In this Issue...
 INTRO
| CSS, SharePoint, and Webinars
This month Corrie finishes her series on CSS with an
article on Web Design Workflow, giving her professional
insight on how the new development cycle with symantic HTML
and CSS come together for her. Check out Corrie's
article to learn more.
We also provide more insight into our developments with
SharePoint and how you can learn more and benefit from the
opportunities with SharePoint. Heather Waterman, our
SharePoint Specialist, provides some links to places online
where you can learn more about SharePoint. Plus, Heather
will also be our lead presenter on our upcoming Free Webinar
- SharePoint for Web Site Builders. Read on to learn more.
Thank you again for your continued interest in our
newsletter and for being a valued customer. Expect more from PixelMill
and yourself!
by Jason Reckers, President & CEO -
PixelMill Inc.
 FEATURE
| Web Design Workflow
We're wrapping up this series with this final article
about my typical web design workflow, which will help you to
understand how design, semantic HTML, and CSS work together
for me.
1. Gather information and content.
One of my first steps is to establish the overall site
structure - the different pages in the site and how they
relate to each other. I also require the specific content
that will go on each page, along with any images that are
relevant to the content. When working with a client, I
encourage them to provide all the text content in something
like a Word document, split up by pages, with text notes
indicating which image should go with which page. If
necessary, I guide the client to provide more web-friendly
content with plenty of easy-to-scan headings and
subheadings.
2. Create design screenshots.
Now that I know how much content there will be, I can
provide some accurate design screenshots by firing up
Photoshop. I usually create one screenshot for a basic
content page and another screenshot for the home page, which
is usually more specialized.
3. Put together HTML.
While waiting for the client to approve my design work, I
can usually get started on the basic semantic HTML. Going
from the Word document, I can start putting together HTML
pages, sans styling, where the content is clearly and
logically marked up with valid HTML tags. I make sure that
my navigation is marked up as a list of links, that the
company name is marked up with Heading 1, that the page
title uses Heading 2, and that the rest of the page follows
suit with proper subheadings and paragraphs.
4. Add graphics and CSS.
When the design work has been approved, I create the
individual web graphics that I need for the web site from
the screenshots. At the same time, I start adding in the
CSS, adding additional content <div> tags as necessary. I
usually start with the basic layout CSS first (columns,
rows), assigning temporary background colors to the divs so
that I can clearly see their dimensions and work out layout
bugs before starting in on the finer design details.
And that's how it all comes together! My workflow
has changed since I've started trying to build semantic,
valid, CSS-based sites. I used to start with the design
screenshot first and then try to fit in the content. Now,
however, my design work is meant to support and help
communicate the content. Clean code comes before the
graphics and polish. It's been a long but rewarding journey
of traveling through the different levels of CSS, and
hopefully this series has helped you to more quickly jump up
to further levels!
by Corrie Haffly, PixelMill Staff Writer
 PRODUCTS
| Windows SharePoint Services
There is a lot of buzz going around these days
about SharePoint, including our announcement last
month regarding our new catalog of PixelMill Skins
for SharePoint. As a result, we have received the
following questions about SharePoint:
What is SharePoint?
Here are some links that should help you define
SharePoint:
Who is using SharePoint?
Here are some examples of sites using SharePoint for
content management.
source: www.wssdemo.com
Where can I find more SharePoint information?
One of the best ways to learn more about a new solution
is to see it in action. We
recommend taking a look at the video based tutorials at
FWHN. Not only does FWHN provide Windows SharePoint Services Hosting, they
also have a handful of tutorials
that will show you through the product.
What is PixelMill doing with
design templates around SharePoint?
PixelMill
Skins for Windows SharePoint Services are the first in a series of new design templates
for SharePoint from PixelMill. Future solutions include
modified SharePoint Master Pages with modified layouts and
menus and turn-key web site solutions (similar to the site
examples above) designed to use
SharePoint as a backend content management system, taking
your customization to a whole new level.
Get started today
with a PixelMill Skin for WSS...
by Heather Waterman, PixelMill
SharePoint Specialist
 UPCOMING
WEBINARS
|
SharePoint for the Web Site Builder
Free Webinar! - November 15th
SharePoint for the Web Site Builder
A live one-hour session where you will receive valuable insights for using SharePoint as a differentiator for current and prospective clients. Use the power of SharePoint and SharePoint Designer to create successful solutions for you and your clients.
This Webinar will cover:
- Introduction to Windows SharePoint Services
- Options for using SharePoint as a Web Site Management tool
- Connecting Live, Dynamic Content from SharePoint to your Web site
- Formatting SharePoint Data Views and Web Parts using SharePoint Designer
- Using a Hosted SharePoint solution to your benefit
Time: 10:00am - 11:00am Pacific Time
Toll Free conference call access for U.S. and Canada callers. International toll number available.
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