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Introducing The "Big Time" Design
We are very glad to be releasing a brand new design for the Sandvox community ... "Big TIme".
Inspired by one of the large news sites I wanted the "Big Time" design to be a clean design that could be used by businesses or corporations but also a design that could be used by non-profit sites, family sites or personal sites.
The "Big Time" design comes in a web friendly 1,000 pixels wide so you have plenty of room for all of your content.
Here are just a few of the features of the "Big Time" design:
- Use a custom header via the Inspector Pallette
- 6 different color schemes to choose from
- Includes the Photoshop files I used to create the graphical elements of the design
- Uses some CSS3 properties on some of the div elements
The "Big Time" design can be purchased as a stand alone item for only $10 or as part of the "Complete Design Bundle" for only $34.00.
OneFingerDiscount
I am sure that many of you are already aware of the huge sale going on over at http://www.onefingerdiscount.com/.
There are a number of Mac developers participating in the sale. I tried to get SWD involved in the sale but couldn't because I had already submitted items for one of my other companies.
However, I will still be offering a 20% discount to everyone who uses the discount code "OneFingerDiscount" on any of our products.
Just enter the discount code when purchasing to receive 20% off of the total price.
NOTE: This sale will only be going on for the duration of the "OneFingerDiscount" promotion
Say Hello To Bravado
Introducing an all new design for Sandvox "Bravado". The Bravado design for Sandvox is sure to be an eye pleaser. No other design for Sandvox is quite like the Bravado design.
Bravado comes in 12 different color Schemes.
When you purchase the "Bravado" design you will receive the following:
- 12 Designs
- 42 Extra header images designed specifically for the Bravado design
- Snippets of code to create 2, 3, or 4 columns along with instructions
- Snippets of code to create sidebar "Boxes" along with instructions
- Snippets of code to create Left or Right "Floatouts" along with instructions
The "Bravado" design can be purchased as a stand alone item for only $10 or as part of the "Complete Design Bundle" for only $34.00.
Introducing A Fresh New Design For Sandvox ... "4 Corners"
Introducing a fresh new design for Sandvox. We have appropriately named this design "4 Corners".
4 Corners comes in 8 different colors on 2 different backgrounds giving you a total of 16 designs to choose from.
When you purchase the "4 Corners" design you will receive the following:
- 16 Designs (8 Color Schemes on a light and dark background)
- The original Photoshop file that I used when creating the corners and canvas
- Snippets of code to create 2, 3, or 4 columns along with instructions ... also included a snippet to create "boxes" in the sidebar (just like in the "My Life" Design
The "4 Corners" design can be purchased as a stand alone item for only $10 or as part of the "Complete Design Bundle" for only $34.00.
UPDATE To Override Design
Early this morning I received an e-mail from a user of the Override design that was having trouble with things displaying correctly in IE7 and IE6. So I took a look at his site and sure enough he was having some serious display issues.
I began combing through the designs css file and finally found the culprit ... 10px ... that is it just 10 pixels.
These 10px that I had added to the H1 and H2 tags in the last update to the Override design were causing the content to be pushed down below the sidebar.
I am happy to report that less that 5 hours later this issue has been resolved. I have just sent out updates to all who purchased the Override design either separately or in the bundle. However, if you have not yet received the update just send me an e-mail and I will be happy to send you a new link.
Gary
A Word About Our New Hosting Company
When our network of websites were in need of a better solution that we were currently using we began to look for a hosting company with a few specific criteria that had to be met.
Because there are so many similarities in hosting companies we decided that we would begin by looking for things that separated companies from each other. Here is what we looked for in a new hosting company:
- We wanted a company that was well established but not a huge company - In our experience the large hosting companies tend to treat their customers like a number and seemingly could care less about you or your business
- We wanted a company where we could get hold of a technician quickly and easily
- We wanted a company that offered an affordable pricing structure
- We wanted a company that we could recommend to others
- And most importantly we wanted a company that we could grow our business with
We finally settled on a VPS solution from FazeWire. What we found in FazeWire is all of the above and more. Not only do they conduct themselves in a professional manner you get the feeling that they want our business to succeed.
After years of bouncing around from hosting provider to hosting provider I am finally able to happily recommend one without reservation.
