Posts Tagged ‘templates’

A custom website redesign with matching blog was launched yesterday for The Gourmet Gift Shop, Inc. of Stockbridge, Georgia. The main website is an online store for this manufacturer of custom gift baskets for corporate accounts and individuals. The site meets W3C for valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 and features a new logo design, an integrated PayPal shopping cart, and a Gift Basket Expert Advice blog.

In addition, custom pages were created for 404 Error – Page Not Found, a customized thank you page for completed purchases, a cancel page for incompleted orders, and finally a custom htaccess file for 301 permanent redirects of all the old page file names. Key on page content and the streamlined xhtml code was also optimized for seo, search engine optimization.

Visit their new custom website and online store for gift baskets for a wide selection of unique gifts for Valentine’s Day, all occasion, or fully customized gifts.

One day, perhaps, website developers will be able to create the perfect template to display blog pages that comply to W3C standards with perfect XHTML in Blogger blogs. The goal is currently impossible because of how the blog “engine” generates blog posts at the instant you publish.

Content generated external to the template and css that web developers design for blogs is the reason. This content includes hidden code that identifies the blog as shown below in this snippet of results from the W3C XHTML validation service for just one post on my blog:

g?blogID=38647469&postID;=5457517960262

The highlighted and underlined content above is the culprit. The ampersand symbol is a special reserved character in XHTML, and to display properly without creating a code error it must have it’s full ASCII 5-character code and not just the single character as typed from your keyboard. The highlighted text of &postID; should read &postID to be correct per W3C.

Unfortunately, this small problem generates multiple instances and errors on each post, and it is completely out of the control of you or your blog designer. The only solution will happen when the technical team and programmers at Blogger choose to modify their system to insert the ampersand with the full ASCII 5-character code. Don’t hold your breath. It’s like pushing a glacier.

Does this really matter? From a technical point, no. From a practical point, yes, because the solution is easy. Your blog will look fine with 250 code errors, yet if browser companies and web developers are driven to comply with standards for zero code errors, it would be nice to have Blogger get on board, too.

Finally, if you follow a permalink to any individual post on this blog, and then validate per W3C, there are 28 code errors. Unlike my main site which displays the Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS2 badges with zero code errors, the blog is doomed for now to being nice, not perfect.

The blog issue and other external factors used to create multimedia content use deprecated code, so my goal of perfect code has been revised to accept the reality of designing with near zero errors.

A custom small business website for CDA Alliance recently launched, and the owner has taken over managing the site which includes a matching private forum. This CMS, or custom Content Management System website design is another option for clients of the Small Business Resource Center.

The advantage of taking control of your small business website and freely adding content depends on your willingness to climb the learning curve that is involved. The site design fee is nominal compared to a fully custom website, yet the investment in time learning the functions may not be practical for all clients.

Another option to easily add original quality content is a fully integrated custom blog.

A new custom website launched today for Adams Florida Homeowner Services with a matching custom integrated blog. This excerpt from their home page explains their business best:

We emigrated to Florida from the UK and understand the dreams of people wanting to start a new life in America, and why not? Florida is one of the most idyllic and exciting places in the world. However, vacationing and living in Florida are very different when holiday is certainly over!

Adams Florida Homeowner Services are in place to provide Florida homeowners with the satisfaction, confidence and above all peace of mind that their home or rental property is being presented and cared for to a high standard. Our information resources for new Florida residents will help ease the transition once you decide to move here permanently.

The new blogger custom template design features matching graphics, social bookmark service chicklets, and preloaded labels, plus a 15 page tutorial with illustrated step by step blogging instructions.

Blogging is a great way to add quality fresh content often integrated with your main website. The advantages in SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, are worth the time it takes to become a blogger.

Soon after the launch of their new custom website, customer Adams Florida Services chose to have an optional custom integrated blog added to their online home. The custom blog matches the main site color scheme, and will provide advice for Orlando area lawn care, landscaping, and pressure washing services and tips for their visitors and clients throughout Central Florida.

Their first post promises future advice including before and after photographs to demonstrate the difference that professional lawn service and landscape design can do to enhance the look and value of residential and commercial property.

The new blogger custom template design features matching graphics to the main site, 12 major social bookmark service chicklets, and preloaded labels. Blog designs from the Small Business Resource Center include a 15 page tutorial with illustrated step by step instructions for creating posts and publishing.

Readers may be interested in learning about the search engine optimization value of blogging for small business website promotion and download the series of free pdf seo reports here.

Graphic artists are welcome to download this custom door tag template created in Xara Xtreme (4Kb zip folder, right click and save target as). This is another in the series and it’s the large standard half page size of 4.25 inch by 11.0 inch. No registration, email capture, or signup required. This download is another in my series of free resources to help individuals or small business owners with do-it-yourself custom artwork.

Short tutorial: The template is color coded to identify the safe area for text, the bleed area, and margins. Standard guidelines are in place for easier layout. You may use the entire area for the background, but limit text within the green safe area.

