Getting Started with Fireworks - Using Master Pages, Pages, and Web Layers

Topic: Getting Started with FireworksTime Required: 30 MinutesSoftware: FireworksVersion: CS5

Today we’re going to dive into the world of Fireworks by examining some of the basic features that make it different from Photoshop. Specifically, we’re going to be using a very basic design to show how Master Pages, Sub-Pages, and Web Layers work to create a complete web design in Fireworks that uses internal file linking. This is a great place to start if you haven’t really used Fireworks much before, so let’s dig in!

This is the first in our series of Getting Start with Fireworks posts where we’re be examining the program and what it has to offer to web designers. In future tutorials we’ll be walking through how to properly slice and export optimized web files, how to use Fireworks for rapid prototyping, and how to use many of the other features that are specific to FW.

We’ll be examining the Fireworks feature called “Pages” in the video, but let me provide just a bit of background. These features simulate different pages within a webpage; Fireworks has the unique ability to allow users to define some “universal” or “master” elements for the entire site (like navigation and branding) in addition to variable content, like text, images, etc. In the video, we’ll be examining how these features relate to each other using a very simple design. By the end of the video, you should have a pretty good understanding of how you can use these features in your own web design.

Feel free to download the source files and follow along, or use your own design to create the same effect.

Connor Turnbull is a web designer based in the UK with a special interest in attempting to create websites around a specific need. He has a special interest in designing usable websites that user can really interact with. And, he’s also part of a new, three-person collaboration on the Envato Marketplaces.

Connor will be walking us through more of these Fireworks videos in the future, so if you have any other specific requests, questions, or ideas, post them down below!