Meet George Jetson and Jane, his wife. George and Jane just walked into their local space-age department store to buy a new shirt for George to wear to work. George purchased a basic dress shirt. Because George knows that is all he will ever need.
Now imagine you are walking into your local department store to buy a new shirt and being able to choose a basic style that within a few seconds you can decide what color you want it to be the day you wear it. You could also decide you want the sleeves and pocket to be a different color than the rest of the shirt or maybe pinstriped instead of a solid color. Wouldn't that be great? Wouldn't that truly be the ultimate timesaver on those mornings that you just simply cannot get going and don't want to make any decisions before you get to your job? George and Jane Jetson will agree.
Now imagine that this new shirt is your website. Because when you use a
BasicTemplate which are all developed with External CSS (the RIGHT WAY!) that is exactly the flexibility you have available to you. I am constantly amazed at the number of so-called "professional" template designers who advertise that they use CSS when in fact they are using it completely wrong. The fact is most are using it similar to the way that redundant HTML font/color/etc. tags are used (internal or inline) which makes the concept of CSS useless when developing a web template. The end user is the one that suffers - major.
When you purchase a web template elsewhere be sure to check the source code. If the designer is using CSS properties within the HTML, it was not developed correctly even if they have provided you with an External CSS file. You can also be assured that you purchased a template from a newbie designer or someone who knows very little about effective web design.
Let's go back and peek in on George and Jane Jetson. George just got out of the shower on Monday morning and is headed to his closet. He pulls out the new shirt, click a few buttons, types in a few codes, and WHAM! he changed the color of his green shirt to blue with blue pinstriped pockets and WAIT ... he removed the collar and changed the length of the sleeves! How did he do that?
If you again relate George's basic shirt to your website using a BasicTemplate with External CSS and
"Interchangeable" Graphic capabilities, by merely swapping out a Real Estate header graphic image to a Baby Header Graphic image and adjusting the colors in the .CSS file, you changed the theme and appearance of your original template within seconds.
You don't have to wait until the time when we can fly our cars to work through the air to enjoy the same kind of space-age technology with your website. BasicTemplates.com's designers had you in mind when they developed the concept behind their templates back in 1994.
If you purchased a template elsewhere and are wondering whether the CSS is being used correctly for the best possible effectiveness,
ontact our tech support team with your URL. They will check your source code at no charge.
Did you know, there is a common misconception that just because a CSS file validates, that the code is being used effectively? That is simply not true. Validating your stylesheet only means that the code and formatting of the code used are correct. Validation does not ensure that your website is using the proper CSS method to be effective for you so that your website maintenance is less of a burden.
// posted by BasicBeca on 7/07/2005 09:49:00 AM / Permanent Link
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