PSDs and websites

I was surfing around a template forum and i noticed how people were pissed off if a psd wasn't attached to a file.

I am very new at web design and self taught. All this time i thought the psd's weren't even necessary, like an appendix.

What are they for?

PSD files are best used to implement within cms, ecommerce systems.

Basically with a PSD file, you get the whole html document but you can slice it into relevant modules / widgets on the page and embed each slice into the system to make it look the same as the design.

You can still do tthe job with just basics html, but a developer will find it alot easier with PSD

What littleg2008 said, and also if you want to make any changes in the graphics, it's a lot easier to do if you have the original psd files. Once the files are saved into jpegs then all the layers are merged. If you include the psd files, then its really easy to just go in and modify some of the layers.

So don't just include the psd files, also make sure you don't merge the layers. Otherwise it's a pain in the butt to make any changes. Makes the template much less useful.

GreyWolf said:

What littleg2008 said, and also if you want to make any changes in the graphics, it's a lot easier to do if you have the original psd files. Once the files are saved into jpegs then all the layers are merged. If you include the psd files, then its really easy to just go in and modify some of the layers.

So don't just include the psd files, also make sure you don't merge the layers. Otherwise it's a pain in the butt to make any changes. Makes the template much less useful.

Click to expand...

I have been having the trouble of editing individual graphics. So if I edit a psd file will it edit the graphics within the html file?

Ok my advice if you need to know this much info is to google how to edit psd files.

There are plenty of tutorials on this and once you have done it once you are set for life in the process

psd is a photoshop editable file.. which file is included the layers and everything.. so if you buy a theme but u want to change a color a button you can do it in simply on a psd and after u can export... but if you don't have a psd and u want to chnage the color of a button u have to redraw it..

kemetian said:

I have been having the trouble of editing individual graphics. So if I edit a psd file will it edit the graphics within the html file?

Click to expand...

No it won't. If you've been trying to edit a psd file that came with a template, and discovered that it doesn't affect the website then here's the reason why. The PSD file is just one of the files used when designing the site. It isn't one of the actual files in the end product.

PSD is the file type associated with photoshop. When graphic designers are making the site graphics they'll usually use photoshop (or compatible software) to create them. Once that's completed they'll save the individual sections for the website as jpeg,(or gif, or whatever). In the html file it'll use image tags to display the jpeg files. So if you want to change the look of your site, you'll need to change the jpeg files.

The easiest way to do that is if the template designer includes the original layered psd file. Then all you need to do is edit whatever layer you need to change and then save that as your new jpeg file. Then you'll copy your new jpeg over the old one on your server and your site will look how you want.

If you don't have the layered psd file to work with, then it's much more difficult to edit the jpegs themselves. If it's a very complicated design you might even have to just start over.

edit - so you're kind of right in your first post in thinking that the psd is kind of like an appendix that isn't necessary for a final website. But it's a very important file for anyone wanting to make changes to the design. Especially things like the text elements in a graphic design, or site logos, buttons, etc. Depending on the template design you might just have one psd file divided in sections, or you may have several for things like header, footer, buttons, etc.

I totally understand now thanks