Jigsy Blog

News and updates from the Jigsy team.

Improve ALL the things!

Posted March 30, 2012

Once again we've been burning the midnight oil to produce some pretty nifty enhancements to the Jigsy builder.   Today we've released enhancements to our blogging service, editors and well... just about everything!  We're pretty excited about these updates as they address a number of concerns and suggestions that you've provided us with.  Let's take a look.

The first thing you may notice is that there's a whole new layout to the editors.  All of the same options are still there, but we've enhanced the interface for you.  We've moved the content templates  down from the top of the editor over to the left hand side.  This will give you more room to write out your posts and updates.  If you're not familiar with the "content template" functions, they allow you to easily set up paragraphs to work with or around photos, just as I'm doing in this paragraph.  Also, as you can see below, the editing tools are now pinned to the top of the editor now so they won't ever leave your sight again.



For you bloggers out there, we've introduced a feature you've all been asking for:  Auto-save!  Now when you're working on lengthy blog posts you won't have to worry about losing your unsaved changes to power outages, kids, gremlins, or any other sources of mischief and mayhem.   The auto-save option is enabled by default and will save a draft for you automatically every minute.   You can disable it if you like by clicking on a check box located at the bottom of the editor.   Yes, I did say "draft" back there.  You can save your changes as a draft if you're not quite sure that you like them, or if you simply don't have time to finish a post you started.   I'm heavily relying on this new feature already!  When you save as a draft the post will still show up in your editor, but it will be greyed out.  This will allow you to preview what it should look like when you go live.  

Here's what the post options look like: 
You can see that there is a check box to toggle the auto save feature, and the buttons to save your post as a draft, or publish live if you're ready to show what you've got  to the world wide web.

But wait, there's more!

We've redesigned the way you add and move blocks on your pages.   We've replaced the old anchors with shiny, slick new ones.  This should give you a much cleaner interface to work with when adding new blocks to your pages.  The placement and function of each location on your page will now be clear as day.

We have also changed how your existing blocks will behave when you're moving an existing block to a new location.  Before, blocks would jump and shift around wildly as you tried to find the perfect new spot for your block.  No more.  Now the existing blocks will wait patiently for you to finish your action before they jump up and move to accommodate your change.  

That's all for this week!

New Image Cropping Feature

Posted February 16, 2012

This week we're unveiling our new Image Cropping Tool!

We've been working day and night the last few weeks and we hope that you love this first new feature as much as we do. The Image Cropping tool makes it so much easier to work with photos that before just didn't seem to fit quite right.

Let's take a look at replacing the main template graphic. When you place your mouse on the template graphic youwill see a modify option. Click on "Modify" which will open a box for you to select where the new image should come from. Choose from your own gallery, our ample stock photography gallery or upload image of your choice. 

Select the image that you want to use and click "Use Selected image". Now for the fun part! You will now be brought to the Crop and Resize feature. First, make sure "Crop" is "ON" before slicing and dicing this photo down to size! Resize the image how you would like it to appear on your site. Make the crop area bigger or smaller using the handles around the image, click and drag with your mouse to resize. You can also zoom in on the image by using the slider at the top of the page.

 

Remember that the width of the image box on your screen is the maximum width your image can be for the area you are placing it in. Dragging your crop area to fill the entire width of the box will fill the width of that area on your website.

In this case I want to crop the image to include only the building while removing the water from this shot. If you don't like the image you have selected you can click the "Change Image" at the top to select a different one.

 

 

When you are done, click "Insert Image." Still not happy with the way your image looks? Clicking modify on your header again will take you right back to where you were; in case you want to zoom your image in a little more or crop it slightly different. Don't like your image at all? Mouse over your theme image and click "Use Default" - this will revert your image back to the theme default.

Stay Tuned.  Next post will be about another new feature on Image Management!

 

BRAND NEW Jigsy Title Styler

Posted November 22, 2011

This is really exciting and just went live this week. You can now easily style your Jigsy.com websites title and subtitle without going in and editing your CSS.

When you mouse over your title or subtitle you will see a new "style" button in the top right hand corner. Clicking that will open the new style editor.

You can change the font size, letter spacing, line height, font color and font style. Everything is done with easy sliding and draging - no typing required! It really doesn't get any easier than this. Login to your website now and try it out for yourself!

You can also check out the new style Editor on Youtube!  Don't forget to use the promo code: TurkeyDay2011  before Nov 28. It will save you 50%  when upgrading your Jigsy account.  Happy Thanksgiving!

Finding the Perfect Image

Posted October 18, 2011

 Choosing the perfect image for a website that does not have a visual theme can sometimes be an overwhelming task!

What would be best to use? An Illustration or a picturesque landscape?   How do you know it will say the right thing to your audience?

Imagery does more than just jazz up a website. Photos reveal a website’s attitude to its users. A Doctor and Barber both take pride in their trade, but their approach to doing business, will be indeed very different.

Think Practical

Getting started is easy: Get rid of photos that don't  work for technical reasons.   Throw away those vertical images you were considering if your website template calls for a horizontal.

  1. Shape
    What shape do you need to fill? Landscapes images work best in horizontal spaces. Portraits work well vertically. Large spaces can accommodate wide-angle and macro shots.
  2. Tone
    Do the colors and tone in the image match the website’s theme?  Does it match your firms colors?
  3. Focus
    Is the photo blurry? A blurry background is ok if the foreground elements are in focus. But unless the composition is deliberately fuzzy, avoid it if it isn’t sharp.

Brandstockphoto.com is a good place to help you get started.   They make premium tailor made photos for businesses with an embedded sign of your brand.

Use this code for a $10 discount @ Brandstockphoto.com vB212

Summer Releases

Posted July 15, 2011

Would you like to your site featured on the Jigsy.com front page?  Submit your entries to our facebook page! 

New releases on the way in the next few weeks which will include some new features.

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What is Jigsy?

Jigsy is a Content Management System and Website Builder that allows you to easily build your own dynamic website, either by selecting one of our premade themes or make your own theme simply by using html and css.

Everything is hosted for you and all management and creation is done in your browser.

Looking for an example? This blog is a Jigsy website!