Virtual Mechanics SiteSpinner WebTips

-- Helping You Get The Most Out of Your Website --

October SiteSpinner WebTips

Hello,

For those of us in the northern hemisphere fall is officially here. That means the days are getting shorter, and the amount of sunlight we get each day is dwindling. As a result, our computer monitors seem to be getting brighter. This month we talk about choosing the right colors for your site, the difference between Text and Titles, yellow form fields. And, if the weather is getting you down, in the Gallery we head off to the sunny Philippines.

In this issue:

Design - Color your Site
How To - Titles vs. Text
Community Tips - Yellow Form Fields
Site of the Month - Villa Tarcela Resort
Special Offers and Announcements - Free Hosting

Design - Color your Site
_________________________________________________________________
Web Safe Colors

So, you want to create a website, and your favorite colors are blue and black. No problem you think, 'I'll make the background black, and the text blue, or the text black and the background blue. Then again, my wife likes white and yellow, so maybe yellow text on a white background'.

There was a strip-mall down the road from where I use to live. Each of the stores had a sign out front with the name of the company, or a description of their business. There was one store that had a large neon sign, bigger than all the rest, and the text was blue. At night, you could not decipher a word written on it. Due to the way your eye process light, some colors lend themselves well to text - blue is not one of them.

Like many other things in life, what we like may not always work in our best interests. That is, the colors you like may not work for the purpose you want them to. In other words, some colors work well on a web page, while others don't, especially when it comes to text. There are many reasons for this including, but not limited to, how a computer monitor displays color (RGB as opposed to CMYK for print), how your eye processes color, the quality of the monitor and graphics card, and the number of colors your visitor is viewing the page with. The age of your visitor (don't forget, some people are color blind too). Even the psychology - how your brain interprets one color over another comes into play.

All this to say, before you go adding yellow text on a white background, or use red for the background for a site devoted to meditation, be sure that it is legible, and conveying the intended message. The best way to do this is to get as many separate set of eyes as possible on different computers to look at your site and get feedback from them. So, on that note, post your site to our Community Forum > Web General Discussion for feedback, and see what others think about your color choices, and your website in general.

How To - Titles vs. Text
_________________________________________________________________
What is the difference between Text and a Title in SiteSpinner?!

To put it quite simply, 'Text' is html text. That is, your browser displays the text directly. A Title on the other hand is an image file. That is, your browser is displaying a drawing of the text.

A Title is text that is rendered (drawn) into an image file. Rendered Titles have the following advantages over Text objects:

They can be shaded to add transparency, linear, radial or cylindrical shading
They can be textured or transparency mapped
They can be rotated, skewed and transformed
You can use any font you like (Text can only use the font that the visitor may have on their systems)

Titles have the following limitations:

Since a Title is rendered as an image file, it will take longer to download
Titles can only have a single font and size
Titles cannot include text links inside the title. You can however assign a link to the whole Title object

Because it creates an image file, a Title is best used as a high quality header. Text objects are best used for large blocks of formatted text such as you are reading now.

To create a new Title in SiteSpinner, select the Title button on the Components toolbar at the left or select Title from the Object menu at the top of the page. You can then size, shade, fill, and place your Title anywhere you want in the work-window.

Community Tips - Why are some Form fields Yellow!?
_________________________________________________________________
These Tips are created by readers and SiteSpinner users and posted to the Virtual Mechanics Community Forums

Bruceee writes "Have you wondered why, when you preview or publish, some form fields are yellow? Thanks to a question Klimt raised via email, here is the answer: ..." > continue reading...

Site of the Month - B&B Casa Esperanza
_________________________________________________________________

Site Title: Villa Tarcela Resort

Site Author: Tony Ocampo

Site Link: www.villatarcela.com

Site Description: A newly opened hotel at the countryside in Bohol, Philippines, certainly needs a website to have access to the market. Both to Filipinos living abroad coming home for vacation and tourists.

Built With: SiteSpinner

Review: Since I don't have html knowledge in making Websites, I decided to try Site Spinner which was recommended by a computer magazine. It's easy to use, affordable price, and professional quality results. I highly recommend it to others!

Offers and Promotions - Free Hosting Offer for Virtual Mechanics Customers from iHostVM _________________________________________________________________

Receive Free Website Hosting for a year! ($199.40 Value!)

No Obligations!
No Setup Fees!
Easy to use, built-in publishing from within your Virtual Mechanics software.

This is a one-time offer and is only valid for registered users of Virtual Mechanics products.

Purchase SiteSpinner for $49.00, the one tool for creating websites, easily, and receive your free year of webhosting from iHostVM. Find Out More about SiteSpinner.

_________________________________________________________________

Don't Forget to Forward This Newsletter To Your Friends!

As always, we welcome your feedback.

J. Peter White
President,
Virtual Mechanics Inc.
< Celebrating 10 years in business - 1998 - 2008! >