“I told them you could do it.”
About 15 years ago I had an unfortunate gig working with a company developing ebay templates. It was TERRIBLE.
These templates offended everything about web development 15 years ago. Which is really saying something, since 15 years ago web development had been wrestled (beaten to a pulp) from the arms of geek programmers and given to designers who didn’t know how to design for the screen. (NEVER let a print designer design your digital assets.)
I remember cringing and groaning at the hideousness – the heights of ugly that they achieved. No. Not the visual design – though that was suspect – the underlying code.
Nested tables. Nested tables with spacer images holding the shape together. Abominations!!
It was all Internet Explorer’s fault of course. (Of course! !)
With this little bit of history, you can imagine how thrilled I was when my PM skyped that apparently flattering sentence to me.
I like the PM. Liked the project we were on. Did NOT at all care to have anything to do with Ebay. I don’t even use Ebay – not a seller, not a buyer, not a browser.
But he seemed confident and here I was looking for hours. So off I went.
TWO days later I finally find the template codes needed. Google almost failed me. Ebay does not make these things easily findable and I FOUND out why:
Quote from an Ebay rep :
The new Store design allows you to set the following:
- Billboard image
- Logo
- Store name
- Store description
- Featured listings module
- Default order in which items are displayed
- Default view of Gallery or List
Even with the new design, the custom Store categories, search engine keywords, and listing frame features are the same.
There are no options to have:
- A different layout (such as 3 columns)
- Different colors or fonts (except within the Billboard and Logo images)
- Promotional boxes other than the Featured listings module
So Ebay is changing how it is displaying sellers’ pages, products etc.
The new page design is nice – bland and serviceable – already dated as far as design goes. But, and this might sound hypocritical, I actually like them. But (again) all the ‘branding’ you would normally have will (soon?) be taken away. OR at least discouraged. Your Ebay store will look like every other Ebay store for the most part… Or so it seems.
I don’t know.
What I do know is how to use the Ebay interface to create a real three column layout for pages.
Yipeeeee!!
I wish I could show the site – it’s actually not finished. The PM and the OM are rejiggering and jousting. I have no idea what that will mean for the project. But for me I have a new skill!
I can develop Custom Ebay templates. From Scratch. Code them out. Install them. And fix them!
Excellent!