Xanga Design Codes
From LoveToKnow SocialNetworking
Xanga design codes are like icebergs. On the tip lay the simple HTML basics, but under the surface lies a vast range of possibilities.
Like most social networking sites, Xanga gives users the opportunities to customize their page. Backgrounds for Xanga and cute layouts are easily customizable using the site's web interface. Xanga is one of the better examples of providing users with flexibility to change "anything" without needing to understand HTML or advanced programming.
That, however, is if you choose the "theme" method of managing your Xanga. This is a relatively new development, and was probably spurred by the fact that people who did have some expertise in the realm of CSS, HTML, and javascript were able to do astonishing things with their Xanga design codes. Far beyond changing backgrounds, they were able to do things like trick the comments window into being a drawing board, or change the users cursor into an animated holiday icon. In fact, being able to add in customized HTML has set Xanga apart from, Facebook, and other social networking sites.
The Simple Stuff
The basics of Xanga design codes are found in HTML. Every single HTML tag out there can be put into Xanga – tables, images, text – and this makes the Xanga layout every bit as flexible as the web itself. For example, to change the color of your background, you would import the hexadecimal color code into the background: color box, something like CCCC99 for a nice neutral beige. Unless you are a web designer by trade, you may not know the actual code for the color you want – but that's why in the same box they have a "color picker" drop down box. This same process applies to any particular Xanga color – links, borders, etc.
The real benefit of the HTML comes in the Header section, where you can select the "Input your own custom HTML" option. Using either your own HTML or the code provided from sites like The Create Blog (a Xanga and other blog design community) you can make the page layout as complex or simple as you like. This is usually using HTML (though since it's the header, you can also input CSS).
That's the old "Layout" system of Xanga design codes. To swap between it and the Theme Application, it's simply a matter of either picking a theme (in which case the Xanga Theme Application will control all of the choices with mostly dropdown menus) or clicking off the "make this my active theme" box in the theme editor. This will bring you back to the "old" system, and the link at the bottom of your Xanga to "design" will get you to the "Look and Feel" page. It will also have a large warning box asking you why you are still using the old system. It has a point; while at first it may look like the new system gives you less direct control, the fact that you have the ability to put in custom CSS means that you have essentially infinite control over your page.
Hacking Xanga Design Codes
An example of this is the aforementioned "drawing" application put into the comments field on a Xanga page. Adrian Shum created this page explaining how the drawing application works. Essentially he uses javascript to make the comment section call up an application on his site:
<script type="text/javascript">//Xanga Drawing Comments (Instant Painter extension) by Adrian Shum
var xgcm1 = "<";
var xgcm2 = "script src=\"http://adn.110mb.com/ip/xgcm.js\"> var xgcm3 = "ipt>";
document.write(xgcm1+xgcm2+xgcm3);
</script>
Because Xanga will allow any HTML in its headers, this will work, and create quite a nifty application. Designers and coders share their expertise like this on CreateBlog and other sites, including Xanga itself. With a little time and searching, everyone can become well versed in Xanga design codes and make their page truly their own.
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This page has been accessed 1,771 times. This page was last modified 17:51, 28 August 2008.
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