From Jimdo Help

On the right side of the Site-Admin control panel of your Jimdo page you'll find the "Layout" button. This is where you can choose or change your layout, which is the basic design of your site. Depending on which layout you select, some personalization and customization options may or may not be available.

In this article, we'll explain the essential layout functions and settings for customizing your Jimdo page.

Contents 1 Overview 2 Standard Layouts 2.1 Previewing Different Layouts 2.2 Preview Menu Box 3 Special Layouts 3.1 What are Special Layouts? 3.2 Limitations 4 For Advanced Users: the Personal Layout 4.1 Uploading Files and Inserting Code 4.2 Support 5 Settings 5.1 Alignment 5.2 Padding 5.3 Borders 5.4 Background pattern & image

Overview

Standard Layouts

There is a very wide variety of standard layouts you can choose from here. Even though they look quite different, the basic components of a Jimdo page are always the same: header, navigation, sidebar, main content area, and footer. In some of the layouts, the part of the site navigation is separated into a third column or placed in the sidebar.

Previewing Different Layouts

Do you see a layout you like? Click on a thumbnail to see a preview of it on your JimdoPage! Once the preview has been generated, a menu box will pop up with some choices.

When you're previewing a new layout in Edit-Mode on your JimdoPage, it's only visible to you, not to any visitors of your site.

Preview Menu Box

This menu box gives you three options: if you click "Yes," the currently displayed layout will be applied to your Jimdo page; if you click "No," it will be returned to your original layout; and if you click "change," you'll return to the layout selection pane.

If you close your JimdoPage without choosing one of these options, the next time you log in to edit your page, the menu box will reappear with the layout preview you selected last.

Special Layouts

Are you making a JimdoPage for special event? Or maybe none of the standard designs strike your fancy... Try on some of our special layouts on for size!

What are Special Layouts?

Some of our special layouts include a design for wedding websites, a design for equestrian sites, and several MyVideo layouts. There are unusual layouts for many special occasions, so take a look to see if anything fits for you.

Limitations

Special layouts often have certain customization and personalization limitations. For example, for many of them you will not be able to upload your own header image or customize the colors.

You'll only be able to figure out what is customizable and what isn't through trial and error, since it's different for each special layout. Experiment away! :-)

Some text within the special layout is not editable. It's a fixed part of the design, and can't be removed for JimdoPro users either. Examples of this are the MyVideo logo in the MyVideo special layouts or the Jimdo logo in the wedding website design.

If you don't want the logo text on your Jimdo page (whether it's JimdoFree or JimdoPro), you'll have to switch to a different layout. Sorry!

For Advanced Users: the Personal Layout

If you're comfortable with editing your own HTML and CSS, you can create your own custom layout here. You can even base your custom layout on another site's design and insert that here.

Uploading Files and Inserting Code

Using the personal layout toolbar, insert your custom HTML and CSS styles into the respective fields. In the Files section you can upload JavaScript source files and the images you need for your layout. In the Help section, you'll find information that will be very helpful in conforming your markup and styles to the Jimdo layout interface.

Support

Attention: We can unfortunately provide no support for your personal (customized) layouts. If you're not completely comfortable with writing your own HTML or producing your own CSS, we can recommend a few tutorials that will help you get up to speed:

• http://www.w3schools.com/
• http://nettuts.com/

Settings

You can select and change some basic layout settings. Some of these settings may not be available or may not be completely available for certain layouts.

Alignment

Here you can change the page's alignment to either left, right, or center.

Padding

Padding specifies the distance between your website's content and the edge of the browser.

Borders

If you'd like to have a border around your website, you can enter its width and color (hexadecimal value) here.

Background pattern & image

Since the Site-Admin control panel was updated, these settings are now located in the Style section. For instructions on how to customize these, see the article on Style.

Note: When you're asked whether or not you want to accept the new layout, click "Yes" to confirm the changes, "No" to discard them and return to the last layout, or "Change" to select another layout.