Dreamweaver templates - section index
FREE DREAMWEAVER TEMPLATES  Macromedia - Free DW Templates  Layout Gala - Free CSS Templates		COMMERCIAL TEMPLATES  Template Monster - DW Templates

Free Dreamweaver Templates From Macromedia

On the Macromedia site there's a Free Dreamweaver Template Page that offers you a nice collection of excellent looking Dreamweaver templates for both MAC and PC. From the site:

"Templates provide new Dreamweaver users with an intuitive way to learn how to create Web pages and sites, whereas more experienced Dreamweaver users can use them as a jumping point for new projects or comps. You can apply templates when you create a document or apply them to an existing document. All the graphics for the templates were created using Macromedia Fireworks.

"The seamless integration between Dreamweaver and Fireworks gives new users everything they need to instantly create Web pages. The fully editable Fireworks files make it easy to quickly edit the graphics and pictures. Just customize the words in Dreamweaver, and you're ready to post the site.

"Templates feature e-commerce, education, and consumer themes and were built using both Dreamweaver and Fireworks. You can download a fully functional trial version of Fireworks to get started today. Macromedia has created these Dreamweaver templates exclusively for use by licensed Dreamweaver customers. All other use of these templates is prohibited."

You can click on a preview and see just what the web pages will look like before downloading the free templates. So have a look around and see if you find a nice template that suits the style you are looking for. Some titles include: Design House, Club, E-zine, Photographer, Band Fan Site, Kids, Massage Therapist, Professor, Vacation,
Wedding, and Yearbook.

Visit the Free Dreamweaver Template Page at the Macromedia site.

Dreamweaver CS3 Upgrades And Bundles From The Adobe Store

Design, develop, and maintain standards-based websites and applications — from start to finish — with Adobe Dreamweaver CS3. Work using either a visual layout interface or a streamlined coding environment. Get the full version for US $399, or upgrade for US $199.

Dreamweaver CS3 is also available as part of Adobe Creative Suite 3 Web Premium ($1,599/$340) — which offers a complete solution for creating interactive websites, applications, user interfaces, presentations, and mobile device content. Web Premium combines all-new CS3 versions of Flash Pro, Photoshop Extended, Illustrator, Fireworks, Acrobat 8 Pro, Contribute, Bridge, Version Cue, and Device Central. International options are available at Adobe's UK Store, Europe Store, and Australia Store.



Commercial Dreamweaver Templates From Template Monster

Template Monster offers a large collection of Dreamweaver templates. All of their Dreamweaver templates can be easily edited and customized within Dreamweaver.

There is a note on their site that states that they do not complete their templates as a .dwt file, but that they guarantee that their templates will work properly with Dreamweaver as well as many other HTML editing software packages.

Template Monster also features some useful articles and tutorials that can help with the editing and customization of Dreamweaver templates. Visit their Web Design Library to read about editing Dreamweaver templates.

Also note that when you buy a Dreamweaver template you'll have full 24/7 premium support services. So if you've already purchased a Dreamweaver template and need any assistance, just visit their Support Page.

On the front page of Template Monster you'll find a pulldown menu where you can select options and then carry out a search for a template.

The templates are reasonably priced and, as we've already noted, are pretty easy to manage in GoLive or Dreamweaver. In the past we've purchased a template solely for the color scheme and the images. On certain projects we found this was less expensive than buying stock photos.

Buy Dreamweaver Templates at Template Monster - Ready-Made Templates.


Layout Gala - Free CSS Templates For Web Design

Free CSS templates can be a dime a downloadable dozen these days, but few sites offer a selection as extensive and easy-to-use as Layout Gala.

Over 40 free templates are collected here, each created using identical HTML by Alessandro Fulciniti. He's covered just about every imaginable layout for a blog or website template – there are fixed, relative, centered, right-justified and left-justified options, and every combination thereof.

For those new and wishing to try their hand at web design, or for those seasoned and seeking to expedite their workflow, both would be well-advised to stop by here and take a look at these templates. Fulciniti has made what is often the hardest and most time-consuming part of website design easy and efficient, as you no longer have to struggle to get the bare bones of the layout working in all browsers and displaying the desired widths. This site is a must to be bookmarked, especially for those of you who are working with Dreamweaver.

SiteGrinder 2 — Photoshop Plugin Review
Review by Jennifer Apple
(Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are now available.)

There often seems to be a strict division of labor within the world of web design and development. Creative professionals tend to stick to the Photoshop domain, while those well-versed in scripting are left to the task of implementing their work. Indeed, the two realms are quite different from each other, to which any of us even vaguely familiar with either can easily attest.

Essentially, Photoshop is a no-holds-barred design studio, offering the artist a seemingly endless array of creative options. On the other hand, HTML, CSS, Java and the like follow strict rules of engagement, requiring the developer to take any number of esoteric concerns into consideration in order to ensure that designs are properly displayed on the web.

