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newtothis

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I'm busy working on my website in Photoshop, getting ready to slice it up and assemble in Dreamweaver. However, being a novice and so new to this I am having a hard time seeing the forest through the trees so to speak. I am trying to create a rather large website and need to include so much that at the moment I don't have a clue how to do!

Here are my basic worries, if anyone could help, thanks in advance.

From the beginning....

 

1. I have a layout in Photoshop. It is as I would like it to appear on a real webpage minus the flash, rollovers etc. I am getting ready to slice it up but from what I understand I don't need to slice up any of the text, JUST the images and branding.... is this correct?

 

2. If that is correct, then it is in dreamweaver that I add the text, rollovers and CSS. Am I still on track? If so then why design in photoshop, aka why put the whole site together if yor not going to use it?

 

3. On my site I may have many,many pages and all will need updating. Do I have to use photoshop every time I update or add new images?

 

4. Many site pages will have the same layout with different content... is there a way to duplicate the page as a template, then just fill with the content?

 

5. I will need to use PHP, flash, etc. does this get added at the end?

 

6. Is it with CSS that I add unique menu bars, the roll overs, drop down menus, add lines? I don't need to do all this in photoshop first do I?

 

Thanks for your time... I just want to understand where I am and where I am heading!

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The usual process I follow is:

-- do the initial design in Photoshop, creating designs for each major template I will need

-- once I am happy with the design, I slice up the site (usually I enable/disable layers as necessary and crop the document to grab the parts of the mockup I need)

-- I then create the basic HTML/CSS coding using the images. If I am going to create a static HTML site, I will use these initial files as templates, duplicating and renaming the files.

-- Once the basic HTML/CSS templates are put together, the next steps depend on the site. In some cases, I will use those templates within my content management system. Some sites may require Flash or PHP work.

-- With the files built out or entered into the content management system, I then enter the content

-- test in different browsers

-- launch

 

To answer your questions:

 

1) Correct - Text should be entered using HTML since search engines can only understand text (not text in images) and this will reduce file size. The only time when you would want to save images with text in them is if they use a font that won't be available to a majority of website viewers.

 

2) I usually start with a Photoshop mockup because my designs are complicated enough that I can't create the graphics as I go. In my case, I have found that starting first in Photoshop saves me a significant amount of time later in the process. I spend a significant amount of time experimenting with the design, and it's a lot faster to do that in Photoshop than within the code. This depends on the design... for some sites, it may be possible to start by coding, and create graphics only when necessary.

 

3) Correct. Ideally though, most of your changes will be text based, which you can do by editing the HTML/CSS, not within Photoshop

 

4) As you create your HTML/CSS, save the files and use them as templates. Just duplicate them and rename the duplicated file.

 

5) Depends. If you are building something that has a significant amount of PHP functionality, you may want to start with functionality first, then work on the design. In most cases, you'll start with design and basic HTML/CSS and add in more advanced functionality after the basics are in place.

 

6) Correct. You shouldn't need to do this in Photoshop, unless you need a guide for when you do the HTML/CSS wrok.

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Thanks again Ben... I appreciate your speedy response as then I move on to the next thing!

 

About question #3.... if I am adding more photos/images will I need to size them in photoshop 1st? Part of my website is clients will send me their images and I will need to add them to the site, thats why the question is important to me. thanks!

 

Also, I am busy slicing in photoshop and now see that I don't want my slices any more.... how do I remove them?

 

As always, many thanks...

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Okay... have removed slices and added the slices I want.

I have opened Dreamweaver set it all up. Now for the part that I am not getting. When I reopened DW after the setup where did all info go. I see a top bar and a side bar but nothing in the middle (much like PS opens) how do I see the split window where all my code is? I know a simple question but I have been playing and yet to figure it out. Why did it not open automatically when I log in to DW?

thx (:

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