If you are in need of a better hosting solution than you currently have .... consider FazeWire, you will not regret it.
Gary
SWD Design Bundle Update ... UPDATE
UPDATE: (6-4-09)
It seems that after having made the the post below that somehow the download was still becoming corrupt for a number of customers. I am not sure why this was happening ... it could have been the application I was using to create the DMG or it could have been the servers where the DMG was stored. At any rate I have changed the application used to create the DMG (FileStorm Pro) and have now checked the DMG several times and it appears to be working as intended now.
I apologize for the inconvenience to those of you who purchased the bundle. If you were one of the ones that was effected by either a corrupt download or missing files please send me an e-mail along with your purchase information and I will be happy to send you a new download link.
ORIGINAL POST: (5-31-09)
Over the last few days I have been getting a number of reports of the Design Bundle containing some files that were zero bytes in size. I am not exactly sure what happened to cause this but I have recompiled the dmg (disk image) with all of the proper files (name all of the Crafty designs)
I have also updated the Bundle to include our latest design "My Life".
Introducing "My Design" ... A Nice New Design For Sandvox
The "My Life" design is a truly unique design for Sandvox. If you are looking for a nice and fresh design then you should consider the "My Life" design.
The "My Life" design comes with 11 pre-designed headers that you can use via the Inspector's Banner selector PLUS I have included the original Photoshop file to make it easier for you to create your own custom header.
ALSO, the "My Life" design comes with some really cool snippets of code that will allow you to create a 2, 3, or 4 Column page style along with instructions on how to use the snippets.
Just click on one of the images below to be taken to our DEMO site so you can see exactly how the "My Life" design will look.
The "My Life" design is priced at only $10.00 if purchased seperately, but if you purchase the bundle you will get all of our designs for an amazingly low price of only $28.00
A New Page Style For Sandvox ... Rich Text Plus
Not only are we on MacZot today, and also releasing a brand new design today (Crafty), we are also very, very glad to be releasing today a brand new page style for Sandvox. It is simply called "Rich Text Plus" because it functions the exact same way that a Rich Text page does except that it give you three separate containers to place your content into.
If you have ever wanted a wished that there were a way to have more than one container on a Rich Text page then you do not need to look any further the Rich Text Plus Page is sure to fit the bill.
Please visit the photo gallery that demonstrates the Rich Text Plus page in action.
You can purchase the Rich Text Plus Page Style from our Plugin Store for only $7.00
Say Hello To "Crafty"
We are very excited to make available a brand new design for the Sandvox community called "Crafty". We had such a good response to our last design "Override" and the fact that the site navigation was placed above the header so we thought we would build on that with the Crafty design.
Here is a list of features that you will find in Crafty:
- Ability to use a custom header image via the Inspector
- Large images that are placed in the content area will not be scaled down to 320 pixels wide. I have added the syntax to the plist to make them fill the content area. (Smaller images will not be scaled only large images)
- Logo will appear in the Right side of the header (Will support a logo up to 170 x 170)
- Comes in 5 versions .... Black, Bronze, Crimson, Gold, and Midnight
- 960 Pixels wide
You can pick the Crafty design up from our Design Store for only $10 or you can get it with the Design Bundle along with all of our other designs for only $28.
We're On MacZot Today
Just incase you haven't already noticed Sandvox Web Designs is on MacZot today. For today only you can pick up our entire bundle of designs at the unbelievable price of just $14.00. That is 9 professional designs for Sandvox for only $14.00. This is the same theme bundle that we sell in our design store for $28.00 and includes the brand new "Crafty" design PLUS the brand new Page Style for Sandvox "Rich Text Plus".
The bundle on MacZot will come with all of our same guarantees as if you had purchased the bundle directly from us. If we release a new design in the next 30 days (from the purchase date) then you will get that design for free!
This is definitely a one time only chance and the only place you can get it is at MacZot!
Introducing A Brand New Design
We are very glad to be able to release our new design to the public ... "Override".
Override is definitely a unique theme for Sandvox. It places the Navigation above the header and uses some soft black gradients for buttons.
