This is how we put up those pretty backgrounds, to make the page just ours. It's really easy too!
Love,
SheilaDog
Love,
This is how we put up those pretty backgrounds, to make the page just ours. It's really easy too!
SheilaDog
On Dogster and Catster, it is easy to change the background. You will want to use one of your "bio" fields. If you do not have Dogster Plus, you may not be able to do this: you have only one extra bio area. Try it. If you can't do it, get Dogster Plus!
Your bio fields are located where you edit "text and biography". With Dogster Plus you have several of them. To change your background, pick an empty bio field and where it asks you to name the field put anything you want. Most people put "Background". In the area where it says "Body" you will put the code for your background. Where is that to be found?
There are many sites on the web which offer FREE backgrounds. Some of these offer a code, some don't and you need to write it. We will tell you how to do both.
Code-provided backgrounds:
Find backgrounds by browsing Dogster pages. When you find one you like, look down where the bio entry fields are. Most people will at the end have a graphics logo advertising a website. Go there to get a background. OR, google the words "backgrounds+free" to find more. Here is a great site to start with: http://mbif.net. When you get there, click into backgrounds in the links list on the left of the top. Then look at the list on the left of that page to select a category. You'll be treated to a plethora of fun backgrounds, some animated, some not. They all work alike. Just copy the code using your browser menu or Ctrl+C, then go back to your "body" area of your bio field and paste it, using your browser or Ctrl+V. The site has a lot of great instructions, so read them if you get stuck.
To write a code yourself:
Alternately, you may want to use a background you see at a website that doesn't offer a code. To do this, you will use this basic HTML code:
<BODY BACKGROUND = "this is the URL that finds the background"> The URL is the web address the background graphic lives at. Your background's URL will end with .gif or with .jpg or with .jpeg. When you put it in the above code, you must put the quotes around it for it to work.
Let us say you found your background at Clipart.com. You need to click on it at that site to open it in a new window. It will be a small patch of background color. Look at this point at the top of your browser page at the URL there. Copy this URL - not the graphic itself - just the URL. This is what you will paste in your "body" box on your page. A URL address is really just a set of directions to tell a browser how to go out on the web and grab the graphic you want to appear.
Background as a color
You can also just go into the Color Code Chart and choose a color for your background. Mind you that if you choose a very dark one, text resting on it will disappear, because the default color of text is black. For the purposes of Dogster, it doesn't matter - they have it set up so nicely that it works just fine!
Your code would need to look like this: <BODY BGCOLOR = "#Here is where the color code goes.">. Note that the color code is preceded by a number sign, and again the quotes must also be included.
