There is a layout style that has been widely used the last couple of years or so, the one with a full-width image near the top, a discreet menu above the image, and some form of content below the image.
Is this layout style called something?
A few examples:
https://www.airbnb.com
https://www.wannafind.dk
https://www.code42.com/crashplan
https://www.wannafind.dk
http://www.e-boks.dk
I don't know the name of the layout, but it's a very common theme for Bootstrappers: http://startbootstrap.com/template-categories/all/ You have themes like: Creative, Clean Blog, Agency, Freelancer, GrayScale, Landing page +++
I guess the amount of existing themes with that exact layout can be the reason why "everyone" uses it!
Also there's a lot of different templates that is built the same way.
Related
can you help me understand what bootstrap is? I know people is it for styling pages but can you clarify it to me? A big company like Twitter, Facebook or YouTube can use it?
Bootstrap is a very nice set of "styles" for all elements of any webpage. With it, a developer can focus on what they want to build (i.e. the elements) and very easily apply all the styling (including a lot of the colours, positioning, layout, movement/javascript) by simply adding few lines of code at the start of the webpage and adding a bootstrap class to an element, or wrapping parts of their webpage in a <div>.
Here is an excellent example of a very basic site that is made to look professional very quickly using very simple bootstrap. Click on "full page demo", then view -> view source to see the source code.
You can see some classic bootstrap classes like
<div class="jumbotron text-center">
and
<div class="container-fluid">
Bootstrap is a free and open-source front-end framework developed with css and javascript.
For styling and other change of the html, we make CSS classes and ids. And the main work we do in the css file and js file . But in bootstrap there is already some files which have many built in classes and ids .
After adding bootstrap to a html file we can do many work by only calling those classes and ids .
like ,
<p class="text-center">Center aligned text on all viewport sizes.</p>
only calling the class "text-center" we can align text center . No need to do any other css .
Many big company like Twitter, Facebook or YouTube can use it. On the other hand some make their custom files like bootstrap.
I do hate to keep asking questions. I have been trying to add code to my website. No matter what code I add, none of it works. I have changed the names of the CSS names thinking that would work but it fails.
Currently I am trying to add in some image gallery blocks. I am on w3 schools and it works.
https://www.w3schools.com/css/tryit.asp?filename=trycss_image_gallery
I bring the CSS and code to my website and it looks like this:
https://postimg.cc/image/ifn4dsqrr/
I have tried so many card and block codes and they all either mess up my homepage or ruin the css and I have to revert back to the previous version.
Over the last 2 days I have spent 6 hours trying to get 4 little responsive blocks with image background and text overlay to simply work in between 2 banners.
Here is a link to my test store where I am building out a homepage:
http://newdev-vitavibe-com.3dcartstores.com/
I am determined to learn why. I opened up a request to pay someone to build this homepage for me. I had lots of offers but I really want to learn how myself.
If you are willing to use bootstrap you could put them in containers, I linked below the documentation for this. Bootstrap will make your life a lot easier when it comes to grids, saved my butt plenty of times.
https://getbootstrap.com/docs/4.0/layout/grid/
Inspecting the html of your site, a saw that what you want could be accomplished with the following html structure
<div id="fullWidthBlock" class="fullWidthBlock2">...</div>
<div class="gall">...</div>
<div class="gall">...</div>
<div class="gall">...</div>
<div id="fullWidthBlock">...</div> <!-- all the div.gall where here -->
Note that the <br/> between the two div#fullWidthBlock where removed.
And dont repeat the id attribute it is meant to be unique in each html document.
Thats the page with the changes:
Take a look at "!important" keyword in CSS. You should use it like that:
#smth { color: red !important; }
This is the first time i am properly coding in HTML,CSS. in my code i have used whole lot of div's to position and also to put the content in place. i am not sure if i am coding the right way. i have loads of contents too in a single page. here is the link to my code i have used.
http://jsfiddle.net/32ShZ/
can you please suggest. is it really bad in structure and shape?
