CSS Templates

n a nutshell, a CSS/HTML template is a collection of pre-designed web pages, just like any other template, except that it has one very special additional page called a style sheet.  This style sheet ends with an extension of .css. The web pages you view in your web browser look the way they do because of the instructions contained within the style sheet page.

Our HTML/CSS templates are designed to be used in any HTML editing program - FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc.  You can even edit the pages using good ol' Notepad or any plain text editor.

This entire Help Center section was designed using an external style sheet rather than a theme. Font sizes and colors are not specified within the HTML of each page but, instead, are specified on one CSS page.  The same applies to the background color, link colors, and much more.  Even though this site was designed in FrontPage, there is no theme!

Cascading Style Sheets are designed to enhance your web site and to give you greater control over how your pages display.  It's a bit of web magic because many of the attributes normally used within the HTML coding can be applied using CSS.  By using a style sheet you can control the way your pages look without having to use HTML coding.

We've been using internal style sheets for years.  We have simply moved the CSS from the head of each page into a convenient file of its own!  The bonus for you is that it is simple to understand and learn. Each of our HTML templates comes with its own custom designed style sheet developed specifically to reflect that template's colors and special look. Our style sheets are presented in a way that is very easy for a beginner to read and modify. They are also the perfect starting point to teach yourself CSS.  Each style sheet includes special comment areas with text to explain what and where it is used.

As more browsers begin to fully support CSS, more designers are using it because of the flexibility it brings to quality templates. Designers have learned the concepts of CSS and are now using it to build more functional templates for customers and clients. Style Sheets allows us to remove redundant HTML codes such as font tags, because it is no longer the most efficient way to design a page. With CSS you have no worries of font tags, color codes and unnecessary HTML tags used throughout your pages. You will also notice that your pages will load much faster because fewer HTML tags means smaller file size.

Opening your CSS (non-FrontPage) template with FrontPage...

Once you have unzipped your package to your computer, save the folder to an easy to access area of your computer. We suggest the "My Webs" folder locate in your "My Documents" folder. This is convenient if you want to keep all of your webs in one easy-to-locate area.

Now open FrontPage...

Click File/Open Web. In the dialogue box, surf to find your new web folder if it is not already showing. Double click on the folder and click Open. FrontPage will ask you if it is okay to add some additional information to the web. Click yes.

Now you are all set...

Now that you have chosen FrontPage as your editor, you will be able to utilize some of the cool tools included in this program. You can drag and drop your pages into a navigation structure via the navigation view. This will allow you to use the Navigation bars or links produced by FrontPage. Just highlight our navigation links then go to Insert /navigation bar/link bar. FrontPage will automatically insert the navigation structure you created to produce a text link navigation bar. (Remember that this templates does not have a theme. Select "text" rather than "button" links.) If your Server has FrontPage extensions set up you can also add other unique FrontPage items such as forms, guest book, site map, etc.

Publishing your new site with FrontPage...

If you have FrontPage Extensions applied to your server, you will be able to use the "Publish Function" to upload your site to the net. You can refer to the FrontPage help files for more detailed information on publishing your site to its new home on the web.