- Template Sets:
- A "Template Set" is the term applied to the entire empty vessel. It contains images, html, css, multiple folders, thumbnail images of the Template Set and variety of "Page Templates".
- Page Templates:
- A Template Set contains many page templates. At least 2 are required for the system to work. 4 to 5 is the average number of Page Templates per Template Set.
- It is assumed that the average TalkSpot customer is here because they want the ease of our tools, and the overall reliability of access. They can make changes anytime, from anywhere, on any computer with access to the internet. It should also be assumed the customer is not a designer, is not tech savvy and probably doesn't even know what an "HTML" is. The Page Templates are available to them to give a variety of layouts, without the customer knowing tables or the need to consider page layouts of their own. The layouts are predefined.
- Possible concepts:
- A Splash Page - Smaller content area, single column
- A Home Page - Wider content area, possibly with 2 columns
- A Gallery Page - Wider content area, with a wide column at the top, with 2 columns, halfway down the page.
- A Universal page - A very wide page, with only a single column.
- All Page Templates (AKA Page "Types") resemble one another, with the exception of the content layout.
| Page Template Examples: |
| Wide - Single Column |
Two Columns |
Three Columns |
Four Columns |
 |
 |
 |
 |
- Docking Zones:
- The areas above, in the red lines, are "Docking Zones". They are designated by the designer, as a location with a Page Template as "editable". These areas are in complete control of the customer.
- A docking zone is created by creating a named code in the XML (see "implementation" to learn more). For example, one docking zone may be called "LeftColumn". The name is up to the designer and is never seen by the customer. It is only used by the code, so it's important that the name is consistent. In short, a docking zone has a name and a width (there are more elements, but this is the short version). Then, the docking zone is placed into an HTML file by adding '$$DZ name="LeftColumn"$$' in the location of the desired area. When the page type is accessed via TalkSpot's tools, customer will have the ability to add a "widget" to their page, and drag them around, where they will drop them into docking zones.
- A docking zone has a set width and is used for stacking widgets within it.
- A docking zone might contain a text widget, with an image widget beneath it, followed by two more text widgets and a document widget. Each of these widgets will fit into the area based on the width of the docking zone and the system placing content within that width, and displaying in the order in which the customer has chosen to place them.
- Themes:
- Themes are completely optional, and likely even unnecessary. They are a quick/easy way for a customer to completely change the look of their website, without altering their contents or the layout of the contents. This is a large feature within the basic system. However, because a custom website is unique to a customer, there is no immediate need for variations of a site. They are getting precisely what they want.
- The concept of theme could be a fun "perk" to sell customers. For example, an outdoor sporting goods store may desire the following 4 themes: Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter. At the beginning of each season, at the click of a button, they can dramatically change the appearance of their site, without altering the content. Themes could be sold for an additional $100.00 a piece! (just an idea, you're in charge of your own pricing model)
Theme Examples:
Here are 4 different themes, surrounding the exact same Template Set. Notice, the content is all the same, but the colors, text classes and some images all change? The magic of CSS! |
| Cityscape |
Desert |
Summer Forest |
Wintery |
 |
 |
 |
 |
- Widget:
- .... the thing that ate Cincinnati, Cleveland, or whatever ...
- "Widget" is a TalkSpot term. It's a small program that "does something unique". TalkSpot has roughly 30 widgets, with more on the way.
- More common widget types:
- Simple Text:
- The Simple Text widget is little more than a word processor. It contains all the text formatting options of MS Word, for example. Tables/Columns/Rows can be placed into a text widget, as well as images, flash, documents, links, etc. The Simple Text Widget is singularly the most important and most flexible widget type of them all. There is also an HTML mode, for the more advanced customers. In essence, a customer goes to their site, logs in, enters "edit mode", selects a widget (like the Simple Text), then types something, presses submit ... and that's it! It's now been committed to the page, real time.
- Single Image:
- The Single Image widget is a widget that shows a single image. It's a "smart" widget, in that is will appear in the same width as the docking zone, or smaller (if it isn't big enough). The customer can opt to have it zoom when clicked, go to another page, another site, or ... do nothing. They can also watermark the image.
- Gallery:
- They can showcase a collection of images, with descriptions, captions and a variety of visual options, fades, presentations, etc.
- Shopping:
- A complete store can be created and placed into a docking zone, via the store widget.
- Real Estate Listing:
- A complete real estate listing can be created and attractively displayed, via the Real Estate Listing widget.
- More widget types ...
- Weather
- Blog
- Menu
- Video (YouTube)
- Music/Audio
- Money (like a store, but a single item)
- Map
- Newsfeeds
- Polls/Surveys
- Page Counter
- Message Boards
- Sign-In
- Newsletter Registration
- Contact/Business Card
- Search Box
- Mortgage Calculator
- Feedback/Comments/Testimonials/Guestbook
- Documents
- Dynamic Widget (shows content from other TalkSpot sites)
- Contact List (displays website membership information)
- There are always more on the way. Most recently, we added the "Money Widget" and "Schedule" widget. We are currently considering a variety of other widgets, such as a Database Widget, a JavaScript Widget, etc. We are also close to adding more visual options and displays for the gallery widget. TalkSpot is always evolving.
- These widgets are how a single person can easily and inexpensively harness 10's of thousands of man hours to build complex, interactive websites, complete with stores, newsletters, email, domain names, etc.
|
|
|
"Your job is to create a well thought out series of docking zones, so that "anyone" can place various widget types within them, creating a compelling and attractive website.
You create the docking zones for the widgets and the customer decides which content to fill them with."
|
|
|