Absolutely not. You don't want to go overboard though (it's called "div soup" when you do). If you find that a div has no purpose but to hold a background image, or to clear a float, etc that means you've done something wrong. By using wrappers (e.g. 3 levels deep of div tags for a content area that has some backgrounds, etc is OK), you can properly achieve any layout that you need without resorting to "div soup". Take a look at http://www.digitalperfections.net/ for an example of good (x)HTML with a lot of div tags.
To further expand, and answer the question about your code specifically, I noticed one thing right off the bat: <div id="divider"></div> - this is bad because you're using this div purely for non-semantic purposes (for decoration only).
The general principle is use as less HTML for layout as possible. And try to give Style to your page with the help of CSS. So if a minimum number of divs can achieve your task, you should go for it. This helps to make page lighter and maintainable. But yes how small structure (HTML) you can have in your page depends on your experience and design.
Im trying to replicate a design into HTML / CSS. The problem is that the text within the site changes between two different colours, multiple font sizes and different font weights. Also the text can be stand alone or multiple types on one line.
I am including a sample below.. These font styles are used all over the site.
So my question. What would be the "correct" way to style these in CSS/HTML? Currently im using multiple classes for the colours, sizes and weights.. It seems to be all over the place. The second problem is some elements need to be on their own lines. Whats the correct method of ending a line? or turning it into a block elemet?
Thanks in advance..
alt text http://213.40.100.100/random/01.jpg
So my question. What would be the
"correct" way to style these in
CSS/HTML? Currently im using multiple
classes for the colours, sizes and
weights..
Yeah. Not that way.
The problem with this approach is to change the style of one element, you have to change your markup rather than your CSS. Also, as you've already discovered, it gets your markup messy fast.
The "correct" way would be to have a class for each regular block, even if it looks the same in many ways as another block.
A block containing "Royal Kostas apartments, Majorca" may be the same font and size as a block containing "From Manchester" but that doesn't mean you should try to remove the duplicated code from the CSS. Many have tried to find ways to create DRY CSS files and it only leads to pain when the marketing / design department decide to reduce the font size of "From Manchester" but not the rest.
A trickier choice is where the styles are completely identical, like "Royal Kostas Apartments, Majorca" and "For 7 nights 3* Self Catering based on 4 sharing". I would still argue that they should be different classes with the exact same style, but that's a personal choice.
I tend to lean heavily towards this guideline: if redesigning the site, using the same data, requires a change to the markup, you're doing it wrong.
You don't want to name your CSS classes based on the visual style. Design your CSS around the function or area that the style is being used for. In the visual you attached, you could make a TabHeader style, Price style (for the left hand column), Details style, MoreInfo style. You get the idea.
Since the fonts are all apparently different, you will obviously define the font property, as well as the font weight, color, style, etc. Keep it self contained and you'll have less headaches later on.
I generally use a manual process:
Look at the page, figure out the semantic elements, and build the HTML
Slice up the images I think I'll need
Start writing CSS
Tweak and repeat different steps as necessary
Got a better approach, or a tool?
I have a fairly natural way of coding. The key is to treat the page like a document or an article. If you think of it like this the following becomes logically clear:
The page title is a top level heading
Whether you make the site title or actual page title the h1 is up to you - personally I'd make About Us the h1 rather than Stack Overflow.
The navigation is a table of contents, and thus an ordered list - you may as well use an ol over a ul.
Section headers are h2, sections within those sections are h3s etc. Stack them up.
Use blockquotes and quotes where possible. Don't just surround it with ".
Don't use b and i. Use strong and em. This is because HTML is structural rather than presentational markup. Strong and emphasis tags should be used where you'd put emphasis on the word.
<label> your form elements.
Use <acronym>s and <abbr>s where possible, but only in the first instance.
The easiest: always, always give your images some alternate text.
There's lots of HTML tags you could use that you probably haven't - address for postal addresses, screen code output. Have a look at HTML Dog for some, it's my favourite reference.
