Setting up Your Template

First steps

Unzip the file "UConn Template.zip"
- On Windows XP, make sure to click "Extract All Files" , located on the left bar, after double clicking the .zip file.
- On Mac, just double click the .zip file, and it will be extracted for you as a folder.
Setup a Dreamweaver site to point to that newly unzipped folder.
Decide if you want to use Simple Templates or Nested Templates

If you choose Simple Templates

Delete the files you're not going to be using.
- Delete these folders, and the files inside them
  - about
  - resources
  - services
- Delete this HTML file
  - homepage_nested.html
- Delete these .dwt files from the Templates folder
  - about.dwt
  - master.dwt
  - no_leftnav.dwt
  - resources.dwt
  - services.dwt
- Rename homepage_simple.html to index.html
The files that are left are a working example of how a simple template functions. You can study them to get an idea of how it all works if you like. After you're done looking at them, go ahead and delete these files:
- about.html
- resources.html
- services.html
Start making new pages for your website.
- From the top menu, go to File > New
- In the window that appears, there are two buttons in the middle, near the top. Select "Templates"
- On the left, you'll see a list of the dreamweaver sites you've set up. Select your site, and the middle column will show the available templates.
- Select simple.dwt
- Click the "Create" button in the bottom right corner.
- A new page will appear. From the top menu, select File > Save. Save the page into your site folder.
  - Note: to make your life easier, name your files in all lowercase letters, and use underscores ( _ ) in place of spaces.
- Repeat this process until you have all the pages you need for your website.
Now, open the file "simple.dwt" from the Templates folder
Add links to the navigation.
- Link to pages by highlighting text and
- To indent links into a second level highlight the links, and use the Text Indent and Text Outdent buttons in the properties bar.
- Save your template, and let it update all the pages that use it.
- Open your homepage and test your site by choosing File > Preview in Browser from the top menu.
- Test your site by clicking around, making sure your links work. If everything works, then upload the site, and test it online. If everything works at that point, you're all done.

If you choose Nested Templates

Delete these files that you're not going to be using.
- about.html
- resources.html
- services.html
- homepage_simple.html
- simple.dwt (from the Templates folder)
The folders and files that are left are a working example of how nested templates function. You can study them to get an idea of how it all works if you like. After you're done looking at them, go ahead and delete these folders:
- about
- services
- resources
- also delete these files from the Templates folder
  - resources.dwt
  - services.dwt
Work up a plan of what the major sections of your website are going to be. These are going to be the links in the top navigation. Most of the time they'll be the name a of a group of pages, like "About Us" but sometimes they can also be a single page, like "Contact" or "FAQ".
- Don't worry if you're not absolutely sure about your groups, you can change it all later without much difficulty.
Making new Nested Templates
- There should be two nested templates left in the Templates folder, called about.dwt and no_leftnav.dwt
- Right click on about.dwt
- Choose Edit > Duplicate
- Make a Duplicate for each major category of pages you planned for.
- Rename the copies of about.dwt to match those categories.
A copy of about.dwt will appear in your templates folder. Rename for whatever the sec
Start making new pages for your site.
- From the top menu, go to File > New
- In the window that appears, there are two buttons in the middle, near the top. Select "Templates"
- On the left, you'll see a list of the dreamweaver sites you've set up. Select your site, and the middle column will show the available templates.
- Select the template that corresponds to the major section this page belongs to.
  - For example, say you're making a Mission Statement page that's going to be part of a top nav section "About Us ". You'd want to choose a template that matches that section, like about.dwt
- Click the "Create" button in the bottom right corner.
- A new page will appear. From the top menu, select File > Save. Save the page into your site folder.
  - Tip: It's normally a good idea to save pages into folders that mirror your navigation structure. For example, make an "about" folder that holds all the pages for an "About Us" section.
  - Note: to make your life easier, name your files in all lowercase letters, and use underscores ( _ ) in place of spaces.
- Repeat this process until you have all the pages you need for your website.
Now, we set the templates.
- Open the templates in your Templates folder and set up the navigation links to point at pages in your site
  - master.dwt will control the top navigation bar, and only the top navigation bar.
  - no_leftnav.dwt and the other nested templates will control the left-side navigation.
- Also make sure to enter your contact information into the footer, and add any links to the center part of the footer.
Error checking
- Open your homepage and test your site by choosing File > Preview in Browser from the top menu.
- Test your site by clicking around, making sure your links work. If everything works, then upload the site, and test it online. If everything works at that point, you're all done.