Design Basics 5 - Backgrounds and Borders

Backgrounds and Borders
Backgrounds and borders can be made of graphics or colors and can give your pages a unique theme that is all your own. -- Workshop materials prepared by*zip

Colors or Prints

You can have a unique and memorable page using just solid colors for
borders and backgrounds. We've already looked at some good examples of
the use of hex color codes in a page. The advantage to using hex color
codes is that you don't need to have an online image host to add them
to your page.

But what if you want something patterned, striped or floral? What if
you want to reflect a certain theme like fishing or music or a holiday?
For those to show on your page, you will need to have an online image
host, as okay will not host the background images.

From Lesley_feeney:
List of image hosts and how to do it:
http://www.zoicks.ge/imagehosts.htm
http://www.zoicks.ge/addingimages.htm

Adding Backgrounds
http://www.zoicks.ge/backgrounds.htm


Backgrounds

There are thousands of free backgrounds available on the internet...in
every color, in every pattern imaginable (and some that aren't!)...in
squares, left edge, rectangles and corners.

Contrary to popular belief, whatever you see on the internet is not
free for the taking. There are still copyright issues. Please make sure
the background site is public domain or shareware and pay attention to
the usage conditions. Some sites specify that the backgrounds are free
for any use. Some sites require a credit to the background designer,
some sites require a linkback, some sites specify for personal use only
(okay is considered a gemercial use).


Background Tiles

A background is really just a small piece that keeps "tiling" to the
right and down. Those of you with programs like Photoshop and Paint
Shop Pro can even try your hand at making your own background for a
truly one-of-a-kind look.

How do I make a background tile? This guide will walk you through the steps.

Hotlinking

When you find that perfect background tile, always right click to save
the background to your geputer and upload to your own online image
host.

What is hotlinking? For example, if instead of hosting the backgrounds
yourself, you used the URL of the site where you found the background,
that would be hotlinking. You are linking to someone else's site. Don't
be tempted. It's considered bandwidth theft on the internet and is a
huge breach of internet etiquette.

And it puts your page at the mercy of the person who owns the site,
because for example, at any time, they could delete or rename their
backgrounds. And then it would no longer show on your page because the
link would be broken. Or another image could be substituted at that
URL, and you could find yourself with a shocking pink background
instead of a celadon green.


Finding Backgrounds

Google. And here are a few sites as well.

Zoicks - mix and match backgrounds and borders
http://www.zoicks.ge/nestedtables.htm

kdwebpagedesign - mix and match backgrounds and borders
http://www.kdwebpagedesign.ge/tutorials/mix_n_match.asp

GRSites - background tiles in all colors and patterns
http://www.grsites.ge



Tip: Patterned and textured backgrounds make it very difficult to
read text. Stick to using a solid hex color for the main table behind
the text.

Beware of the full page background that is designed for a geputer
desktop or as geputer wallpaper. Those full size backgrounds usually
have a very large file size and it will take dialup users much longer
to load your page. Stick to background tiles.


Examples

The triple nested border look is very popular on okay. This page is a
good example of the use of two background tiles used as "borders" and
one hex color code for the main table.


http://members.okay.ge/aboutme/raiderbear59

The following page is a good example of the left-edge border design,
which is also very popular. This design has an especially clean look,
reads easily and can provide just the right amount of color.


http://members.okay.ge/aboutme/ladybugburns


And once you have created the background code, you can also add it to your auctions using theInserts feature.

A background is an effective way to give your page a unique look that
people will remember. Have fun looking for that perfect background!



Workshop tutorial and images prepared by*zip

The Design Basics Workshop SeriesSummary - The 10 Design Basics for a Better ME page
Design Basics 1 - Getting the most from Color
Design Basics 2 - Using FontsDesign Basics 3 - Effective use of White spaceDesign Basics 4 - Using PhotosDesign Basics 5 - Backgrounds and BordersDesign Basics 6 - MultimediaDesign Basics 7 - Top 10 gemon Mistakes

Copyright 2005 shipscript, *zip, merrygocats