This page will explain how to make your own pages for our school site. It is primarily for use by staff who want to upgrade their departmental pages, however, it can be used by pupils who may have permission to create committee pages too.
If you are looking for something specific, you can use these links to go straight to the required section of this page.
Screen Area
Page Layout
Page Styles
Fonts
Font Sizes
White Space
Graphics
Links
Pupil Details
Locations for Pages
Information Utility
Internet Policy Page
Screen Area
When users view our site, rather than a single web page, they normally see two web pages simultaneously.
This is called a "Frame Set"Currently, our frame set consists of the following:
A navigation area on the left with a Flash navigation bar in it;
The main screen area. This is where you are viewing this text right now.To maintain some consistency across the site, we have devised some guidelines for designing pages.
The area of the screen you will be working with is the main section. You are not to attempt to modify the navigation section.
Page Layout
- When designing a page some of these hints may help.
- White space/margins can be as important as content.
- Text should be displayed in blocks and indented equally throughout the page (if you choose to use indents).
- Underlining can give a cluttered look to a page. Try to use bold, Italic, or both to draw attention to words or phrases.
Page Styles
Most pages in our site actually refer to a single file for their background colour, font, and link styles.
This is a deliberate policy because when we want to change the background for all these pages, we will only need to change one file and all the others will reflect this change. If you would like to use the default style in your page(s), you need to attach a cascading style sheet (or css). Be aware though, if you choose import instead of link when you attach it, the style will not be updated if we ever decide to change it.
You can attach a css in Dreamweaver by using the design panel. The file is called "style.css" and is located in the the "Templates" folder, found at the root of the site (Ellon Academy Web).
Do not modify this file, overwrite it or save any other file outside of your own area without the Web Site Committee's approval.
Fonts
Fonts are a tricky issue on the internet.
When you create a page, you will naturally assign fonts to various areas of the page. However, there is no guarantee that the person viewing your page, will have that font on their computer.
The most common font used on the internet is "Arial".
Most of the pages on this site use "Arial".
Dreamweaver includes a special feature which should be of use to you. In Dreamweaver, unless you type the HTML or set it up to do otherwise, you will have to select a list of fonts.
For example, our site uses the following font list: "Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif". This means that if a user does not have the font "Arial" installed on their computer, it will search for "Helvetica" instead. If this font is not found, it will look for "sans-serif" and if this font is not found, then the standard font for the machine being used to view the page will be used. For most Windows based computers, this is "Times New Roman".
White Space
White space can be important for any document.
Web pages are not restricted, so leave white space between paragraphs.
Font Size
On the internet, text can be displayed in a range of scales from large to small according to the settings, depending on how a computer is set up.
So, it is relatively unimportant that a particular font is selected.
The guiding principle should be that headings use one of the special heading tags. This can be selected from the "Format" menu on the "Properties Inspector" in Dreamweaver.
The title "HELP", at the top of this page, is in "Heading 1", while the sub-title "Creating Your Own Pages", is in "Heading 2".
If you don't specify a font size, then the user will see text in the default size for the machine they are using. For most Windows based systems, this is "10".
Links
- When linking to a page some of these hints may help.
- Visit the site first to ensure the material is appropriate and that the site still exists.
- Check the content does not present a bias point of view. If it does, this should be indicated on the link text. Also a link to a counter point of view may be possible.
- Check that information presented as fact is not misleading.
- Double check that the address entered as the link is correct by visiting the site using your new link.
Graphics
- Graphics should balance the text, not overwhelm it, so keep graphics small.
- Don't have text running right up to the edge of an image.
- To change an image's size, select it, and then use the "Properties Inspector" to change the size (which is measured in pixels). "W" is width and "H" is height.
Pupil Details
Information on Publishing Pupil Details and Images of Pupils can be found in the Internet Use Policy.
Page Locations
On the Ellon Academy Web, the following groups have specific page locations:
All teaching departments;
The Library;
The Office;
Board of Studies;
S6 Committees.The first four need no permission to change their files and pages as these belong to the departments. However, S6 Committees need permission to create or edit pages and should seek out a member of the Web Site Committee if the wish to do so.
Department staff should be aware that all pages on the Ellon Academy Web that are linked to via the navigator (on the left) must use a specific name. For this reason, we have created a utility that shows you where your files are to be stored and the name you must use for the home page.
Departmental Web Files Information Utility