Photoshop Websites - How do they do it? 2

[escellentguy]

Could someone please direct me to information on photoshop websites....I am proficient enough in photoshop but I have tried to figure out how some sites use a photoshop template and even add flash....how the heck does that work? When I tried to do a website with what I had created in photoshop it was a HUGE graphic that took forever to load even tho it was a very nice graphic I don't think people want to wait that long. HOw do they use photoshop and html and flash together? I know this is a very long subject I was just hoping there might be a FAQ article or something on it. I can't seem to find the right information on the net.

Thank you very much in advance

 

[jimoblak]

I would backtrack and not immediately concern yourself with Photoshop's web capabilities. What you really need to know is web design in general to know which tools (Flash or Photoshop) are ideal. A small sampling of top sites for understanding web design are:

alistapart.com
csszengarden.com
webmonkey.com
nvu.com

 

[escellentguy]

i design webs not as neat as they are on the net which is why i was looking for more advanced ideas i dont prefer flash i was really looking more for photoshop ideas....thanks for the sites

 

[jimoblak]

Can you point out some example sites that you would like to emulate in your own design?

 

[escellentguy]

its really just a more genereal question than that. i am just wondering how they take a page created in photoshop and make it the template for a website. and i was wondering if there was something i could read specially on that. many of the templates you can download now have PSD as the template and i'm just wondering how you take a PSD and turn it into html for a website.

 

[jimoblak]

This is typically done in ImageReady using slices. There is a chapter in the Photoshop manual devoted to using ImageReady.

 

[escellentguy]

thanks i was afraid you were going to say that lol i have toyed with slices and i really didnt want to get into that but i DO appreciate your direction thanks i'll investigate it ugh lol

 

[Foamcow]

I think a look in the web designers forum and a bit of reading on HTML will help you.

Don't build websites as a single big image, or even a sliced up image. In fact if possible don't build websites in photoshop. Photoshop is for image manipulation and whilst it can output sliced up images and HTML it's far from being a good solution.

You should replace what you can with HTML generated elements and optimise what images you do need down as much as possible.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[escellentguy]

the reason i was so interested in photoshop is because the pages can look so much nicer than in html .... that is the big attraction for PSD files...i really want to try that new site grinder program i had the trial version and it creates very nice sites pretty easily all in photoshop

 

[Kjonnnn]

Sigh.

 

[Foamcow]

escellentguy

I really do think you need to read up a bit about web design and what it actually "is" before launching yourself into creating websites with Photoshop or Sitegrinder. You will do yourself alot of favours if you understand how the web works and what HTML is before you start. Your statement that sites made in photoshop look nicer than those done with HTML demonstrates that you may not quite yet grasp these concepts.

You will still need to use photoshop or another image editing application to create graphics but things like flat areas of colour or text are much better created using HTML and letting the browser render them.

A web page, even if made in photoshop, is created in some varient of HTML. Even if that HTML is simply saying "load this huge and bandwidth choking image here".

Photoshop, for instance, will output graphics files AND the HTML needed to assemble them. This may be fine for some jobs but if you really want to design and build websites then you will need at least a cursory understanding of what you are doing.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[escellentguy]

i cannot believe how pedantic people can be on this site...did you read the part where i manage web sites?
im not great
im not new
just looking for more creativiy
thanks for your input the point is
sites DO look better if done in PS
sue me

 

[Foamcow]

I did read it.
You didn't find my post helpful then? Please explain in what way it was pedantic so that I may avoid trying to help people in this way in future.

You said:

the reason i was so interested in photoshop is because the pages can look so much nicer than in html

That indicates that you think there is some difference and a magical way to create a website in photoshop that will look better than anything that can be done with HTML.

sites DO look better if done in PS

As opposed to sites done in pure HTML alone with no graphics? Then yes. But equally sites built ONLY using Photoshop will potentially suffer from other problems.
So there's the crux. Whether you like it or not you *should* understand how to put the page together without having Photoshop create all the code for you. When you do that then you can make anything at all you want by combining Photoshop, HTML, Flash, Javascript etc.

The statement "sites look better done in photoshop" is kind of indicative that there's a gap in your knowledge. I figured you posted here because you wanted some help and guidance.

If you know everything already, keep at it. Well done.
I've lost interest in trying to help you anyway.

<honk>*:O)</honk>
Foamcow Heavy Industries - Web site design in Cheltenham and Gloucester
Ham and Jam - British & Commonwealth forces mod for Half Life 2

 

[ctopher06]

PS is just a tool to help you create websites within HTML.

Chris

 

[escellentguy]

the pedantic part is this.....you use words like "magical" and "launch" .... that is demeaning....i know what PS is I know html is..... i was JUST looking for new and different things it was just a question in the beginning.....and yet the responses I get are "photoshop is" etc......one response was "SIGH"...???? jimoblak answered the question....thanks to all who input....i'm not dumb....just trying to figure stuff out as we all are...I am actually a vba programmer...when I talk with people I realize that end users and programmers all come to projects with different vocabulary and different skill sets.....as I said.....jimoblak answered the question the answer was >>>>> they use slices......thanks to all

 

[escellentguy]

and I DO understand how html pages work...what makes you think I dont? the sitegrinder uses layers and creates html for you...that doesnt mean I don't understand how html works.....i just like the effect of a photoshop site.....on the sitegrinder home page there are many examples of sites completed in sitegrinder and they are visually interesting and funcionally effective.....

 

[jmgalvin]

Just to let you know, I went to this sitegrinder site based on this post as I never heard of it. I clicked on the Feature Overview link. The next page was unreadable as delivered. In Safari, I could get it readable by decreasing fnt size. In Firefox, it would not respond to the increase/decrease font size, so I could never get it readable.

I don't know if they used their own app to make this page but, if they did, I'd be a bit apprehensive.



Using OSX 10.3.9 on a G4

 

[escellentguy]

thanks that is good feedback....i have only seen the sites that they have as examples and they were pretty nice...i know that it is for the most part still beta but i think it definately will be interesting when they work out the bugs

 

[apepp]

...posts like these are real entertainment value, great viewing you guys!!!

: )

andrew

 

[Kjonnnn]

You CAN haul drywall on the roof of a Civic, it COULD be easier than renting a truck (money-wise). But should you?