Great Slider- must see!

[Sylvia Hysen]

So I never thought I'd be providing tips here at NING Creator, I'm certainly not qualified for that. However, I want to share my experience with you.

See slider at GenYHub.com (if your pointer is on the photo it will pause...otherwise it is set for 5 seconds between slides)

I wanted a stunning slider to add to my homepage. I searched Google for a slider template and came across WOWSlider.com. The program is free if you are not using it commercially. I am a digital magazine/original content network, so I had to pay $50.00 to license my site.

The program is fantastic, with easy input and many, many options. Please go check it out. It is worth the money. Note: Your .jpgs are only as good as your resolution and graphic design, so pay attention to this when assembling your slider.

I have a 3-column layout and I wanted to place my slider above the left and middle columns. That space is equal to 730px wide, but the photos were too overwhelming at that size, so I used Photoshop to create a 730px by 300px black box, added my 640px by 300px jpgs, and some white shadowed text that I laid over both the photo and extra black space. The WOW Slider easily adds the title, description, and effect...and accurately writes the code.

Now to install. I am a member of JenSocial and sought Jen's advice and skills. At this time, the best way to add a slider is to have an outside server host the .html files then bring them in through an iframe. Of course, Jen provided the code to make that happen...and the external server (Misk.com) is costing me $25.00 year as an add-on package to an unused domain name I have with them. I used FileZilla (free software) to upload the files to Misk.

That's it. Go check it out.

Sylvia

GenYHub.com

[Eric Suesz]

Looks wonderful! 

[Sylvia Hysen]

Thanks, Eric!

And thank you for the feature on the NING weekly update. Who'd have ever thought that would happen!

[Eric Suesz]

Of course. We love to spotlight networks and NCs who have things to share. Thank you for sharing.

[Illya]

That sounds too, time consuming. Would you be willing to charge to setup a first time slider for another NC? And how much?

[Sylvia Hysen]

Hi Illya

First you need to license the software from WOW Slider. (License is good for one site.) $50.00

Then you need to have an external server to upload the slider so you can "call" it into an iframe on your NING page. (I use Misk.com.) $35.00/yr ($10.00 domain registration/$25.00 domain essentials pkg.)

Then you need to make artistic decisions on your slides: 

1. how big do you want it? (2-column span is equal to about 730px- 740px wide.)

2. select photo (minimum 560 px wide)

3. choose title for slide

4. add description of slide

I would need all of these element together prior to assembling the final product. I'm more interested in bartering services than money right now. I'm not a coder. I'm a creative director/editor and I see you are listed in the Hire a Creator group.

What is your strength?

What is the URL of your site?

Bottom line, I broke the code! Hit lots of snags along the way, but I it's done and now I can easily change out my slides with minimal down time.

Get back to me. I want to be of assistance.

-Sylvia

[Pastor Donald C. Garner Jr.]

Hello Sylvia, I'm don. I REALLY would love your help this weekend to update my site www.artztre.com (go to the main page nav) Right where you see the artztre.com commercial intro video. I need that slider there. I have WOW slider now how to use it, but can never get the file to upload to ning. Photo size is the other problem, they all need to be the SAME size in order for it to look uniform. Big snag I hit also. Now, I know better. Also, I want to put a video commercial on my Splash Page at the top where I have the Small 3 photo slider. I can't stand that slider. lol......HELP! Whats the easiest way to get my advertisements on the main page to make my site POP when visitors hit the main page. I have other accounts on homestead, and own my own domain name for artztre.com it's pointing from homestead to ning.com thru mapping. Maybe we can barter like you suggested. I create logos, edit film/music, produce music, songwriter, graphics, and more. What do you need sis? I'll add you as a friend. again my site is www.artztre.com I'm still making changes, and learning code tricks to improve it. Some pages are plain and I need to add content and more. We will talk soon. Inbox me. Thanks. Anyone else reading this, can HELP me also. Thanks guys.

[Martin de Goede]

Nice !!

[Sylvia Hysen]

Thanks, Martin.

[Tiffany Lane-Crane]

This is awesome and your site looks really great! Thx for sharing, and trust you are very qualified to give advice :) 

[Tiffany Lane-Crane]

I have an off topic question but on topic regarding your site. How did you display pictures and video within your blog blocks on your home page. On my network I only have the option to display as Titles Only or Detailed View which only displays text. Can you share if you did something special, otherwise I can contact the support team. Thx Sylvia. 

[Sylvia Hysen]

good morning, tiffany

I believe it is in the ordering of text and photo/video.

What I found is that if you place one line of text (one sentence worth), then add a photo or video, then add the remaining text of the blog post, the blog post display will shrink your photo/video to fit the text box.

Now you can't rely on your member to do this, so you will have to edit their posts in this way until you get them into grove.

example:

start blog: Beyonce and Jay Z are the proud parents of a baby girl.

add: photo/video here

continue blog: The couple is resting with their new bundle at Cedar Sinai Hospital, Los Angeles, CA...

Try this method and let me know if it works for you. I sometimes have to adjust the number of words before the photo/video to make it happen. You can always start with the photo video, too. I just prefer the look of text then photo.

Good luck!

[Tiffany Lane-Crane]

Hi Sylvia, I tried it and it didnt work :( Are the number of words added important, I played around with it a few ways, with a discussion that needed to be edited and with a new discussion. I'd love to figure this out, it would be a huge deal for my network. Thx. And also, check out the reply I sent to girlfriend you just addressed. I think we both replied at the same time. Just know you've been a huge asset to Creators and have helped me personally, so dont feel like you have to explain yourself to anyone. Smooches!