FrontPage Templates
On Friday, we talked about the beginnings of starting your own Web site by using Microsoft’s FrontPage Web design program. As promised, we’re going to move on to another topic today: creating a template.
Choosing a template for your Web site is very important, because it helps set the guidelines for what your site is going to look like in the end. A template comes with many decisions to make, from fonts to placement of links to just general design. Once you have your template chosen, you will follow its guidelines for where everything on your page will be placed, so you’ll be able to get a sneak peak at how your site will end up looking.
So, let’s get started. Fortunately, FrontPage has several templates to choose from, so you shouldn’t have a hard time finding exactly what you want. Just follow these steps:
1.) In the Format menu, click on Theme.
2.) Select the Template link from the left side task pane. This will bring up all of the choices of templates you will have. Click through them and see which one catches your eye. When you click on one, it will show you a sample design in the window, so you can pick the layout you really want. Keep in mind that all of the templates are customizable, so there’s many options open.
I chose the Profile theme. I chose to uncheck the box that says “Background picture,” but if you like the picture that comes with the template, you certainly can keep it. You can also choose to have vivid colors and active graphics if you’d like.
Toward the top of the panel, there is a choice for you to apply this template to all of the pages within your site or on just a selected few. If you want your site to be consistent, I would choose Apply Theme to: All Pages. If you are looking for your site to be different on every page, choose Selected page(s). You can then select a different template for the other pages. It’s really all up to you.
3.) Now, click OK. A new dialogue box will come up and just click Yes on that one. Now, you have your template all set and ready to go.
You can now start designing your site and working on the different pages. For example, if you’re making a Web site for a business, you may want a different page for Home, About, Services, Contact, etc. If you’re making one for your family, you may want a different page for each of your kids, all with with different templates to match their personalities.
It all can be done with FrontPage and the templates make an easy guide for you to use while you’re working. So, until our next topic comes along, have fun with the template part of Web design!
~ Robert Desacada