Thursday, January 29, 2009

Web Sites - Not so Difficult To Create

By David Peters

Trying to create a website from scratch to match one created by programs such as Photoshop is no easy task. Photoshop, and programs like it, are designed to give total freedom to the designer. However, the web itself is comprised of many confusing languages and standards that place other concerns ahead of preserving visual design integrity.

The programming languages that are necessary to create visually pleasing web sites such as XHTML, CSS, javascript, etc., can take months or even years to learn. Understandably this situation has intimidated many users who are good at Photoshop but don't want to spend months or years learning the gory details of the internet.

SiteGrinder 2 successfully turns Adobe Photoshop into an easy-to-use and powerful website design and production tool. While SiteGrinder is not aimed solely at the web neophyte, a SiteGrinder-equipped designer with no previous web experience can use only their Photoshop skills to go from concept to deployment of a professional, standards-compliant site in mere hours with no slicing or programming.

SiteGrinder can create graphics, text, and interactivity by using modern web standard technologies. It also takes into account many requirements like cross-platform browser compatibility, all without the user being aware of the background programming needed.

You know Photoshop, SiteGrinder knows CSS, HTML, and web image formats. You tell SiteGrinder about special layers, like buttons, by adding "hints" to the layer names.

Often times the only things required to create interactivity such as "button", "rollover", and "popup" can be easily created using "hints". Once you've added a few hints in Photoshop you can simply open SiteGrinder and create your page with a simple mouse-click.

The nice thing about this system is that it works the way you do, which turns web design into a uniquely satisfying activity. You can enable your web site's functionality as you design it, and easily test it in a web browser whenever you feel like it.

This flexible program even allows you to make major last minute design changes, such as selecting a new background image, without headaches! SiteGrinder

You may wonder how SiteGrinder can make many web pages from a single Photoshop document. The answer is easy! Photoshop has a little-used but powerful tool called the "layer comps palette". This palette allows you to save and name particular document states, including the position and visibility of every layer.

You simply need to make your Photoshop document look the way a page on your site should and then make a layer comp. You then set up the next page and repeat. SiteGrinder will use these comps to decide what to include on the web pages it creates. Even more amazing: if your layer comp names match your button names SiteGrinder will link them automatically. You don't even have to give the URLs! - 20897

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