Expression Web Tips » Expression Web Templates

Two New Expression Web Site Templates

Patricia Geary — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 20:45:59 +0000

We’re pleased to bring you two new templates for your web design needs. Both of the templates are offered FREE as Web Packages. Each contains the DWT (Dynamic Web Template) and external style sheet as well as images, and a series of pages for a small web site. You are free to rename the pages and/or create additional pages you might need. Both are two equal height columns at a fixed width of 1024x 768 resolution. The templates use a CSS based layout with no tables.

Daffodil Garden Site Template

Dandelion Meadow Site Template

Both the style sheet and the DWT are heavily commented. If you have questions, please feel free to use the Contact Form on the Expression Web Tutorials and Templates site. You can download either or both of the web packages from Expression Web Tutorials and Templates.

ENJOY!

Content First Expression Web Site Templates

Patricia Geary — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 11:51:12 +0000

Pat Geary and Tina Clarke first brought you a series of twelve Expression Web Site Templates that you could add to your Expression Web program and have them available for your design projects. Next, they brought you a series of five Equal Height Site Templates that you could use in the same way. Now the two Expression Web MVP’s add a series of seven Content First Equal Height Site Templates FREE to the Expression Web Community.

Expression Web COntent First Site Templates

Put Your Most Important Content First

When you are building your website, it is important to optimize each page for the search engines. PART of that process is putting the important content first on the page. Each of the templates in this series does just that. The html code presents your main content first, then the side navigation, the footer, with the masthead and top navigation last in the code. By using floats and positioning, you masthead and top navigation display at the top of your page. Take some time to explore the site templates as well as some of the example sites created with them.

Site Template Layouts

The site templates are available as four different layouts:

one column with top navigation, header, and footer
two column with right sidebar, top navigation, header, and footer
two column with left sidebar, top navigation, header, and footer
three column with left and right sidebar, top navigation, header, and footer

With the exception of the three column layout, each of the others is available as a fluid width and a fixed width to 1024px. The three columns layout is available only as a fixed wdth to 1024 px wide. Each of the templates makes use of a background image to achieve the equal column look of the layout.

Each of the site template packages include the main pages for a small site including:

Home Page
About Page
Contact Us Page
Resource Page
Search Page (includes Google search box)
Site Map Page
Privacy Policy Page
Dynamic Web Template
External style sheet and all supporting images needed

You can rename the pages and create new pages using the DWT.

Problems Encountered

Because of some bugs in Expression Web 4, there are some display issues working in Design View with some of the templates. Each of the problems is explained and workarounds are offered. For this reason, the Content First Site Templates are for intermediate to advanced users of Expression Web.

Download the Templates

These Site Template are FREE and a gift to the Expression Web community. They will work with all versions of Expression Web. You may download them as either a web package that can be imported into Expression Web OR zipped files. Visit Content First Expression Web Site Templates to download any or all of the templates offered. You will find also find Instructions for Working with the Content FIrst Site Templates.

If you encounter problems working with the site templates, please let us know.Once you have download one of the Content First layouts and tweaked it with your own colors and graphics, send us the link to your site so we can include it as an example of what can be done with the layouts. ENJOY!

Summer Flowers Site Template for Expression Web

Patricia Geary — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 00:45:52 +0000

The Summer Flowers Template is the latest offering from Expression Web Tutorials & Templates. It is a fixed width (800px) one column template that makes use of a rotating slide show for the masthead. The slide show was created using the latest Expression Web add-in from Ajatix, the Banner/Image Rotator. This template package will work in all versions of Expression Web as well as FrontPage 2003 and Sharepoint Designer 2007.

Screenshot Summer Flower Template

The Summer Flowers template package may be downloaded from Expression Web Tutorials and Templates along with instructions for its use. You must have the Banner/Image Rotator Add-in for Expression Web if you want to make changes to the banner images or you can substitute a single graphic image for the masthead background. Enjoy!

New Site Templates by Cheryl Wise for Expression Web

Patricia Geary — Mon, 25 Jul 2011 18:41:18 +0000

Cheryl Wise, owner of by-expression.com and a frequent contributor to the Expression Web and SuperPreview Forum, has added three new site templates for your use with Expression Web. They are:

Boy Scouts USA

Boy Scouts Site Template

Camp Escalante

Camp Esclante Site Template

Blades of Glory

Blades of Glory Site Template

You can read more about each of the template packages and download any or all of the above templates from New Site Templates. You can check out all of Cheryl’s Templates. I would also suggest you check out her Basic Website Tutorial which is her most popular tutorial that walks you through creating a website from images and a Word doc through a completed page layout and the creation of DWT for additional pages.

The templates will work with all versions of Expression Web as well as FrontPage 2003 and Sharepoint Designer 2007.

Contact Form Package

Patricia Geary — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:38:11 +0000

Sample Contact Form.

James Huggins first introduced his php email form script in 2005. I have been using it since soon after it was first introduced on all the sites I own and maintain. I have even included it with a couple of the free template packages I have offered on my sites Genealogy Web Creations as well as Expression Web Tutorials & Templates.

I have created a contact form package which includes the following:

sample contact form
sample thank you page
sample error template
form.css – external style sheet for the form and error template
instructions for editing sample contact form
background image used for form fields

The package does NOT include James’ email form script. That you will need to download from his site.