Here is a list of features that you will find in Override:
- Ability to use a custom header image via the Inspector
- Large images that are placed in the content area will not be scaled down to 320 pixels wide. I have added the syntax to the plist to make them fill the content area. (Smaller images will not be scaled only large images)
- Logo will appear in the Right side of the header (Will support a logo up to 170 x 170)
- Comes in 2 versions .... Light and Dark
- Includes the layered Pixelmator file that I created the headers in
- 960 Pixels wide
If you would like to see a demo of the Override Design then just click on one of the images below:
You can purchase the Override design by visiting our Design Store
SWD Introduces A Brand New Design
With this design we tried to come up with a design that was different than most all of the other designs for Sandvox and yet still be as elegant. We came up with the Discovery design.
Discovery comes in 11 different color schemes ... essentially you are getting 11 designs!
We took the time to build a DEMO site for each of the 11 colors so that you will know what each color scheme will look like before you purchase.
To vie the DEMO sites just follow the link below and from there you will be able to visit all of the different colors. To purchase the Discovery design you will have to come back to this page and make your purchase or visit our Design Store.
$10.00
Webify Beta Released!
Mudbug Software has just released a beta of their image editor "Webify". Webify is small, lightweight, and powerful at the same time. Webify is meant to be used to help you prep your images for the web.
One of the cool features of Webify is that there will be an SDK that will be made available when the final version is released. An SDK will allow other developers to create "add-on's" or "plug-ins" that will extend the functionality of the application.
Webify uses the core graphics that are built into Leopard so the changes that are made to images are super fast.
There are several plug-ins that come pre-installed with the beta with the promise of a couple of more to be added to the final version which should be available in October.
If you want to see some screenshots of Webify then be sure to drop by the Mudbug Software website and read up on Webify.
Sandvox 1.5.1 Gets "2 Thumbs Up"
Over the past couple of months I, along with a number of others, have been testing the numerous beta versions of Sandvox 1.5. I was very glad to see that version 1.5 finally went GM (Gold Master) and was released last week. This version was quickly followed up with version 1.5.1 and that is the version that I am writing about today.
I want to point out some noticeable improvements to Sandvox from previous versions.
- The most noticeable improvement for me was found in the publishing feature in Sandvox. Not only did this version remember all of the settings from version 1.2.8 there is a speed improvement in the upload process. I am not sure where exactly the speed improvements come ... if the unpublished pages are recognized faster, or if the way pockets of data are uploaded has changed, or if it was a combination of both but the end result was a much more pleasant user experience.
- Next thing that I consider to be a major improvement is the fact that 1.5 now allows you to set what page style your Home page will be. Major kudos to the Karelia team for adding this feature.
- Next on the list is the overall stability of Sandvox. It's not that version 1.2.7 or 1.2.8 was unstable, its just that version 1.5 has produced far less spinning beach balls than the previous version thus appearing to be more stable
From start to finish, Sandvox 1.5, makes designing a website as easy and as fun as can be.
Now for my "wish list"
- A place to insert custom css in the both the page code injection and site code injection areas. This would really go a long way in making the customization of designs much easier on the user.
- Native support for parent/child level navigation (nested pages)
- A Twitter Status Pagelet
- A way to add both unordered and ordered lists into the content area whithout having to edit the raw html
- To natively include Conditional Comments to an IE6.css and an IE7.css stylesheet in the head of each page that is created by SV. The css files would be located in the designs "Contents" folder. This would solve a lot of validation issues with designs. If a designer does not include an IE6 or IE7 stylesheet then it is no problem because the browser will just ignore it. But as a developer of commercial designs for Sandvox this wish id pretty high up on my list.
Inspiration Now Available
Our latest professional design for Sandvox.
This design comes ready to take advantage of the custom header option in the Sandvox Inspector. Plus along with everything you would normally expect to see in a Sandvox design we have included some extra graphics for you.
When purchasing the Inspiration design you also qualify to receive free updates and additions to the Inspiration design including:
- Extra widths
- Extra color schemes
- Future updates
You can see a demo site of the brand new Inspiration design by clicking on the button below.
If you would like to purchase the Inspiration design then you can do so by using the link below:
$10.00
New Design Coming
June has been an unbelievably busy month for us here at SWD. We have been working on a number of custom projects for folks as well as some pretty high profile things that are yet to go public. However, I have also found time to work on a great new design for Sandvox.
