Changing the Footer Panel:
Path, from the left navigation menu: ['Customization' section] > Skin Setup > Footer
Footers are, as the name suggests, generally found right at the 'foot' of a webpage, and contain links and or graphics relevant to the site. Because they are generally found throughout the site they more often than not contain links which are pertinent to the whole site, not just one or two pages. Links to contact details and privacy policies are just two examples of links commonly found on footers.
You can change the appearance of your site's Footer Panel on your web-pages using the link labeled "Footer" within the Skin Setup menu. Selecting this option will load the Footer customization screen, above the Skin Setup navigation menu:
Fig. 2.5.1.15.1: The "Footer" link & customization screen:
Exactly what part of the page am I customizing here?
Firstly, we need to clarify the specific area within the page template that these modifications affect. Every page on your site has a Footer Panel at the bottom of the page, beneath the main panel, and in the center:
Fig. 2.5.1.15.2: The Footer Panel, affected by changes in this section:
What are the customization options available to me?
Knowing the specific part of the website page template that is affected by your customizations within the 'Footer' section, we can now take a look at the types of customization open to us:
Copy Settings From...
This feature spans a number of the customization screens . Essentially, what 'Copy Settings From...' enables you to do is pick up the styles (Fonts, Colors, Sizes) on any of your other listed menu/text boxes/panels and replicate those styles across the current customization screen.
Put another way, if you have spent time setting up a particularly nice font with the exact coloring/sizing you've been looking for, to tie in with your header graphic, then you can apply these same font, size/coloring settings to a new customization section - in this case, the Footer Panel - to save time, using this feature.
It presents a lot better if you have a common styling repeated throughout the site, rather than a 'mish-mash' of different styles. If the customization you require has already been successfully made to, say, your 'Category List Panel' then you can select 'Category List' from the drop-down selector, then click on the "Copy" button, and 'hey presto!' the same color/style settings are adopted by the customization page you're currently working on.
This feature enables you to spend a good deal of time getting your site style right, before very quickly and easily replicating this look and feel across all the page elements in the Skin Setup section.
Shape
You also have the option to choose the shape of the footer panel border - specifically, whether you want square or rounded corners. To do this, you just need to check the appropriate radio button for either of the two options.
Background Color
You can also change the color of the footer. You just need to click on the color picker button and a Color Picker window will pop-up. Then select the desired color and it will appear in the box situated on the left of the color picker button, along with the code or name of that specific color. Alternatively, you can type the Hexadecimal color value (if known) directly into the text box. Again, the color of the box will update immediately to confirm your color selection.
Fig. 2.5.1.15.3: The Color Picker window
Background Image
If you would rather use a tiled image as a background to your Footer Panel you can upload your chosen graphic by:
| 1. | Clicking the button labeled "Browse". |
| 2. | Browsing to the graphic file you have chosen for your background. |
| 3. | Selecting the file and click the "Open" button (or simply double-clicking the chosen graphic file). |
The path to your selected graphic file will be displayed in the image upload field. When you click the "Preview" or "Full Screen Preview" buttons, your graphic will be automatically uploaded to the Spoken Network system (although the graphic will only become a public-facing modification to your live site when you click the "Apply Changes" button - until then you are only previewing how the changes will look).
If you change your mind and don't want to use an image anymore, select the "Remove Image" option from the Footer customization screen. Then click on the "Preview" or "Full Screen Preview" buttons and the image will be removed from your website's background.
Border
The border for the Footer Panel can be any color and/or line thickness you choose. To change the border color, click on the color picker button and select a color from the color picker. The color sample next to the color picker button will update to reflect your color choice. As mentioned before, you can type the hexadecimal value straight into this box if preferred.
To adjust the thickness of the border around the Footer Panel, you can specify how many pixels wide the border is. This can be useful when you wish to pick out this panel from other panels - a slightly thicker border around a panel can create added emphasis, and draw the customer's eye to this panel.
Footer (link) Text
This setting affects the text links displayed on the Footer Panel (the only text on the Footer Panel) which link directly to the pages you specify in the Custom Pages/Links sections of your customization (and that you activate upon the Footer Panel in the 'Footer Links' section of the Partner Administration Site).
You can specify your preferred link font by selecting it from the drop-down list, then you can choose a preferred point-size by selecting it from the appropriate drop-down list as well. You can also make the link text bold and/or italic by selecting the appropriate option.
To change the color of this Footer link text, click on the color picker button and select a color from the color picker. The color sample next to the color picker button will change to show what color is currently selected for the footer text. As mentioned before, you can type the hexadecimal value straight into this box if preferred.
Link Hover Color
The link hover color affects the color to which the link text, mentioned above, momentarily changes as the customer's mouse passes over the link. This acts as a highlight, and indicates to the user that they are about to navigate to the highlighted page, should they proceed to click this link with their mouse.
To change the link hover color, click on the color picker button and select a color from the color picker. The color sample next to the color picker button will change to show the color you have currently specified.
Canceling, Previewing and Applying my changes
It is important to note that the four buttons at the bottom of the preview screen are the same for every other option within the 'Skin Setup' menu. Their functions are as follows:
"Preview" Button: This button allows you to load your website in the preview screen. This is a great way to visualize how different colors, fonts and layouts will work together coherently on the page (or not, if you've chosen a poor mix of styles!). This button does NOT make changes to your 'live' site - it is only for use as a visual 'proof' of your proposed changes. Please note that all changes made to your site - even those in other customization sections - will be previewed on pressing this button.
"Full Screen Preview" Button: This button allows you to load a new pop-up window illustrating, in full preview mode, exactly how the changes you have just made will look when your page is made live.
"Close" Button: This button will close the "Skin Setup" page without saving any changes you may have just made. If, for example, you change your mind, you can simply abandon your proposed changes by clicking the "Close" button. Only clicking the "Apply Changes" button (details of which are below) will you commit your changes.
"Apply Changes" Button: This button saves any changes you might have made to any of the skin setup sections. When you click on the button, you will be presented two options/buttons, "Cancel" and "Generate Site", as seen below:
Fig. 2.5.1.15.4: The "Cancel" and "Generate Site" options that appear after clicking on the "Apply Changes" button:
If you click on the "Cancel" button, the system will reload the previous version of your website in preview mode, without making any changes to the website.
Instead, if you click on the "Generate Site" button, the system will save your proposed changes and then will display the website in full screen preview mode. For clarity, this button will make live all the changes you have made since you last pressed the "Generate Site" button. Your customers will see all of the changes you have made immediately.
Tip:
It is highly recommended that you make full use of the "Preview" and "Full Screen Preview" buttons to ensure that the changes you have proposed appear exactly as you want, BEFORE committing the changes to the 'live' site (although you can of course edit the site again, and recommit additional changes, should you need to correct an error).