Creating Photoshop files for Maker

Yes, you can convert that photoshop file into a dynamic and fully responsive Maker story for your site and sales channels. 

If your design team is versed in using Photoshop, take advantage of our PSD to HTML conversion technology to create the most engaging content possible. Simply upload the Maker-ready PSD file into the editor and our conversion engine will take care of the rest.

Download this example PSD to use as a guide for the following instructions: 

Unsupported PSD Features

• Don't include any hidden layers
  
• Don't use fonts that are not set-up in your Maker theme. (If you're unsure about what fonts are included in your theme, please contact your Maker representative).

Creating a responsive design

To build a fully responsive design with PSD, we suggest creating and uploading at least three different PSD files for the same page.

For example, if the widest container on your site is 1200px wide, create your desktop PSD file at that width. But when designing for tablet and mobile, you should create entirely new PSD files to match those breakpoints.

Here are the breakpoints that we recommend building for PSD:

• Desktop - 1024px (or the largest grid width that fits best with your site)
  
• Tablet - 768px
  
• Mobile Small - 320px
  

To learn how to upload breakpoint files on a Maker story built with PSD, visit this page.

Prepping your PSD file 

Once you've created your individual breakpoint PSD files, here's how to prep the files to ensure that Maker's PSD conversion technology will work smoothly: 

1. Save the image resolution of the file at 72 dpi.
   
2. Keep the background of the file transparent. 
   
3. Keep your file to a maximum size of 200MB.
4. Save the image mode at 8 Bits/Channel.

Dos and Don'ts

Dos

• Do convert all images with masks and effects to smart objects
  
• If the text in the section is using different styles, create a separate textbox for each style
• Do organize content sequentially 

Dont's

• Don't use auto formatting for text (this includes auto line height, auto caps, etc).
  

Adding Backgrounds

To add a background image, color or video to a "Section" of your file, use these shortcuts:

• For background images, simply name the layer BG
• For background color, simply name the layer BG [space] color hex code
  
• note: background (BG) images will be uploaded in their entirety; be sure to crop the images to their desired sizes and aspect ratios before uploading.
• For background video, create a placeholder layer named BG [space] video URL
• note: the video layer must have content attached (i.e., a placeholder image or shape) and the video URL must be an .mp4 link.

Note: You can only have one background or BG layer per section. If you plan to apply a background for the whole story, the story background will be added once you've added your PSD file to Maker in the Document settings of the editor.  

Organize your layers into "Sections"

To ensure maximum design flexibility after uploading your PSD into Maker, we highly recommend grouping your layers into sections in Photoshop. When sectioned, your PSD will convert into individual advanced grids in Maker - allowing you to edit and update them separately in Maker in the future.

While you don't have to create sections for our conversion tool to work, if your design is longer than 1000px long, we strongly recommend it.

If you plan on using Sections, here's a snapshot of what your file should look like:

Some important things to note:

• Sections must have the word 'section' in them; any typos in the word 'section' will prevent the file from loading correctly
• Don't leave any elements (images, textboxes etc) outside of the sections (everything should be contained in the sections)
• Organize your sections in sequential order of your content's design

That's it! 

Once you get into the groove of creating and prepping PSD files for Maker, you'll be able to easily and quickly design, publish and iterate Photoshop-created content to your site.