What goes into building your site? Here are some of the design elements, where they are located
on a page, and what typically it's used for.
Be sure to check "Design
Decisions"
Header - This is located at the very top of the page. Often it will
include a logo or header graphic that includes the web site's name.
Info-Bar - This is a horizontal section of the page in which you
can insert navigation, banner graphics, or other elements. It sits directly below the Header Panel and so commands
a very important piece of your page's real-estate.
Left Panel - Under the Header Panel, and to the left of the Main
Panel where the main body copy of the web page appears. Here you will often find links to all of the important
pages on a web site, as well as other 'persistent' elements: mailing-list sign-up forms, advertisements,
etc.
Main Panel Header - Immediately above the Main Panel is the Main
Panel Header. This header only stretches the width of the main panel itself (unlike the Header Panel, which
stretches across the whole page, not just the Main Panel). Suitable uses for the Main Panel Header might include
navigational elements, graphics, advertising or textual elements - all of which will appear at the head of every
page, above the Main Panel content.
Main Panel - This is where the body copy for your web site will
appear. This is of course the most important element of your pages - the informational element - and not
something that can be pre-written for you. You need to spend time on your main panel content, creating genuine,
quality content (or sourcing ready-written content of comparable quality). The 'pages' you create within your site
are what populate the Main Panel.
Main Panel Footer - At the bottom of the Main Panel is the Main
Panel Footer. You have a choice of whether you have a footer that stretches the full width of the page or
whether the footer excludes the left and right column and appears immediately under the main body of text. You can
also have both at the same time if you wish. For example, you may want to have various links to pages appear under
the main body copy and a copyright message on the page footer.
Right Panel - This is the space between the Main Panel and the
right page margin. People often include testimonials or banner advertisements in this section.
Page Footer - This is the section that appears immediately below
the left and right columns and the main body of the page. Often it will include a copyright message and may include
a reminder of the web page URL. You may also wish to use the footer for links to those pages which (while important
to some sites) you don't wish to clutter the main navigational menu(s) with. Privacy Policy and Terms &
Conditions pages are good examples of such pages.
Margins - These appear on both the left and right side of the
web page although you can, if you wish, choose to have the page left justified and only have a margin on the right
hand side of the page. You can also specify how much of the background you can see, if any, above and/or below
the page.
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