Help on Designing Template

liunx

Guest
Hi

I have come across many websites who offer free templates which we can Download & use it for our sites, but I want to design on my own.

How can I implement Template design concept in to my web site. Any help, suggestions or link to websites are most welcome.

sharaSet up your HTML to be very simple, then use CSS to format it. By changing a single .css file (included from the header of each document), you can completely reformat the site. An example of this would be my currently in progress site, known as AccessiForum (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://cmm.sonoracabinets.com/accessiforum/">http://cmm.sonoracabinets.com/accessiforum/</a><!-- m -->). You may also want to see the last three links below that give a bit of detailed information on using CSS (there are some other links in my signature below that have to do with CSS as well, which may be of use to you).

[J]onaYeah..I have a common css file & link it to all my web pages, but I want to change the web page design dynamically. User can select their own color combinations (ex for manu headings & menu items), their choice of table borders etc... Based on their selection I should be able to change my css file. Is it possible??? How can I do it??


sharaA perfect example is that of the CSS Zen Garden (<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://csszengarden.com/">http://csszengarden.com/</a><!-- m -->). All of the code in the XHTML is simply DIV's, and everything is formatted in CSS. The XHTML code never changes, but the CSS file changes from template to template that you browse.

[J]onaOriginally posted by shanuragu
Yeah..I have a common css file & link it to all my web pages, but I want to change the web page design dynamically. User can select their own color combinations (ex for manu headings & menu items), their choice of table borders etc... Based on their selection I should be able to change my css file. Is it possible??? How can I do it??


It seems to me you are looking to create a generator (which is ASP)... the user selects attributes for specific classes (ex: border width or text color) and then a css file is generated based on the user's selections.

If that is right, you may be looking to do too much. You would need to have a significant amount of experience in order to pull that off, though it could be done using a technique like tokens, where specific tokens in the css are replaced with whatever the user has specified (for example the token "titlefontcolor" being replaced with "#000000" if the user selects black from a list of colors).

If you have some time to devote to this task and lack the experience necessary to create your own generator, you could always rely on a form. On your template page, users selecting from drop down menu lists or something similar and then when you receive the response with the user's choices, edit the CSS file yourself to reflect their choices.

Either way this is a project that looks like it will take a considerable amount of effort on your part.Originally posted by shanuragu
Yeah..I have a common css file & link it to all my web pages, but I want to change the web page design dynamically. User can select their own color combinations (ex for manu headings & menu items), their choice of table borders etc... Based on their selection I should be able to change my css file. Is it possible??? How can I do it??


shara

You need some kind of a script to do it. JavaScript, ASP, PHP should all be able to do it. If you can do it on the server side, then I would suggest doing it that way as compared to using JavaScript for it. The link below is to a thread using PHP.

<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://forums.webdeveloper.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=17509Exactly">http://forums.webdeveloper.com/showthre ... 509Exactly</a><!-- m --> !!! I want to create a generator.. I can get user requirements (table width, bgcorlor etc.. say using a list box for all values) using an asp form, But How can I replace CSS values with form field values & then generate html page using that?? Just bit confused!!! :confused:

Some clue or web link would be of great help!!!

sharaOriginally posted by shanuragu
Exactly !!! I want to create a generator.. I can get user requirements (table width, bgcorlor etc.. say using a list box for all values) using an asp form, But How can I replace CSS values with form field values & then generate html page using that?? Just bit confused!!! :confused:

Some clue or web link would be of great help!!!

shara

Ok, what you are trying to do is a little more complex than what I thought you were asking. You will need to set up a defualt external CSS file, and then have a page where the person is able to enter what they want the layout to look like and then use that to create another external CSS file which you would then use instead of your default CSS file. I would watch what options you give people because depending on the layout and what they pick, things could get pretty hairy.Thank you spufi, keichan, Jona

I am able to generate CSS generator successfully!!!. Thank you all once again for ur timely help & suggestions .

shara


:D
 
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