• Design so that it can accommodate a screen at 800x600 pixels
• All images should be 72-75dpi
• Photographic images should be in .jpg format
• Flat graphic images should be in .gif format
• It is good to have a site read left to right, top to bottom
• If you are using an animated into, or animated pages, give the user an option to bypass or not load it
• Don't include sound or music unless it is entirely necessary

• It is best to keep the header and graphics simple (no flash within Miva, etc.)  Save the fancy things for your main and/or home page
• Animated .gifs in Miva are ok if they help the user (Ex.: )
• We have many options on how to display products, but we should stay consistent (KISS method)
• We have to choose a Category, Subcategory structure before building the item database

A.  Item Image Files

• If you have some items that are photographic, and some that are not, you should make all the image files in .jpg format.  You should only use .gif format if all your items are non-photographic.
• All images must be at 72-75dpi
• As a general rule of thumb, Full-size images should be approximately 250 pixels wide.  Thumbnail images should be 150 pixels wide.  If an item is substantially longer or shorter then the average image, you should adjust the width appropriately to make it appear on the screen similar in size to your average image
• If you have the same type of item that is rectangular, but some are horizontal and some are vertical, size them 150 wide for the horizontals, and 150 tall for the verticals (250 for full-size) so they appear on the screen the same size

• If you have a round item, make sure the background color is set to the same color as the color we have chosen for your Miva site main body background

(black body website)

• If you have a collage of item on one image, or there is substantial detail, you may make the Full-size image better so the customer can see the detail
• You are allowed one thumbnail and one full-size image per item w/o additional html programming.  You may prepare one image with multiple pictures in it if you want to display views or items.

• Full-size images must be named the same as your catalog item number.  Example:  If you have an item with a catalog number of 123abc, the full-size image must be named 123abc.jpg.  The case of the letters must be the same and consistent.
• Thumbnail images must be named the same with an addition "t" added to signify thumbnails.  Example: 123abct.jpg
• Image files can either be saved to a CD or sent to an FTP site.  This will be determined on an individual basis

B.  Item Data Files

• A spreadsheet must be prepared which will be used as an upload file to add products in mass to your Miva database
• I prefer Excel to be used for this, but any flat spreadsheet program with import/export capabilities
• Try not do use quotation marks " in your fields.  If you need to signify quotations or inches, use two apostrophes side by side and they will appear the same.  If you use quotation marks, when I import it into Miva it will show as 11"" or ""today""
• Do not use any tabs in your text.  When I export this file I will export it in a tab-delimited format, so if you have any tabs in the fields, it will mess up the formatting
• Do not use any paragraph returns in each field.  Let it wrap automatically or let it extend long in the same field depending on how your spreadsheet handles the display of long items
• Spreadsheet Example:

• Item # - Your actual item number.  If you include letters, make sure they are the same case (all caps or all small letters)  No spaces
• Title - Short but descriptive title that includes the type of product in the name
• Description - This may be a long description.  Include the size in the description and any other attributes.  SPELL AND GRAMMAR CHECK YOUR WORK, especially names that aren't normally caught in a spell check program
• Retail - Your selling price.  Do not include any dollar signs
• Weight - The weight of the product, or if you will be shipping via UPS and calculating shipping online, the packaged weight of your product.  Use only numbers in this field, no lbs or # signs
• Category - This is where it will be grouped and displayed in the Miva database.  We will create a category list specifically for your company and your needs. 
• An Example of a partial category for demonstration purposes is outlined below:

• The spreadsheet data file should be sent with the images files.  We can load the text file first, but the images will show as missing when somebody views them through your website.