Webpage Header
Use this as a guide to create simple webpages, dont copy exactly everything I do, you should explore and come up with your own techniques/colors/styles.
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Start a new document 780x120 with white background. Create a new layer, and name it header_bg and fill it with any color. With the header_bg selected as the working layer, go
to Layer->Layer Style->Gradient Overlay. Use the following colors: #0B73A3 -> #141D3C |
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Set your foreground color to: #5D6372 and background to Black. Create a new layer and name it "Clouds". Then go to Filter->Render->Clouds. Set this layer's Blending mode to Color Dodge. |
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Now download this globe image. Open the globe image, copy and paste the globe into
your header like mine. and set the blending mode to
"Color Dodge". Resize the
globe to suit your taste. |
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Choose the Rounded Corner Shape tool, set its radius to 25px, and create a shape on the far left of the header. Draw is so that the bottom of the shape is outside the viewable area, so we have a round top and square bottom.This is where your logo will be. Then apply the following layer style. And add a littile Layer->Layer Style->Drop
Shadow. |
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Now use your type tool to create your logo/site name on top of the rounded shape. You should create your own unique logo. |
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Set your foreground color to #5D6372. Choose the square shape tool, and draw a 780x30 shape and position it at the bottom of the header. Move the layer so its underneath the logos, but above the globe. This is your navigation bar. |
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Select the line tool (under shapes tool). set it to 1px and your foreground color to 5D6372 and draw a vertical line. This will be your separators for your menu. Use the type tool to create your text for your menus. the number of separator you need will depend on the number of menu you have. |
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Now lets add some details into our header, its looking rather plain at the moment. You can add just about anything, if you dont have any ideas, then just follow my steps. I'll add some micro texts like codes to the background. "Right Click" on this web page and choose "View Source". copy a few lines of codes from the source. Then in your photoshop, select the type tool. then click on the canvas and drag to make a paragraph box (if you dont click and drag, you will just get the regular text tool.) Then paste the source code into this paragraph box. |
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Now modify your paragraph/text. |
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Now add some slogan to the header to fill up the space. Now MY header is complete. You can add more spice to it if you like. Next, we'll slice it and turn it into a webpage. |
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If you ruler is not visible, then go to "view->Rulers" to display it. Now use the Move tool, position your cursor over the horizontal ruler and drag it down to just above the menu. |
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Now do the same with the verticle ruler, drag the guides out to each side of your menu, click on the image in the left to see how and where I dragged my guides. |
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Make sure your snap setting is checked. Go to VIew->Snap to check it. Now select the "Slice" tool |
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Now slice your header so that each of the menu get its own slice. Take a look at how I sliced mine. Each of the number represents 1 slice. |
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Now go to File->Save for Web. In the Save For Web window, you can optimize each of the slices individually by clicking on the slice and apply the settings in the box on the left. I set mine to JPEG because there is quite alot of colors, JPG will create a smoother crisper image. Once you've adjust your settings, click on "Save" and save it as a HTML page, name it "header.html" . This will save all your images inside a folder call "Images" |
Now if you go to the location of
the saved files, you will see a html file and images
folder. Now you can use dreamwever to edit your header file into a webpage. I you follow my Pixel Background tutorial, you can create some nice background to place this header on. Below is a downloadable html/images and PSD files for this tutorial, feel free to use it for your own website. |