Size does matter?

I´ve looked everywhere, and used every search word i could think...but i still
can´t find the answer? If i was to make a PSD template in PS...what would the size of the template be? When i did my first site in DW, i did it in 800X600. Should i do the PSD temp also in 800X600? And also should all the elements be on their own layers, headers, footers, logos etc. etc.

thanks in advance

 

If you're designing for 800x600 resolution then you PSD (comp) should be no larger than 770px wide. And yes, all elements should be on their own layers and grouped in folders. For example, if you have 3 layers for your footer, then create a folder called Footer and put all those layers in that folder.

 

Actually, I'd put it at 776 pixels wide.

 

I design in 1000px wide, but I never take up all of the space. It's just that I prefer to see the background as well.

 

everything in your PSD should be designed so that each design element you add into the design can be easily switched on or off by one layer, same as the text to be easily changed so later revisits to the template are easy to make

776px i think is good to go for the 800x600 resolution

 

Yes, always use 800 x 600, never any wider though sometimes you need it longer

With a bit of the background on either side, main part for me is 775 or thereabouts

 

Thanks for the info. I´ve got maybe a noob question, but here goes...they say u should always have 72 res in web, so should the canvas be 72 pixels/inch res or can i use bigger res?. And should i have the background done in a different psd file than the template itself. Sorry, if my questions make u sigh, but i´m just starting to design, and i want to make them good as possible

 

No need for a bigger res. How do you use the background if its in a different file? You just need it in a different layer

 

72ppi is perfect for the Web. Just be sure to keep your canvas fit for 800x600 and you should be fine. You may also want to consider 1024x768 as well, just to see if you can get the same deisgn to look well at that size as well.

As for me? I code a basic wireframe in HTML and CSS first, then I go back and add graphics as needed.

But I'm not your typical coder either.

 

as for the code? i have no idea what to do...because i know almost zero CSS. But i´m very interested to learn CSS and XHTML because of their possibilities.
It will take plenty of learning...

 

If you want to start with CSS, I recommend you three things
1) http://w3schools.com/ - very good resource for almost everything
2) http://www.pixel2life.com/ - CSS tutorials - you can find there plenty of ncie CSS tutorials for beginners
3)http://alistapart.com/ - very good resource, try this one - http://alistapart.com/articles/12lessonsCSSandstandards

 

can i add one more?

http://www.alvit.de/handbook/ my all time favorite

 

Got across that one once but I have forgotten it, thanks for reminder It's really useful, thought

 

it's one my 10 favorites in firefox favs bar. really usefull all year round.

 

I like the color schemers etc. sometimes I just drop the color there and it will pop out with some great colour with which I can combine the first one

 

Thanks for the links. I´ll bookmark them and look up. I was just studying one of free templates css file...and wheew!! I thought man there´s a big job doing a template with CSS and xhtml. BTW is there a list of somekind...explaining what does a thing do for example there was a command "clearer" and when I changed it to "clear" it did a really weird thing...so is there somekind of a list of commands. I really appreciate your help!

 

800 x 600 may not always fit the project. Web portals usually need more than that,
and you can keep in mind the audience you are targeting. Developers and designers (for instance) would probably not waste their imagination on 800 x 600 screens..