Xsitepro 2 Templates

The real weak point in Xsitepro 2 is the included templates.  While some of them are great there really are only one or two I really like, the rest are just okay.  I eventually overcame this shortcoming by creating my own templates, but it is a bit time consuming.  However it's much easier to create a template for Xsite Pro than Dreamweaver or Wordpress.

The real key to creating your own template in Xsitepro 2 is understanding how the layout works.  Xsite Pro 2 was created to use Table Layouts instead of solid CSS which is the standard now.  The reason CSS is standard is because of the flexibility offered, however it takes much more time to properly code a CSS template for a website than it does using the table based layout in Xsitepro. 

The table layout which is used by XSP is basically like a box with 3 to 4 compartments.  Within each box are the images which tell the website what to look like. 

A CSS Layout instead of being rigid like a box is fluid and unformed at first just looking like text.  The CSS (a computer language like HTML), tells the HTML and text where to go and what to look like, which the browser interprets and shows you. 

I know the above probably won't make sense to you until you get into it a bit but it may give you a general idea, which is all you really need.

What happens when you design a template for Xsitepro 2 is you lay it out in a design program such as Gimp or Photoshop.  Next you splice it up into the appropriate sizes and image formats and import it into Xsitepro 2.  Once the images are imported all you have to do is make sure everything looks good by adding menu's and your text. 

It's really much easier than it looks or sounds, and it only takes me about an hour to make one now if I have an idea of where I'm going.  You really shouldn't let the lack of templates concern you if you're going to buy Xsitepro because it does have a good starter selection and you can buy other templates if you need.