Social Sideboxes - More than one way to skin the cat!

[CultureClick]

I've been looking over these threads, and the plugin modules provided on this site, and it's really remarkable! Floating sidebox social media plugins, header links to social media, like buttons on product pages, all sorts of stuff, hugely useful!

Now, I can write HTML like a fiend but I have a barely stumbling knowledge of CSS and PHP, so I have to feel my way along, thank God I've got a logical mind! And there is a super little module, very simple and easy, called the "Facebook Twitter Module", at http://www.zen-cart.com/downloads.php?do=file&id=1176 . It's got a read-me file of instructions, which I have not reproduced here.

Of course you can add links to a blog, or to YouTube, or whatever. And you can get those icons just by doing a Google search, or going to the social media page itself and downloading what they offer. Then you just pick a size and graphically modify all your little buttons so they are the same size, and whatever else you need to do to them. I have a blog associated with one of my startup websites, as well as the de rigeur Facebook and Twitter pages. So my code looked like this:

---------------------------------------------------------------


<!-- Start Facebook&Twitter Links -->
<br />
<br />
<center>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="YOUR-FACEBOOK-HERE"><img src="YOUR-FACEBOOK-BUTTON" width="x, whatever you choose" height="x" alt="x" /></a>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="YOUR-TWITTER-HERE"><img src="YOUR-TWITTER-BUTTON" width="x" height="x" /></a>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="YOUR-BLOG-HERE"><img src="YOUR-BLOG-BUTTON" width="x" height="x" /></a>
&nbsp;&nbsp;<a href="YOUR-YOUTUBE-HERE"><img src="YOUR-YOUTUBE-BUTTON" width="x" height="x" /></a>
</center>
<!-- End Facebook&Twitter Links -->

--------------------
Of course you want to make sure that your button isn't bigger than your sidebox! I made mine 100 pixels square and they stack up in the right-hand sidebox column, one on top of the other and centered. I put them right at the top of the column, and it looks really good.

Or you can make the icons small, maybe 50 pixels square, and then they go side-by-sde, two at a time. I've done different things on different domains (I've got four, count 'em, four; all building up to going live next month! Yikes!)

Graphic ideas also include using something like PaintShop's "colored edges" or "glowing edges" functions, and make the colored edge one of the colors on your page's color scheme. Remember that these images have transparency, so either support that, or make the "transparent" part the same color as your background.

Amd again, there is a huge selection in that "Plugins" library - headers, floating buttons, all sorts of things. I'll tackle them someday but right now for beginners like me, or folks who just like to keep it simple, this little module is quick, easy, works great, and looks great too.

Just sayin'.

Yours,

CultureClick the baby Zenner