You may download the contact form package

Instructions for using and editing the contact form

More information on Huggins email form script

Brown and Teal Site Template Package

Patricia Geary — Sat, 30 Oct 2010 21:57:37 +0000

The latest template offering from Expression Web Tutorials and Templates is the Brown and Teal Site Template. This site template packages makes use of one of the Expression Web Add-ins Pure CSS Dropdown Menu by Ajatix. The template includes both the horizontal and vertical menus. You can of course substitute any other menu for the ones used if you do not have this add-in available. This site template package makes use of one of the FREE site templates offered by Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web. It has been heavily tweaked and new graphics added.

Brown and Teal Site Template

This templates includes the DWT and all pages needed for a complete site, including a series of product pages. You many rename the pages or delete those you do not need. A fluid layout is used with equal height columns. Create your own content and your site is ready to go.

Download the Brown and Teal Site Template Package. The template is Free for you to use.

Red and Black Site Template Package

Patricia Geary — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 01:22:08 +0000

Check out the latest offering from Expression Web Tutorials & Templates, the Red and Black Site Template Package which is based on one of the basic layouts offered by our sister site Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web.

Red and Black Site Template

The template is a fluid width layout with two equal height columns. The package includes a DWT, external style sheet and all graphic images. Did I mention the template is FREE? The package is a complete website ready for you to add content and additional pages if needed. Current pages can be easily renamed. This is just one of the templates offered and all are Free for you to use.

The site navigation offered in this template uses one of the menus from CSS Menu Tools, the Horizontal Menu Advancer. If you did not have this add-in you can substitute any other horizontal menu.

Majestic Mountains Site Template Package

Patricia Geary — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 21:00:48 +0000

Check out the latest offering from Expression Web Tutorials & Templates, the Majestic Mountains Site Template Package which is based on one of the basic layouts offered by our sister site Migrating from FrontPage to Expression Web.

Majestic Mountains Site Template Package

The template is a 1024px fixed width layout with two equal height columns. The package includes a DWT, external style sheet and all graphic images. Did I mention the template is FREE? The package is a complete website ready for you to add content and additional pages if needed. Current pages can be easily renamed. This is just one of the templates offered and all are Free for you to use.

Expression Web Site Templates

Patricia Geary — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 01:02:16 +0000

All versions of Expression Web come with a set of generic site templates packaged as Dynamic Web Templates or DWT’s for short. These can be found under Site > New Site >Templates in Expression Web 3 and under File > New > Web Site > Templates in Expression Web 1.0 and 2.0 It is possible to create and add your own templates to those generic ones. Tina Clarke has written a tutorial Register Custom Templates in Expression Web 3.0. with instructions on the process you will need to follow to create and add your own DWT’s. NOTE: The template packages will work with ALL versions of Expression Web.

Tina and I have been supporters of Eric Meyer’s CSS Sculptor for Expression Web since it was first released. We were sad to see it had been dropped by WebAssist. I have used it to produce some of the FREE templates I offer at Expression Web Tutorials & Templates.

Tina and I decided to combine forces to create a set of basic dynamic web site templates complete with external style sheet based on the CSS Sculptor layouts. The set of twelve templates have been tweaked and heavily commented for ease of use. Each set also contains a search box page and contact form page. Complete instructions for installing the templates within Expression Web and working with them are available from Expression Web 3.0 Site Templates.

The series of twelve templates are divided into four layout groupings:

One column with top navigation, header, and footer
Two column with left sidebar, top navigation, header, and footer
Two column right sidebar, top navigation, header, and footer
Three columns, left and right sidebar, top navigation

Within each of the layout groups you will find the following different types:

Fixed to 800px- Page and column widths are set with pixels and do not resize if the browser window or browser text size changes.
Fixed to 1024px- Page and column widths are set with pixels and do not resize if the browser window or browser text size changes.
Liquid – Page and column widths are set with percentages which allows them to resize when the browser window changes with the exception of the three column templates which has the left and right side columns set in pixel widths.

Did I mention that all of this is FREE! The site templates can be viewed and downloaded from Expression Web 3.0 Site Templates. They are packaged in groups of three and will work with ALL versions of Expression Web.

Also available on the site are tutorials on the following topics:

Download and install the template packages, one or all of them, then create a site with one of them. If you take the time to study the style sheets which are heavily commented and the xhtml code which is also commented, it will help you to learn css. Read the instructions for editing the style sheets to change the “look” of the site.

Download one or all of the Expression Web Site Templates. Once you have tweaked the basic layout with your own colors and graphics, if you send us the url of your site we will add some examples of what can be done with the templates. After you have had a chance to work with the templates, Tina and I would love to hear your comments. You can leave them on the Comments section of this post or our Contact Page. Please feel free to also ask questions.

Updated April 2010: If you are using either FrontPage 2003 or the Free Sharepoint Designer 2007, these site templates will also work with your program. Just follow the instructions on how to add them to your program files.

Merry Christmas Gift

Patricia Geary — Thu, 24 Dec 2009 20:02:33 +0000

Merry Christmas from Expression Web Tutorials & Templates. Pictured below is just one of the F REE templates available to readers of this blog and my Expression Web site. I have enjoyed working with many of you throughout the year.

Clicking on the image will take you to the site where you can read all the details and download the template package.