Layout
In the "Appearance" tab of your admin panel select the "Layout" menu item. Your admin panel is defaulted to go to this page first. There are currently 3 layout templates for you to choose from: 2 column with menu on the left, 2 column with menu on the right, and single column with menu below the header navigation. Select the layout you would like to use and click the save button.
Colors and Images
This page is also under the "Appearance" tab. On this page you can set the background colors and background images for the different areas of your website.
Each of the color fields has a color picker attached to it. Just click the button and select the color you want. However don't feel restricted to these colors. If you know the RGB value of the color you want to use you can just type it in. There are many many sites on the web that can help you find color combinations and RGB values to use on your website. You can search for "color pickers" or "color palate tools" and you will get a good selection of sites to try.
Next you can choose background images for the different parts of your site. It is a good idea to coordinate these with the background colors as well as the font colors used in your navigation. The Navigation bar at the top defaults to 37 pixels high and the side column in the 2 column layouts is 205 pixels wide. Your entire site is best viewed at 1024px resolution. You can find background images on hundreds of sites on the web. You can do your whole site in one image or just the navigation bar and side column with contrasting colors for the content area. The combinations are limitless.
To help you out we have created a large selection of navigation bar images and side column images that you can use for your site. Just go to Image Samples. When you see one you like right click on it and save it to your computer. Then use your admin panel to upload it to the correct place in the template. Also you can visit our forums at Forum to ask for ideas, image help and get reviews on your site.
