Hello everyone,

I am new to all of this, so I think I should say that first and foremost . What I am trying to do is create a site that is similar to:

http://www.mandaraspa.com/ and http://www.gucci.com/us/index2.html

sans the flash. Or, precisely, a layout that has a rectangular box in the center of the screen, within which all of the navigation is done. I tried to put something like that together in the VSD, by creating a rectangular box and trying to take things from there. But trying to lay out pictures within the box messed up their dimensions/slant. Also, there was no way to...... lock things to the center of the page. And I don't think VSD liked that I did that because it warned me that I had placed some large objects on the page etc etc and that was before any pictures or text was added (merely the background color and the main rectangle renders that message). Then I tried to move to HTML Editor instead, figuring that would help but it didn't. Does anyone have any insight they could offer on something like this? Suggestions would be GREATLY appreciated .

Wow! You want the basic look of Gucci and the Mandara spa websites for one of your first websites? (place manly comment here!)

With the HTML editor all you really need is a table, centered on your web page. Put your content inside that table. That's the over simplified version, but as you get more familiar with tables, it should get easier.
Experiment and see what happens.

In VSD, you can create a page, let's say 600 x 600, make sure there is a checkmark in the "centered" option.
Place a colored rectangle inside of it, and then add your images and content. It might give you a warning, but just click ok anyway. The warning is just so you are aware that dial-up might be slow to load.
Preview your work to see if it looks good in a web browser.

Hope that helps.

Hi Cliff,

Thanks for that, it was very appreciated. I've not opened the programs to put the advice to use yet, but I now have a bit more confidence that it is easier than I was initially making things for myself.

Yeah, I get what you mean (with the first line). But at the same time, I was hard-pressed to find a site that wasn't high end or super "extra" which did a good job of illustrating the fact that I'd like to implement this simple design. The fact of the matter is, if you save a powerpoint slide as a website, it looks JUST like that - I found that out by accident a while back and thought it was a great, clean look. But, at the same time, I didn't want to use powerpoint to create a website. Surely you'd agree that it's easier to say "Check out this site: www.examplesite.com I like this component and that component and that component, but not these components. How is that done?" than to say "I like what you get when you save a single powerpoint slide as an html file. How do I get THAT effect using a proper website-creation program?"

Anyhoo, thanks again for the help .



M.

CoffeeCup has some tools that can help to develop a cool website. Tools like Firestarter, Flash photo gallery and the html editor can be used to create some of the effects you are looking for.
I am pretty sure they have trial versions of all the software that will let you play with them before you purchase. That way you might see if they fit your needs without costing you anything up front.

Don't forget about their book "My Website is Better Than Yours". It has great information and examples to help you get started.

Hello again Cliff,

Thanks again for your reply. It really was useful and I have since begun my website building process. Um, there was still some miscommunication in the end, but that's okay. What I wanted to do (and perhaps others had the same inclination) is create what I now see is a basic, table-driven page. No flash, a picture here and there but really just merely a centered element for navigation. Or, more precisely, a page with no effects and keeps the eye in the center of the browser window. And I have now been told how. Thanks again and really, when I used the word simple it really was the best word to describe the layout. Thanks again for the insight.


Happy creating all