The ebay aboutme page

Ebay provide the opportunity to have an "aboutme" page which allows Ebayers to have their own web page to sell themselves, details may be found in Ebay's page. The aboutme page can be configured from ebay's own proforma or by using HTML. An Ebayer's aboutme page is accessed via their me icon. Have a look at some to get ideas for creating your own. This page provides a free tool for creating an Ebay aboutme page.

Design selections

Below is the colour picker and a schematic diagram of the aboutme page design along with the design options. For colours, select the item then pick a colour using the colour picker. Click the Set Colour button to update the code and diagram. In addition there are areas to enter the aboutme text and also provision for adding photographs. When completed go to the code-view panel to copy the code.

Tip; The colour picker, schematic diagram and some of the boxes can be moved by dragging with the left mouse-button.

Set Colour Background Border   Title Title Background Title Border   Text Text Background Link Text Link Hover   Image Border   Feedback 1 Feedback 2         Colour Schemes Template width 980px 750px Border style solid double dashed ridge Border size 3px 0px 1px 6px 10px Background layout Framed border Left border Title Text Link text Link hover Ebay special tags Auction List Ebay special tags Feedback List Ebay special tags Auction List Quantity Feedback List Quantity No Background Set url Background Selector url Stripes Camo Tartan Pattern Texture Autumn Winter Spring Title Text Aboutme Text Enter the url of the image. Image position Left     Centre     Right Enter the url. Enter the link text. Aboutme text goes here Image Links & Captions Select image quantity (maximum 5). Image link example; http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/eporium/jktwmk.jpg

Copying the code.

To create or update the code click the Make Code button, this will load the code into the code-view panel. The template may then be previewed by clicking the Preview button, this will either open a pop-up window or new tab. The design can be changed by going back to the design area, then click the Make Code button to update the code and the Preview button for a new preview.

When satisfied with the design click the Select All button to highlight the code. Copy the code by right-clicking on the highlighted area and then select copy, alternatively use Ctrl-C keys to copy the code.

Once the code has been copied open a new blank text or HTML document using notepad or an HTML editor, paste in the code and save the document. The template has now been created, now make a second copy for use as a back-up.

Uploading to ebay

Go to the ebay aboutme over view page ( ) and follow the create aboutme link. Select the HTML option and paste your aboutme HTML code into the HTML box, then click continue and complete the process.

Guidance notes

Setting colours.

To set a colour, select an item from the list then pick a colour using the colour picker. Click the Set Colour button to update the code and diagram. The colour code numbers in the colour picker and the set colour list are editble and can also be set by typing in a colour hex code.

Colour Schemes

There is also a selection of pre-made colour schemes to choose from. Just click a swatch to change the colour scheme.

Background images.

In the Background Selector click on the required image. The image will then appear in the schematic diagram and it's url in the url box. The background tile will be displayed as actual size in the schematic diagram and so may appear to be out of scale. To remove a background click the No Background button. It is also possible to use externally hosted background graphics, just paste the background's url in the url box and then click the Set url button (it may takes a few seconds for the image to load into the schematic diagram).

Adding text.

The aboutme title text can be typed or pasted into the Title Text box.

The aboutme text can be typed or pasted into the Aboutme Text box. This text is not formatted and will appear as a block. Formatting can be done by adding HTML tags. There are a few HTML tag buttons in the aboutme text header that can be used. Within the text select where the tag needs to be inserted then click the tag button.

The BR, line break, does not require a closing tag. The other HTML tags require both an open and a close tag. Click a button once to open a tag, click it again to close the tag, the Close Tags button will close all open tags. In addition there are options for adding images and web links. Click the IMG or Link button, enter the details, click in the text area where the link is required and then Submit.

For information about HTML tags see the HTML codes page.

Adding images & Captions.

Enter the number of images required, from 0 to 5, and then click Update. This will create the image fields with caption fields below. If required each photograph can have a caption below it, if no caption is required leave the caption field empty.

The template is designed to use an external image hoster for storing the auction photos. One image hoster that can be used for storing auction photographs is Photobucket . Upload the photo to Photobucket and they will supply the url/address for it. This image shows the links as provided by Photobucket, the Direct Link is the one to be used.

The image link will look something like; http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o47/eporium/jktwmk.jpg , this is the type of link that should be pasted into the image link area.

Special ebay HTML tags

Ebay has some special HTML tags which allow for the display of listings and feedback in the aboutme page.
These tags can be found on this ebay page; . These are best put at the bottom of the aboutme page as the listings/feedback display can be quite long. Ebay's options for customising the feedback and auction lists are limited.

Note; The special tags will only display when the template is loaded into Ebay.