I have gotten most of my testing done today so we should be making this design available within the next few days.
Mojo Now Available
The much anticipated Mojo Design is now available for Sandvox. This design offers a little more flexability than most of the other designs for Sandvox.
- A Generous 960 pixel width
- 13 Custom Headers created specifically for this design
- A Set of Video Instructions that shows you how to make adjustments and customizations to your design
- Call-outs and Pagelets are opposite one another allowing you to have a "3 Column" style layout if you want or a Sidebar left or Sidebar right option
- A Safari style navigation menu for the Photo Page
- Top notch customer support
If you are interested in seeing the Mojo Design in action then please take a few minutes to navigate through the Mojo Design DEMO site. Then if you like you can purchase the Mojo Design either seperately for $10 or as part of the Bundle for $22.00
New Site Design
We have long been in the habit of changing our site design around every six months. So since we just gave our sister site (RapidWeaverThemes.com) a new design we thought it would be really cool to give SandvoxWebDesigns.com a similar face lift. So I created this custom design for our site to match.
This site was built completely in Sandvox.
Let me know what you think!
Gary
Pricing Change
We have decided to lower our prices on our designs by a small bit. We had been charging $12.99 per design but as of March 16, 2008 you will be able to pick up any one of our designs for only $10.00. Our "Design Bundle" has also seen a slight price decrease as well. You can now pick up our design bundle for only $22.00! That turns out to be an $18.00 savings over purchasing them separately.
Mojo is COMING SOON!
Without a doubt our most popular theme for RapidWeaver over the last couple of years has been the Mojo theme. It has sold sever thousand copies and continues to be a very popular theme. So we have decided to bring Mojo to Sandvox!
The whole idea behind Mojo was to create a theme that was extremely versitile and offered many, many variations for the user. This was made possible because of the way RapidWeaver reads the property list in the themes "contents" folder. Sandvox on the other hand does things a little differently so the Mojo for Sandvox design could not have ALL of the variations built in to the design, but we will be offering several variations of the design.
We will be offering Mojo in several different widths and color schemes. Plus we will include the Photoshop files and instructions, and some really neat choices for you.
I don't have an exact date for a release but I can say that you should be looking for Mojo within the next few weeks.
$10.00 Per Design???
From time to time we get an e-mail asking us "Why we charge $10.00 for our designs?" Especially when you can buy the entire Sandvox application for either $49 or $69 and after all "it comes with around 30+ designs.
The answer is really an easy one. We have researched the "web design", "web template" market pretty extensively and found that on average a person will pay around $40 for a quality template and many templates will go for over $50 or even $60. I also realize that there are also places to find some nice free templates for most web building applications.
The amount of time involved in creating a design for Sandvox or a theme for RapidWeaver can be quite extensive. Some designs will take longer than others but every design demands a certain amount of time. Time spent:
That being said I feel strongly about providing a quality product for a modest price and have therefore settled on the $12-$13 range. However I offer my bundles at huge savings off the regular price.
I understand that even $10.00 may seem a little high for a design and that is fine, but for me, since this is my business, my lifeblood, I have tried to find the balance of how I value my time versus providing affordable products.
Getting The Most Out Of Support Requests
From time to time everybody finds themselves in a situation where they need support from the developer for a problem they are having with an application, design, or service. When this happens there are some things that should we should keep in mind so that we can get the best possible support.
I have taken the time to compile a list of things that I have learned as a customer looking for support (some of these things I had to learn the hard way) and also as a developer (the one providing the support)
1. When needing support please visit the developers website to see if they have a "Support" section that may address the problem you are having.
I have found that many times if I am having a problem then someone else has already had the same problem and most of the time the developer has already been made aware of it and has either provided a solution or is working on a solution.
2. If there is nothing on the website about the particular problem you are having then look for the "Contact" page of the website. Sometimes there will even be a special page set up for support requests, if this is the case then make sure that you use this e-mail. If the developer has set-up a special e-mail account for support requests then it is likely that he has a reason and will probably only check that e-mail for support requests.
3. When filling out the form for support you need to be as specific as possible.
Examples:
If the developer has several products on their website then you will need to specify what product you are talking about
If your problem is with the way your website is displaying while using a "design" or "theme" from the developer then you should include the url of the website in question
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