How to make a Wells 7.0 template in 7.1

Hi all,

7.1 website: https://sawfish-dragonfly-bfsj.squarespace.com/
password: PM

7.0 website: https://www.palomamcclain.com

I'm on a personal plan and use my website as an art portfolio.

I'm aiming to switch to a 7.1 layout because of the portfolio feature and the other lovely new features. Wells doesn't allow for project/index pages and I want to be able to use both a gallery and portfolio.

I love the Wells layout because the navigation is fixed on the left and users can scroll through my art on the right. This allows for easy access to the nav without having to repetitively scroll back up to the top to click a different category. It was disappointing to learn that the header and nav in 7.1 stays horizontal.

It was also frustrating to learn that 7.1 doesn't support summary blocks for galleries which means I can no longer separate my art by category. I wish to use the Universal Filter plug-in but I am a complete novice at CSS and don't understand the instructions or what I'm looking at. I contacted the developer on this matter but I welcome other help on this problem too.

Is it possible to create the navigation/header in 7.1 as a sidebar like Wells, where my gallery section displays on the right?

Thanks for your help!

Still need help, please let me know if this is possible.

20 hours ago, palomamcclain said:

Need help making 7.1 layout look like Wells. I love the Wells layout because the navigation is fixed on the left and users can scroll through my art on the right.

Hi Paloma.

As you've mentioned, version 7.1 doesn't have a vertical navigation like the Wells template. It would be possible to create one with some JavaScript but the Personal Plan doesn't support this so you'd be limited to what you can achieve with CSS, which doesn't offer the same flexibility.

That said, there are things you could do with CSS to creatively move your navigation on desktop. For example:

As a vertical nav doesn't translate for mobile users, it may be worth checking your 7.0 site analytics to check the percentage of visitors who are using desktops and who would benefit. 

Btw, I love your illustrations; they're fantastic.

Paul

Thank you so much for the kind words and info @paul2009! I checked my analytics and it appears that 70% of visitors use desktop and 30% use mobile. I actually really like what you did with the CSS. A couple questions:

1. Could the navigations words on the side be flipped to sitting horizontal to be read left to right, while staying on the sidebar?

2. Would there be be way to keep links like "About" "Contact" on the top, and in the sidebar put categories like "Portraits", "Pets", "Landscapes"?

Thanks so much! I honestly am considering upgrading my plan if Javascript can easily create the sidebar identical to Wells.

@palomamcclain I'd love to help you build your website, answer any questions that you have, and/or provide my services. I'd very much like to see your art be displayed in the best ways possible (I'm an artist as well) -- I understand your budget restrictions, so... please consider this an early Holiday gift. Message me if you'd like.

@Wolfsilon That is so kind of you, thank you so much! Love seeing other fellow artists. 🙂  I'd really appreciate your help and would definitely want to compensate you fairly for your time. I'll send you a message!

Hey there,

So i know this has probably been asked before since the release of 7.1. But I am having a lot of trouble and mind melts trying to figure it out or trying to find a plug in that works. 

I am a photographer looking to build my site. I wanted something similar to the Wells template that had a vertical navigator on the left hand side. This way it wasn't at the top and it would be easy for someone to navigate my site and look at the work on the left hand site. Simple, minimal and easy to use. 

After spending a few hours looking for solution i realized i had access to this forum and could just look for the answer. That being said it seems that it is only available with a using a plug in or knowledge of CSS. Something i have little knowledge off unfortunately. 

I have a business plan as i am looking to sell prints of my work and would just like a hand or perhaps a push in the right direction (plug ins available, etc) that match the look i am going for. 

Any help would be much appreciated. 

10 hours ago, Antonioperezphoto said:

Hey there,

So i know this has probably been asked before since the release of 7.1. But I am having a lot of trouble and mind melts trying to figure it out or trying to find a plug in that works. 

I am a photogralpher looking to build my site. I wanted something similar to the Wells template that had a vertical navigator on the left hand side. This way it wasn't at the top and it would be easy for someone to navigate my site and look at the work on the left hand site. Simple, minimal and easy to use. 

After spending a few hours looking for solution i realized i had access to this forum and could just look for the answer. That being said it seems that it is only available with a using a plug in or knowledge of CSS. Something i have little knowledge off unfortunately. 

I have a business plan as i am looking to sell prints of my work and would just like a hand or perhaps a push in the right direction (plug ins available, etc) that match the look i am going for. 

Any help would be much appreciated. 

Do you mean something like burger navigator in desktop. Or always show the left-side bar?

A burger navigator would work. But i would personally prefer a left side bar layout. Similar to the Wells template. 

Here are a few references as examples: 

-http://www.luisgarvan.com/interiors

- https://www.ioe.photography/aboutjoe

Cheers

Site URL: https://poagao.squarespace.com/

The stated reason of not allowing us to switch templates in 7.1 is that the templates are so customizable...I started out with Falodu in 7.1 but then found Wells, a 7.0 template that allows the user to switch between thumbnail grid view and individual photographs. It may be obvious and I'm missing it but it seems something so basic must be accessible 7.1? Do I really need to cancel my subscription and start again with a 7.0 template?

Wells is a unique template and in my opinion would be difficlult to reproduce in 7.1. As far as switching to Wells that  could depend on where in your present subscription you are. In other words how old is it?  This is my reply to someone asking about moving from 7.1 back to 7.0 a couple of years ago, and I personally don't consider that to be a downgrade. 

You can move back, but there is no switch to do it. No option for a template change. You would need to start a new trial with a 7.0 site, build it, activate it, move your domain  and then cancel the original site, once you know the new one is working. If your 7.1 site has been actived for two weeks or less you will get a credit.  

refund policy:

• Full refunds are issued automatically for annual website subscriptions canceled within 14 days of the first payment. Refunds may take 3 to 10 business days to process.
• We don't offer refunds after 14 days following the first payment.
• We don't offer refunds for monthly plans.
• We don't offer refunds for renewal payments.

I just started, and didn't know about the 14 day thing, so I guess it makes sense for me to cancel and start over. Thanks very much for that valuable information!

It makes no sense to me that you can't change the template layout in version 7.1 

I understand that you can "build anything" but that's entirely different than allowing users to simply change a template... 

Is there anyway to recreate the "wells" template in version 7.1? 

The templates in 7.1 are not like in 7.0, the functionality is the same for each and the templates are really just starting points for styles, fonts, colours, and built with the section layouts. You can change all of those within the styles menu and use the auto layouts for new sections, there's nothing new that changing template would add.

The Wells template is not a design that's possible in 7.1 without coding, if that's the look you want you can use that template.