Getting Started

getting started guide

All of our standard templates include our Getting Started Guide, a downloadable pdf document, which outlines tips n' tricks to help demonstrate how the template is built. This template includes a copy of this comprehensive Getting Started page in a printable format - look for the READme.txt file included in this package.

Ready, Steady, Go!

Before you dive into your new project, make a back-up of the original template download. Keep a copy of the original on a CD (or another another secure method) to store your original template safely.  You'll appreciate having this handy should you ever need to revert back to the original code.

This template package comes with the starter web site in .zip format. Unzip the package and start editing the pages. You may wish to keep a backup copy of the .zip in case you need to start over. We have included a basic site structure with common pages to help you get started. You may rename the pages, add more pages, and add your content.

What's Included?

You'll Need...

You Don't Need...

Create a New Web

  1. Unzip your web package to a desired location on your computer.
  2. In FrontPage or Expression Web, select File + Open Site
    then, browse to the folder where the template resides

Editing the Template

  1. Main Pages - open any page of the site to begin editing exiting text and images. You'll notice that some areas are not available to edit. Only regions marked as 'editable' are accessible. However, you can make changes to the master template (DWT) if you need to adjust the master design.
  2. Editing the Master DWT: editing the master dwt template will effect every 'main' page of your site which uses this template.  For instance, in order to modify the footer section, you will have to do so in the master DWT file.
  3. Editing the Main Image: the main image is called "header.jpg" and is located in the images folder. You can replace this image with your own or edit the Photoshop file provided to created your own custom header graphic. Simply create your graphic and then save it to the images folder, naming it "header.jpg". Note - the dimensions of the header graphic are 900 pixels wide by 210 pixels high.
  4. Add More Pages: to create a new page, select File + New + Blank Page. Now save this page. Next, select Format + Dynamic Web Template + Attach Dynamic Web Template and select the DWT template offered in the selection window (i.e templateHAPPY-xxxx.dwt) and select OK. You can begin adding content to the page.
  5. Renaming Pages: access the file to be renamed through either the Folders List or the Web Site view. Place your cursor on the file to be renamed and right-click + select rename from the list of options. Next, type in your new name.
    Important - when links point to a page being renamed, a warning will pop-up to ask you to confirm this step (yes or no to proceed). Say yes or broken links will occur.
  6. Delete Pages: similar to renaming pages, access the file via the Folders List or the Web Site view. Right-click on the page to be deleted, select delete from the list of options. You must select "yes" from the warning message in order to complete this task. Important - remember to remove links to deleted pages if they exist.

Pre-Publish Check List

  1. Preview Your Work - before publishing your site, check pages to see how they look. File + Preview in Browser.
  2. Title Tag - make sure to change the title tags, otherwise called page title, as appropriate.
  3. Meta Tags - you can add keywords and a page description sentence of each web page. These hidden tags are found in the <head> section of each html page and can be accessed two ways: split screen, editing directly into the html, or, placing your cursor on the design section of the page, right-click + select page properties from the options. Then, fill in the blanks of the page properties pop-up window.
  4. Spell check each page. Typing errors generally appear marked with a red underline. Right-click these to see suggested corrections or retype corrections manually.

Publish to Host / Live Server

  1. Go to File + Publish Site
  2. Type in the URL of your web site: http://www.company.com
    • Want to test your site first? Create a (temporary) sub-folder such as: http://www.company.com/test
  3. Enter the username and password as prompted.
  4. When publishing to a new folder, you may be prompted to "create a new web." Click OK.
  5. Then, click Publish to begin the process of uploading your content to your web hosting space. When completed, click to view your published web site.