The red box in the template is the doorknob hole section and nothing significant like text or important photos should be placed here because they will be hidden once the door tag is placed on the customer’s door knob. The dotted outline is the centered placement of the die cut for the hole, and most printers will slit the tag at a 45 degree angle to the edge.

Once you understand the safe area for text and other limitations you may want to remove all the reference colored blocks from the template to begin your design. Email me with any questions or requests for any special templates.

The above illustration is a reduced size low resolution version of a 2-sided full color door hanger artwork done for a landscaping, lawn care, and pressure washing service company in Orlando. The large blank area near the top is to accommodate the die cut 1.5 inch hole for the door knob and the 45 degree angle slit after printing.

The portion lost in the die cut explains why the top of the front and back do not have real content. One third will be cut out, but I chose to add color in what will be left in the finished door hanger.

Note: You may want to view the photo edit tutorial here to see how the truck and trailer effect was created.

Download this free Xara Xtreme template for creating a custom door tag, also called door hangers, for advertising your business on residential or commercial doorknobs. Get yours hassle-free without any requirement to register. You do not have to signup, give out your email, or name a pet after me.

Direct marketing advertisements using door tags are a cost effective way to promote your business. This Xara file type xar template includes dimensions, guidelines for outside, bleed, and borders for creating a 3 inch (7.62cm) by 8 inch (20.32cm) door hanger with knob die cut. Here’s a brief tutorial for using this free template.

The template is color coded showing the bleed area in yellow, the safe area in green, and the top space in red where the tag die cut doorknob hole and slit will go. The safe area defines the space limit for text. Any text outside the green safe area may be blurry or even rejected by the printer for redesign. Photos and background graphics may extend to the edge including the top red section. A preloaded CMYK palette is included in the template, also.

My advice is extending your background (if you use one) to the very top, and perhaps a photo, but nothing important. Obviously the die cut will remove a large round section; yet extending the background will make your door tag more attractive to the reader.

Download the free door tag template here (5Kb zip file, and in IE simply right click and “save target as”) to get yours now. Door hangers are popular for advertising real estate, mortgages, pizza delivery, cleaning services, handyman services, landscaping, and more. View a few custom door tag examples here.

In addition, you may want to read the advice in My 5 Second Rule for Small Business Owners to learn about design strategy for graphic art for websites and printed marketing materials.

After investing 100 plus hours creating and tweaking a new blogger template for my commercial site, custom blogger template design services are now available. The goal was matching the graphics and color scheme so visitors moving from my blog to the main site and back would see very little difference in the overall look. Here’s another good example with the Mannion Custom Painting blog.

Small business customers who have read the first two free PDFs in my series of search engine optimization reports pressured me to get blog information documented sooner than “later this year”. I selectively chose a few clients to create custom new blogger templates with matching graphics before this announcement making the service available for all.

Here’s some of what you get:

1. a custom new blogger template with matching graphics
2. a 15 page personalized blogger tutorial in PDF format
3. registration, installation and testing of your blog
4. registration and account setup with promotional services
5. promotional tools and advice for blog and ping
6. social bookmarking code, registration, and graphics
7. preprogrammed labels to sort posts by categories
8. a list of copy and paste tags for creating new posts

Please note that my free SEO report series including Google Page One in Just 9 Months are based on my experience from May 2006 to February 2007. The custom blogger templates are only available for the new Blogger or old because those are the only ones I’ve used. Other brands such as WordPress or TypePad may be considered for custom matching graphics. Just ask.

After making a custom template to integrate a client’s blog to match their main website it was time to do mine. The new look of the Small Business Resource Center Blog includes a matching top banner, overall color scheme, and similar footer. Blogs require slightly different coding techniques, and using a template makes an exact match impractical.

Here’s a screen shot smaller than actual size of the client’s new blog created for Conquer Realty, Inc. in Kissimmee, Florida.

Visitors may be interested in the social bookmarking chicklets and links at the bottom of each post. A tutorial plus free download with all graphics and code to easily add social bookmarks to your old Blogger or new Blogger template was posted previously.

Designers who use Xara Xtreme are welcome to download this free trifold brochure template. The set of files includes the inside and outside as two separate documents for 8-1/2 x 11 trifold brochures. The inside right panel and outside left panel are each slightly smaller so the fold tucks in nicely without creasing.

Right-click and Save Target As… to download the free trifold brochure template here (zip files). The 6 panels are identified for the inside and outside artwork. Visit my main site for a trifold brochure tutorial including sample artwork to illustrate each panel for an actual brochure.

Tip: Dimensions for the overall size and 6 panels are 3 places past the decimal point for greater accuracy. To adjust the setting from 2 to 3 places in your Xara Xtreme programs, reset your computer’s regional settings in your control panel under date, time, language and regional options. Select “customize” in XP and change the decimal placement to 3. Exit and open Xara Xtreme again, and all dimensions will be precise to 3 digits.