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1.3 Understanding the ShutterBug Blueprint
ShutterBug's capabilities and interface are designed around the idea of building blocks
and the separation of content and layout. This separation allows for the content and
the design of the site to be quickly edited and updated independent of each other.
This means the content can be changed without touching the design and without the
hassle of having to adjust object sizes each time you add more text or photos to a
page - ShutterBug's templates will automatically adjust to accommodate new content.
This also means you can change the design and layout of your site pages without
touching the actual content. The two building blocks - Content and Layout - come
together in the Preview window. The incremental Send feature then allows for quick
export of the changes only, ensuring a quick update process from start to finish.
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You can think of ShutterBug's application design as a framed photograph hanging on
your wall. The photo is the content or base that you have created (HTML Content).
Now you want to make it more presentable to others. So you add a frame and
perhaps a matte (CSS Layout). Now you need a place to display it. So you hang it on
your wall (Preview & Upload to the Web). The Content window lets you build your
text, photos, links, and files for each page. The Layout window lets you add templates
to customize the look of your site or design your own theme and custom-made
templates.
The Content Window = HTML = foundation and body of the website = Pages
The Layout Window = CSS = framework or encompassing design = Templates
The Preview Window = HTML + CSS = finished product all glued together = Website
Changing the content will not affect the design of your site, nor will changing the
design affect the content. These two building blocks are separated so that you can
easily update your content in the future without having to worry about inadvertently
moving a masthead or menu, or any other object on the page, out of place from it's
original position.
This approach replaces the need for using framesets or creating complex tables - the
approach used by traditional, more expensive web authoring tools. ShutterBug masks
these complexities and reduces the amount of time spent in a learning curve or
dealing with frustrating positioning and rendering, allowing you to free your mind and
focus on the things that matter.
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