In the past few decades, professional website designers have observed a sudden rise in the number of brilliantly layered websites appearing on the web- this has happened with the help of Adobe Photoshop. Through making use of Photoshop things have become easier for professional web designers to develop a visually spectacular website, but problems occur while putting these images on the web.
The Photoshop image files are generated and saved in the PSD format. Every professional web designer will complete the design and layering of such websites and save it in different PSD files, but for these slices of design to make their way onto the web, require being converted in to HTML.
Since Photoshop is extremely popular for both commercial and personal use, more and more individuals are using it to build websites that brings about the frequently asked question about “the PSD to HTML conversion”.
So, let us take a look the PSD to HTML conversion process step-by-step to make the modern-age website designers become more confident!
Key Components to Consider Prior To Starting With the PSD to HTML Conversion Process:
Web designers require finalizing the design prior to starting the PSD to HTML conversion process, since it might take a lot of your time. If you are planning to design the website for your client then, first take the approval on the design from your client prior to starting the conversions so that you do not require reworking needlessly. The entire conversion process takes a lot of time hence you need to hire professional PSD to HTML conversion services that helps you to plan it step-by-step. Different elements of your web-pages:-
- Logo: The logo is usually positioned on the header of the web-page in nearly all the website design layouts.
- Header: Header is the top part of your web-page, which usually comprises your business’s logo, tagline, images, flash animation, banner-sliders and a set navigation menu.
- Website Body: The website body comprises the textual content and the user sign-in module, if any.
While converting the website design that you have built by making use of Photoshop, you require ensuring that each of these elements are positioned at the right place without losing the website’s visual appeal and design harmony of the web-page.
A Step-By-Step Guide to PSD to HTML Conversion:
Step #1- Slicing:
In the first step, the PSD file that you have developed and made of many layers must be sliced. Slicing is basically a process of breaking up of one big image to multiple small images. One of the major advantages of making use of a sliced version of PSD in your HTML web-page is that it will assist in faster loading of the web-pages. If the whole PSD file is kept in a one PSD file then, it will take adequate time for the web-page to download. To slice the images, you can make use of the slicing tool accessible in Photoshop. There are primarily four types of slicing options in Photoshop to break your web-page into small pieces, which are follows:-
- Sliced from guides
- Normal
- Fixed size
- Fixed aspect ratio
Once you have sliced your PSD file, make sure that you save the sliced version by using the option “Save for the Web” and save it in the images directory.
Step #2- Create Necessary Directories:
You require developing the necessary directories in your computer to carry on in a planned manner. You must develop the following directories:-
- Main folder with your website name.
- Create one folder named ‘Images’ in the main folder and store all of your images which you would be using for your website.
- Create a folder named ‘Styles’ for saving the CSS file or for style sheets in the main folder.
Step #3- Working with the HTML Page:
As you create the necessary folders, you must then create your HTML page. You can make use of an HTML page builder like Adobe Dreamweaver or any good open source option such as Komposer or Amaya. Make a new file in Dreamweaver and define it as index.html and then save that file into your main folder. Once you are done with this, start making styles file with the help of an HTML editor and then save this new file as styles.css in the CSS folder. Provide all the information about the stylistic features of HTML web-page such as image, margins and fieldset placement, font size, font type, background color etc., in the style sheet and then link the CSS style sheet to the HTML page.
Step #4- Developing Few Website Designs:
Create a set of PSD of your website that will become a WordPress theme later. For this, you need to open the code editor of your choice such as Dreamweaver and set up a website. Now, you need to carry out a fast overall layout in HTML using a little CSS just to ensure that you have built a strong foundation and then check it on different browsers like IE, Firefox and Chrome. This has to be done to overcome all the browser compatibility issues now only. In the first mockup during PSD to HTML conversion process, you must find:-
- The design is wrapped in a container and then put that container in the centre.
- The website design is basically a sequence of horizontal blocks and often these blocks have two columns.
- Now we come to the footer of the web-page which the lower part of the web-page, which might be in a different color and that means the background requires to be of that color when the user browser stretches. Therefore, the footer must sit in a different container from the primary stuff.
Step #5- Add Few Engaging Background Images:
Once the website layout gets in right shape with all the primary elements placed properly, website designers can start styling it up. For that you require few images, which can be created by the designers if they have layered PSDs. Now, make use of a big background image and make a background image for the footer. Now update the CSS file and start adding the new background images. After this make a directory structure and get ready to create like/images/directory and scripts/directory and save the entire CSS and HTML in the root.
Step #6- Testing and Validating:
- While you have meticulously converting the perfectly sliced PSD file into HTML, website designers would require testing the website and authenticate the code. Through validating the code designers may flag up few errors and will make sure that your website fulfills the set W3C standards. Validation can also be performed manually, but it might take a lot of time, so using a validation tool saves a lot of time.
Every time you require getting your PSD files converted, website designers must be careful about all the factors. Quality must be your utmost priority for the designers during the PSD to HTML conversion process, to make right decisions and create a perfect website.
