presents a better more amicable experience.
Example Template No. 16962
Navigation: The ease of navigation needn’t be compromised. The Web 2.0 template style of navigation is typically horizontal, utilizes large fonts and is always clear and concise.
Brighter color surfaces: The old Web 1.0 always felt a little drab, part of the reason for that was the almost total lack of color. Web 2.0 templates are typically characterized by color. The colors are bright, fluorescent like, cherry colors – blue, orange, lime-green and a myriad of rich surfaces and reflections harmoniously twined with white space to deliver an open and friendly feeling.
Bigger fonts: Another component of Web 2.0 templates are clear large fonts. Large font can help place the eye on the things you feel should stand out. Large fonts are perfectly acceptable on the web, as long as you employed them judiciously.
Rounded corners: Boxes with rounded corners aren’t anything new; the only difference with Web 2.0 is that they’re now standards-compliant. The trick is Web 2.0 templates use CSS to implement the illusion of curves, instead of the old fashion method that involved slicing the top and bottom of a rounded rectangle, a table with three rows and a lot of time on your hands.
Web 2.0 falls right into the category of design where many people think it’s easy, yet an understanding of layout and white space and, even more, an understanding of communication, is vital. All of the elements (centralized layouts, strong colors, round corners, big text) readily attributed to Web 2.0 templates are carefully crafted by professionals who are passionate about design. On that note, we entreat you to consider the convenience and practicality of obtaining professional customizations. The result is a unique product that works intuitively to help the user (your customer) find anything on the site.
{ 0 comments }
Template vs Custom Web Site
There are many opinions out there on if a template based web site is any good. Well, the answer is or course it is. Buying a template and creating a web site can save thousands of dollars. Looking through the web you will find that there that there are millions of places to find templates to create a new web site.
Now, the real question should be can you create a web site from a template that will ultimately make you money. The answer again, of course, but this is where the average business owner should let a professional do their job. Customizing a template to meet your needs and optimizing it to be search engine friendly can take quite a bit of coding and experience. Anybody can create a web site but the average Joe has no chance verses an experienced web designer of creating a fully functional web site.
A huge myth out there is that a web site needs to be a “custom design” to be worth anything. Every template you find is a “custom design” but you are only getting a bare bones web site that must be filled with your own rich content. Some of the advantages are that the lay out and navigation are done, the template comes loaded with pictures you can use, sometimes you’ll even luck into flash headers or menus.
Just remember that customizing a template will usually cut your web site cost at least in half. Now, on to custom web site designs, here you will find that you have complete control over the look and feel of your new web site. You ultimately have control over everything, but these freedoms do not come cheap. A custom web site can cost anywhere from 1500.00 to 3500.00 so do your research. We have all heard horror stories from a friend about someone paying 3500.00 for web site that is a piece of crap.
So how do you know who to buy from or what to buy? Like I said before, do your research. Creating a custom web site takes a lot of planning and information so be prepared to spend a little time with your designer. When it is all said and done though, with a custom web site design you know that your company or business will have a unique design, fresh and original that no body else has. This is a huge plus considering how many web sites are out there. When considering whether to buy a template or a custom design here are a few key factors to consider.
Budget : What is your budget? How much can you really spend on this new web site Time: How much time do you have to get this project complete? Return on Investment: Depending on which route you take, will the new web site be worth it? Goal: What is the purpose of getting a new web site? Are you only providing information to potential clients or an interactive fully automated on line store?
These are just a couple things to consider but at least you have a couple starting points to decide Template vs Custom Web Site.
About the Author
Andrew Braudway Freelance web designer http://www.agbdesign.com
{ 0 comments }