That's just a few pointers, I'm sure I could think of more.
Oh, and if you want a challenge write your XHTML first, then write the CSS. When CSS-ing you aren't allowed to touch the HTML. It's actually harder than you think (but I've found it's made me quicker).
Well, when I build a website I tend to try and forget about the design completely while writing the HTML. I do this so I won't end up with any design-specific markup and so I can focus on the semantic meaning of the elements.
Some pointers how to markup things:
menu - use the UL (unordered list) element, since that's exactly what a menu is. an unordered list of choices. example:
<ul id="menu">
<li id="home">Home</li>
<li id="about">About</li>
</ul>
if you'd like an horizontal menu you could do this:
#menu li {
display: block;
float: left;
}
Logo - use a H1 (heading) element for the logo instead of an image.Example:
<div id="header">
<h1>My website</h1>
</div>
And the CSS (same technique can be applied to the menu above if you would like a menu with graphical items):
#header h1 {
display: block;
text-indent: -9999em;
width: 200px;
height: 100px;
background: transparent url(images/logo.png) no-repeat;
}
IDs and classes - use IDs to identify elements that you only have one instance of. Use class for identifying elements that you got several instances of.
Use a textual browser (for instance, lynx). If it makes sense to navigate in this way, you've done good when it comes to accessibility.
I hope this helps :)
I essentially do the same thing Jon does, but here are a few other ideas:
Use Guides in Photoshop (and lock to them). Figure out all of your dimensions for each box/ region ahead of time.
Collect all of your dimensions and color hex values into an info file (I use a txt file) that you can easily reference. This will reduce your alt-tab tax and selecting colors in Photoshop multiple times.
After all my Guides are in place, I slice out the entire website into my images folder, starting with photos and grouped elements, and ending with the various background tiles/images, should they exist. (Tip: Use ctrl-click on the layer preview to select that layer's content).
Notes on using Photoshop:
Use Guides or the Grid.
Use the Notes feature for any pertinent information
Always use Layer Groups for similar elements. We need to be able to turn entire regions off in one click. Put all 'header' content in one Layer Group.
Always name your layers.
You can put each page template in one PSD file and use nested Layer Groups to organize them. This way we don't have to setup all of our guides and notes for each page template on a site.
No shortcuts :) but everybody works slightly differently.
This tutorial that popped up in my feedreader yesterday shows the process from start to finish and might help people who have never done it before but as you are an old hand it's just about streamlining your own methods.
EDIT:
The listapart link certainly is more automated for 'flat' designs where both imageready and fireworks have had pretty good support from day one and it's got better and more semantic with every release but if you have a more complex design it's the twiddly bits that make the design what it is and these have to be done by hand.
I just thought it was worth pointing out that in addition to the excellent advice you've had so far I'd recommend getting a printed version of the design, using a red pen to mark up all the block elements on the design you think you can spot and sitting down with the designer for half an hour and talking through how they envisioned their design working for the use cases that don't fit the static design.
What happens when more text is put in the navigation?
Is this width fixed or fluid?
Is this content pane to the right fixed height or fluid? If it's fluid why did you put a background on it that can't be repeated?
You have a border extending down the page that breaks two otherwise connected elements. Visually it makes sense, but semantically I not can't just use an li to house both those elements. What do you think is more important?
It'll also help you spot potential problems that you might otherwise not have realised were going to be issues until your elbow deep in css.
Not only does it make your job easier after a few times doing it your designer will get a much stronger sense of what is involved in marking up their work - some designers have real trouble comprehending why something they think looks visually very simple will take a few days of css tweaking to make work.
Some of the designers i know, usually uses Illustrator to make the design elements.
This page shows how to do it a little more automated.
Also, get to know the "Layer Comps" feature. I use this for changing button states.
Create layer comps for normal, hover, and active.
In each of these, set up the effects/color overlays and visible layers which belong with that state.
Save for web: go to a different folder for each state, unless it's easier to rename each slice (otherwise your hover button slices will overwrite your regular slices).