Template Installation Instructions

Introduction

Installing a custom template into a Build A Niche Store (BANS) site is really quite simple. BANS comes with a custom template system that allows people to use one of the nine templates that ship with the product, or (wait for it) add your own customized templates to the mix. All we need is to get our new design files up to the BANS site and activate it in order to reap the benefits of a designer template. Let's get started.

Gathering the Tools

First, of course, you'll need a custom BANS template. The template format consists of all the unique files that make the design special. That includes images, style sheets, and customized header and footer code. All of these things are a part of the Designer Niches package you purchase. With most Designer Niches designs you actually get three individual templates, one for each of the orientations that BANS supports in their own designs. This includes a Left, Right, and Both template folder. You'll need to pick one of the layouts that you'd like to use, or pick them all and be able to change them later...

	Monotheme "Right" Note that the menu in the thumb is on the right side of the screen.
	Monotheme "Left" In this thumbnail the menu is on the left side of the web page. This is one of the most common layouts used on the Internet today.
	Monotheme "Both" With the "Both" design there are menu items on both the left and the right side of the screen. Simple, huh?

Ok cool, we have our template. Now we need to get it to the BANS site. You can do this with the same FTP (File Transfer Protocol) tool you used to upload your BANS site in the first place. Fire up your ftp tool and log into your BANS web site. Select the "themes" folder on your site, usually by double clicking on the title. In your FTP tool select the location where you extracted your new BANS templates.

Now drag the folder of the template(s) that you want to use and drag them into the "themes" folder of your web site. Installation is done! All we need to do now is activate the template in our BANS site. For this next step you'll need to be logged into your admin console of the BANS site in question.

Activating the Template

	Select the Template Menu Item Next we need to go to the template section of your administration screen.
	Select your Favorite Template! You'll see a list of all the installed templates and their names. Simply click on the "Select Template" link next to the one you want to activate. Here we're activating the Ebon Storm Lite template. You're officially done!

I hope you've found this guide useful. Installing BANS templates is a breeze, it shouldn't take you more than a few minutes to do, and fortunately you only need to do it once!