template discussion please

[islandcrazy]

Let me first say I've been pouring over EVERYTHING for a week, reading, reading, testing, etc. Just when I think I'm going the bluevoda/add-on oscommerce or other cart route, I dive into the Soho tuts and realize how much easier it will be for a product/sales driven site like mine...that I would be better off to choose the shopping cart end FIRST since that is the labor intensive part for me.....

But I am STUCK STUCK STUCK on the template customization issue and just need someone to brainstorm it with me. I need to understand how something works before I can grasp what to do with it. I tried googling template tuts but---I NEED BASIC!! My site is very "artsy" so I need to use my own graphics for menus, buttons, etc. and I want the cart end to blend with the front-end.

First, my only hang up with Soho is the "front end" of my site. The look i want will DEFINITLY require customization...and maybe I will be able to do it myself..... I read about templatezapper, and that will probably be the way I end up going....but even then, if I don't understand how a template works, I don't know how to tell them what I want.

ANYWAY...not sure how to ask my question (i'm feeling SOO dense right now!) but here goes:

Template: (i know that all of this involves html codes. in this case, someone else wrote it and i'm just plugging in my own info.)

1. But, when you see a template to choose, I'm assuming it is like a STENCIL....meaning all of the rectangles and boxes that are outlined on the page are like CUTOUTS? So really, it is the spaces INBETWEEN and OUTSIDE the boxes and shapes that stay the same from page to page?

2. If that is so, my job is to "fill in" the cutouts with text, images, or other information within the boundaries of the stencil? So, I'm not really putting something ON TOP of a box, rather filling in the space with my own "stuff"?

3. If that is the case, can you LAYER inside the cutout? Can you put in a color to fill the space and then text ontop of the color? OR if not color, a texture/image? OR if you wanted to put 2 images inside the space, could you do that?

4. Can you ELIMINATE cutouts? Let's say the premade template has a column on the right side. Can you "delete" that colomn so that the background of your page fills it instead?

I guess I should stop now and see if I'm on the right track. I would really like to play around with a basic soho template first, but I think you have to have an account first.

Thanks for not thinking I'm a total dope!!! I searched all the glossaries and just can't seem to get this!

tammy

[islandcrazy]

Re: template discussion please

ok, here is what confused me.....in some threads, people say it is ok to use BV for the front end and Soho for the "cart end" of the site and link them together. Then, in other threads, people say, "NO, this is not a good idea because of search engines get confused"....so which is it??? I'm going to put this question in a different thread. If it's no big deal to link the two, that solves my whole problem. I will use BV AND soho.

[navaldesign]

Re: template discussion please

Yes you can. Create a subdomain in your site, called "cart" or "soho" and install soho there. Being a subdomain of the main domain, it will be indexed by SE together with your BV front end site

[islandcrazy]

Re: template discussion please

Thank you Naval! I was so hoping you would reply. I seem to be able to understand your explanations. I'm sure I will have more questions later, but I think i am ready to open an account. Do you recommend doing the Soho end first, or the BV end first? I think you mentioned in another thread that it is easier to install Soho BEFfore creating any other folders on the new account? I appreciate your help so much.

[Vasili]

Re: template discussion please

QUOTED FROM ABOVE & ANSWERED:

Template: (i know that all of this involves html codes. in this case, someone else wrote it and i'm just plugging in my own info.)

1. But, when you see a template to choose, I'm assuming it is like a STENCIL....meaning all of the rectangles and boxes that are outlined on the page are like CUTOUTS? So really, it is the spaces INBETWEEN and OUTSIDE the boxes and shapes that stay the same from page to page?
If you think of all the "customizable" areas in a template as a "Table" with "cells" you need to fill, then you will have a better understanding of the manners in which you will also be allowed to fill them: with images, text, color, etc. The 'Frame' of the table 'floats' upon the page (which incidentally will adjust size according to the size and volume of what you fill the "cells" with) and leaves areas (margins) to the page borders which cannot be altered. You can, however, change the underlying page "background" color with some medium effort.

2. If that is so, my job is to "fill in" the cutouts with text, images, or other information within the boundaries of the stencil? So, I'm not really putting something ON TOP of a box, rather filling in the space with my own "stuff"? CORRECT, as answered above.

3. If that is the case, can you LAYER inside the cutout? Can you put in a color to fill the space and then text ontop of the color? OR if not color, a texture/image? OR if you wanted to put 2 images inside the space, could you do that? Not as you would in BV, Word, or Publisher, for example, but with background "cell" colors and added images or text, it is almost the same.

4. Can you ELIMINATE cutouts? Let's say the premade template has a column on the right side. Can you "delete" that colomn so that the background of your page fills it instead? If you do not add anything to the cells or colums of it, it will not populate, and leave a minimal "space" instead. The other "columns" will automatically "space out" or 'center' if you will, to conform to the available area.

Do you recommend doing the Soho end first, or the BV end first? I think you mentioned in another thread that it is easier to install Soho BEFfore creating any other folders on the new account? Once you have your account, create the folder (sub-domain) FIRST, then install Soho into that folder, then you can begin to load BV pages in the public_html area...

I guess I should stop now and see if I'm on the right track. I would really like to play around with a basic soho template first, but I think you have to have an account first. You should really become familiar with and visit specifically the Soho Forum to read up on the common issues and solutions before you attempt to dive into tweaking your Soho cart. There is simply no substitute for what is already addressed from users and experts alike....use this link to register yourself just like you did for the VodaHost Forum....

It is not as hard as you think!

[navaldesign]

Re: template discussion please

Thank you Naval! I was so hoping you would reply. I seem to be able to understand your explanations. I'm sure I will have more questions later, but I think i am ready to open an account. Do you recommend doing the Soho end first, or the BV end first? I think you mentioned in another thread that it is easier to install Soho BEFfore creating any other folders on the new account? I appreciate your help so much.

It has no importance. Creating the soho site FIRST is only important if you install both the Soho site and the BV site in the same directory. If you install Soho and create your cart in a subdomain, you are free to crate first whichever you prefer, or even work on both sites simultaneously.

[islandcrazy]

Re: template discussion please

Thank you so much Vasili for answering my template questions. I understand it much better now. So when I see a premade template, I will know what "boundaries" it sets for me. This will help me greatly in my choices! Especially your explanation of how if I leave something blank, it will fill with the other information.

you also said:

QUOTED FROM ABOVE & ANSWERED:

You should really become familiar with and visit specifically the Soho Forum to read up on the common issues and solutions before you attempt to dive into tweaking your Soho cart.

Yes, I have been reading all the forums here and soho....and I will continue to do that with each step. Thanks.

[islandcrazy]

Re: template discussion please

Naval..thanks for clearing that up! I was worried i would get things out of order and create a mess! I worry too much I suppose! THanks!

[islandcrazy]

Re: template discussion please

Well, it is amazing what a difference a few days and alot of hunting makes!!! I thought it would be helpful to follow - up here for anyone else that doesn't understand TEMPLATES as I didn't either.

First of all....I didn't use the SEARCH correctly. Today, I stumbled on a whole wealth of info by going to the BV section on Adding Elements to your Pages, the Searching JUST THAT FORUM for "images as backgrounds" and guess what I found? TEMPLATE Discussions that made it FINALLY make sense! I was calling a background a template--and not realizing there are different types of templates....FULL and just Background...

thought I would share links to the ones I found helpful:

#5 - #10

http://www.vodahost.com/vodatalk/adding-elements-your-website/5871-templates.html?highlight=background+image

http://www.vodahost.com/vodatalk/adding-elements-your-website/8509-photoshop-background-button-help.html?highlight=background+image