Ok I created a nifty *giggles* design made from photoshop. I am having trouble slicing it and coding it though. I want the content box to expand when I add lots of content in it. I wish not to use deadly frames/iframes for they are evil to google! Can anyone post a tutorial link or reply for me? I wish to use HTML, PHP, and CSS only. Thank you very much.

There isn't really a tutorial for coding a template as it varies from design to design. Why do you need to use php? That's a programming language.

I suggest you visit www.htmlgoodies.com to learn html/css and take it from there :)

What a lot of people do is use the OVERFLOW attribute.

style="overflow: auto;" will automatically add scrollbars to a box if the content is larger than it. I would recommend experimenting with it if you would like a better alternative to iframes. :)

I don't know anything about slicing and using Photoshop for web design. I've seen a couple templates that used it and when I saw the code generated, I threw it out and hardcoded my own design. LOL

I'm still learning some things. I don't use html frames, but I do use frames that I make with php. What I do is just create an index.php file, create a table that is 3X3 (header, body, footer going top to bottom and menu, body, right wing going left to right). Then just use the php script to 'include' whatever page you want in the appropriate cell in your index.php page. I can post a sample site if you need it (as long as I won't get in trouble for posting it)

Why are frames bad for google? Would php frames be bad too?

Frames are bad for search engines and for human visitors for a number of reasons. IMHO, the worst reason is orphaned pages in SE indexes, but difficulty bookmarking and use of devices with frames unavailable are the biggest problems.

I believe you're referring to PHP includes, which should not be called frames. This confuses two terms that describe very different ways of doing similar things. The PHP includes you're talking about are a fantastic way of creating efficiency in markup, and I heartily recommend using them. Traditional frames are nearly worthless (.01% of the time, they can be useful).

Originally posted by the_pm

I believe you're referring to PHP includes, which should not be called frames.

Yes, that is precisely what I was talking about. I incorporate them in nearly everything I write, if for no other reason than to have a uniform menu, header and footer. I know they aren't "frames". I should have used quotes, cuz they are pseudo-frames. In effect php includes are the same as frames just without the bad stuff ;)

Try using Macromedia Fireworks for slicing - its much better than photoshop!

Originally posted by grrlTechie In effect php includes are the same as frames just without the bad stuff ;)

I would point out that the way they work are very different. Frames simply include and display a page in the set box but includes are included and rendered into the page to make 1 full 'untouched' page which is sent to the browser. I signifant different between the two.

use CS2's image ready for full css output. I think it uses divs instead of tables as well. As for a sliced image/template conversion, are you trying to get resizing for height or width attributes? How difficult or ever if it is possible depends on the image you are slicing. Do you have a picture of the image so that we can see?

CS2's image ready CSS is garbage. It uses absolutely positioned div's in lieu of tables--hardly an improvement.

Well I attached what I wanted to slice and code to help you guys understand more. Basically if my navigation text gets to much, I want the navigation part to be able to go down for more text to be there without it overflowing the box. Same goes for content. I need help slicing it though since I have no idea how to slice and code it well. I wish I could use fireworks but I don't have it :(


SORRY FOR THE LOW QUALITY! ATTACHMENT WOULDN'T UPLOAD IF I DIDN'T CRUNCH!