Adding colors to the site

[planet777]

Hi all,

I've been making some nice progress with the aesthetics of my site - diet and weightloss - www.flabfallsoff.com but dont know how to add colors.

Mine is a direct response site, so the copy and content etc sits inside a border - two tramlines, so to speak. I want to put color OUTSIDE the border area but don't know how to do that.

The closest I got was in page properties in BV, clicked on the Background tab, there was another section in that called background too, you could change color, but it changed it for the WHOLE of the site, not just outside the border.

How does one pick and choose where to put color?


tks in advance!

Will

[Girlonthehill]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Change the colour of the background to what you want the outside border area to be then simply make a rectangle, colour as you wish and place it behind your copy. You can see the effect on my sites (below). Good luck.

[Lincslady]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Hi Will,

Set the page background colour that you want ..like you said in "page properties" background, then use the shape tool under "format" at the top of your bv screen, ...right click the shape...go to properties...there you can set your colours, even scroll down to "custom colours and make your own....

But remember to write down your colours cos it doesnt save them , or do a blank page of your colours and save that as colours page and bring it up whenever you work on your site.

With borders it will look something like this sample

http://www.lindashouseemporium.net/shapes.html

Also would be a good idea to set your page guides by clicking on the link below. hope this helps

[Lincslady]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Sorry Amanda , beat me to it again lol

[Girlonthehill]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Sorry Amanda , beat me to it again lol

LOL Two helpers are better than none.

[planet777]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Hi Amanda & Linda,

tks for the help! Both of you have nice sites and I have also earmarked to do that grid outlines thing soon-ish... lol.

Sorry to appear cretinous but I'm still battling to do this... I would like the area inside my 'tramlines' to be white, and the area outside aqua or whatever... if I go to 'format' most of the content is greyed out... and if I right click on the Shape icon it says nothing about properties, just a list of Tools etc...

The most i've been able to do is in page properties, click on background, and then choose a colour. But, it then makes the WHOLE screen that colour... sorry, I know i'm missing something simple but just dont know how to do it!

Do we maybe have diff. versions of BV? My shape icon is nowhere near the Format bar, but there IS a Shape thingy under the Insert menu?

??????? LOL.

tks! I appreciate it...

Will

[Girlonthehill]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Hi Amanda & Linda,

tks for the help! Both of you have nice sites and I have also earmarked to do that grid outlines thing soon-ish... lol.

Sorry to appear cretinous but I'm still battling to do this... I would like the area inside my 'tramlines' to be white, and the area outside aqua or whatever... if I go to 'format' most of the content is greyed out... and if I right click on the Shape icon it says nothing about properties, just a list of Tools etc...

The most i've been able to do is in page properties, click on background, and then choose a colour. But, it then makes the WHOLE screen that colour... sorry, I know i'm missing something simple but just dont know how to do it!

Do we maybe have diff. versions of BV? My shape icon is nowhere near the Format bar, but there IS a Shape thingy under the Insert menu?

??????? LOL.

tks! I appreciate it...

Will

What you have now is a 'flat' page. What you want to achieve is a layered page: bottom layer = coloured background; middle layer = white rectangle; top layer = text copy and images.

The 'shape' button could, very well, be in a different place. It looks like a white elipse on a grey rectangle. When you click it a grey box will appear. Right click this and change the colour to what you want in properties. Resize it so that your copy fits comfortably on it. Then right click and 'send backwards'. This should move it back a layer so that your copy is on top. Then place it where you want, centre your page (in page properties) and colour your background. It may take a little playing around, don't be afraid you will get there.

[planet777]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Hi Amanda,

tks for this and the patient replies ... :-

Actually, I have got a layered page - I know about that 'move back' etc stuff, coz I created the border and had to a) make it transparent and b) move it back so it didnt stop ppl from accessing the buying buttons!! (which is a mistake I've only just rectified after 5 days or so of the site essentially being unavailable!!) Oh well, live and learn.

I've got the middle and top layer, now to try for the bottom layer...lol.

Yes, I know of the shape button and the colours... but if I do that and create another border, it will simply sit over the original, making the border slightly thicker... I did try and play with this but couldnt get ONLY the 'non-copy' area to come up with colour...

Is the problem the original border? Should I delete that and try again?

I can understand how to create a coloured area IN the 'copy area' but the trick is how to create it OUTSIDE the copy area... man, i'm sure this is simple enough...

I guess I can console myself with the fact that a lot of direct response sites (check out attractanewcar.com for eg) dont have coloured borders, just plain text on a white page... a nice default... lol.

Tks, appreciate any input...

Will

[Bethers]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Will, make the background the color you want the outside of the page to be. Go into your properties on the border - and instead of transparent - make the inside color of it what you want the back of the page there to be - white, I believe?

That should take care of it for you.

[planet777]

Re: Adding colors to the site

Woo, woo, wooooooo did it!!!!!!!! LOL!

Thanks Beth! I knew it had to be something simple... superimposed the 'new' rectangle, just put 'move back' and voila.

Then experimented with the colors/colours (gotta watch our Ps and Qs here as to the diff. spellings!!!!!!! lol) and even created a sky blue color - seems nice. have published it too...

so tks to all for your help!!

A few more tiny things to sort out and the site will be cookin' ... lol. Oh, on that note and re the colors, how does one get colors that are a mix, that sort of fade in and out of diff. tones? As an example, check out burnthefat.com (a competitor!! Zounds! lol) - the aqua style or whatever is not constant throughout, how does one do that?

or am I now being REAL fussy????? LOL.

Anyway, enough for one day/night (it's nearly midnight here, zzzzzz lol)

chao 4 now

Will

[Bethers]

Re: Adding colors to the site

You can download pictures that fade and use them - orif you are adding the color via the shape tool - notice it has the choice "gradient" - that will change the page as you go down. You need to open a new page and just play with all the tools you have for a few hours or days - it's amazing what you'll discover you can do :)

[planet777]

Re: Adding colors to the site

thanks Beth, will do!

cheers

Will