Turn Photoshop Into A Complete Web Design Tool
SiteGrinder 2 seeks to bridge this gap between design and development. Basically, this program turns Photoshop into an easy-to-use and fully functional web design tool. With SiteGrinder 2, designers will now have the freedom to totally let their creativity loose and then, without skipping a beat, transfer their designs to the web. Bringing esthetic concerns together with more practical considerations, this program is an amazingly powerful tool that would make a fantastic addition to any web designer's bag of tricks.

So how does it work? Think for a second about the normal flow of work for any web design project. You'll spend a great deal of your time designing the visual appearance of your website in Photoshop, only to turn around and spend even more time working with a code editor like Dreamweaver or GoLive, going through the labor-intensive process of reconstructing these designs for the web.

Not to mention that fact that your creativity is often significantly limited when you're using a design program that's completely separate from the program that's used to prep everything for the web. Not everything that you design will be functional when it's translated to the web, nor will it be compatible with all web browsers period! As such, you'll often find yourself not going that extra creative mile just because you know that your web developer will have to re-work your designs just to make sure that they can be used online.

Generate Your Web Pages Directly From Photoshop
SiteGrinder 2 throws all these considerations to the wind. By generating web pages directly from Photoshop, you'll be able to spend much more time on the creative end of the spectrum, since you'll know right off the bat how well particular designs will translate to the web. No more going back to the Photoshop drawing board after getting a phone call from your development team, telling you that what you had envisioned doesn't have a chance of being displayed on the web. You can immediately visually and interactively test your designs, which permits you to then make changes to either esthetics or functions while it's still relatively early on in the design process.

With SiteGrinder 2, you can easily convert Photoshop Type layers into CSS styled web text. Virtually all of Photoshop's character and paragraph styles are supported by CSS, so you'll be able to ensure a smooth transition from workspace to web browser. This includes everything from bold and italic to paragraph spacing and alignment. Even hyperlinking is made easy, as SiteGrinder 2 will automatically turn any HTTP and e-mail URLs into hyperlinks.

Create Buttons, Rollovers, Popups & Menus
Likewise, SiteGrinder 2 will convert image layers to web graphics, generating automatically the HTML needed to display your images on your website exactly where you had positioned them in Photoshop. All the basic elements of any standard website are also easy to achieve by using SiteGrinder 2 with Photoshop, which allows you to create buttons, rollovers, pop-ups and menus. Pretty much all you have to do is tell SiteGrinder 2 about special layers by including "hints" when you name the layers – simply include "button", "rollover" or "pop-up" in your layer name and SiteGrinder 2 will create your preferred interactive feature automatically.

No Tables Here — SiteGrinder Produces Valid XHTML 1.1 and CSS
It's also a breeze to create a multipage website from a single Photoshop document, by using a Photoshop tool called the Layer Comps palette. Often overlooked, this incredibly powerful little tool lets you save and name particular document states, including the position and visibility of every layer. To create multiple pages, all you have to do is make the document look the way that you want a page on your site to look, and then make a layer comp — then set up the next page and make another layer comp, and so on. SiteGrinder 2 will then use these comps to figure out what to include on the web pages that it will generate for you. It's as easy as that!

SiteGrinder 2 effectively functions as your very own web technician, who knows all there is to know about CSS, HTML and other complex web formats.

You don't need to spend precious time and money learning the intricacies of web-speak when SiteGrinder 2 can do all this work for you, leaving you with much more time and freedom to explore the limits of your creative potential in the Photoshop world you know so well.

Pricing and Availability
Mac OS X and Windows versions of the SiteGrinder unlockable demo are available now via download. SiteGrinder 2 can be ordered from Media Lab's online store.

Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration - PhotoshopCAFE Video Training

Even if you have no prior experience, Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration by Colin Smith of PhotoshopCAFE.com fame will teach you what you need to know to create websites that will blow the competition out of the water.

Based on the book Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration, this 2 1/2 hour DVD ROM shows you how to plan, design and launch your website.

Combining the 2 most popular web design tools, Adobe Photoshop and Dreamweaver, you’ll learn the workflow that the pros use. In a simple step-by-step, plain English approach, Colin will show you exactly what you need to know. This one-of-a-kind guide will show you how to create visually appealing and technically effective professional web sites.

• Set Photoshop preferences
• Create eye candy
• Use repeating patterns
• Make a final design comp
• Create roll-over effects
• Optimize gif, jpg and png
• Define a site in Dreamweaver
• Convert Photoshop designs to HTML
• Understand and use CSS
• Use Dreamweaver templates
• Embed Flash in Dreamweaver
• Improve Search Engine ranking
• Create remote rollovers
• Add Drop-down menus
• And more...

The simple-to-use interface lets you jump to any lesson with complete control over the playback. All the lesson files are included, so you can easily follow along.

About Colin Smith
An award winning designer, best-selling author and trainer, Colin is founder of one of the world's most popular Photoshop resource sites, PhotoshopCAFE.com. Colin is also a regular columnist for Advanced Photoshop, Computer Arts, and Photoshop User Magazine.

Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration - Special Discount Price
Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration - $44.99 - (DVD version)
Photoshop and Dreamweaver Integration Download - $44.99 - (instant download)


PHOTO CREDIT: Full moon as seen from the International Space Station.