Photoshop & Front Page

[CP2003]

I need help. I am creating a website in Photoshop that once laid out I will turn over to the "programmers" who will then put it into Front Page to make it a working site. The pages that I am creating, do they need to be any larger that 640 X 480? Do I save my 'work' files (each page I build) as JPEGS?
Also, what happens when they "put" it into Front Page? I am new to 'web design' and I am concerned that everything will work the way I want it to...Thank you!!!!

[Neczy]

Well, you can dsign a page, as big or small as you want, but you have to remember that people with higher screen resolutions will have a dificulty viewing the contnet. Im sure someone else can tell you a better size.

Now for photoshop. You are going to want to use the slice tool, and "cut" out where you want your seperate images out. Once that is done, go file, save for web. Choose a location, and save.

Then upload the pictures. Making sure you have an images directory.

Dunno if that helped.

[CP2003]

Thanks that actually does help-though I am not quite as familiar with the slice tool as I guess I should be-is this something I need to use even though I am creating a layered document? Does Frontpage not utilize the layers that are created in Photoshop? I have never used Front page so I am clueless as to how it works-I think I have even heard the term 'slice' used before with Frontpage. Could you explain this to me a little? Thank you again!

[tonyh]

First off if you are using layers in photoshop (PS) you are going to have to either merge the visible layers or flatten image. Just make sure that you save this merged file under a different name (like: fileMerged.psd). And some good advice is to save often, each major change should be saved with a different file name (like: file1.psd, file2.psd, ect.) in case you need to make any changes. You can always delete earlier file names if you've reached a stable design to save disk space.

Once the file is merged/flattened save it as JPG or as suggested use the 'save for web' export feature. I normally don't use the splice tool myself, I find I have greater freedom if I just use the marque tool. Again save each individual cut image in an 'images' folder in which ever file format you choose. JPG has been suggested, but their are others such as GIF and PNG. Look at Adobe's help or what the files look like when saved with different extensions to decide which one you want. Generally images that are transparent or have few colors and text are saved as GIF. JPG doesn't compress text very well, but works better than GIF when there are many colors, such as gradients for example.

That's it, the web development team should be able to do the rest. But, I would advise working closely with them to ensure that the graphics you design will be easy to implement. Design your graphics around what they need or suggest, it'll make the project smoother in the long run.

Ideally, I wouldn't use FrontPage or anyother WYSIWYG editor, but that'll be an experience that your team will have to learn from ;) .

[zingmatter]

If you are 'Saving for web' you don't need to flatten the image.

When I develop a site I build the entire mockup in a single photoshop file and then cut it up as required for the page build. I don't use Frontpage but I would imagine the insertion of graphics is much the same process. For that reason I would hand over a psd file to the web people who will then decide how to cut it up...they may want some of the images with some layers removed (to be added later - such as buttons). They will also decide whether to save individual graphic items as jpeg or gif format.

Hope this helps

[CP2003]

You guys are awesome...totally makes sense to me. Thank you for all your help! Any more info is completely appreciated!