Published by:
Washington Research Associates, Inc. 
Washington, DC        

I. Overview of Topic

So you'd like to customize your Myspace site by using MySpace free layouts to project your own interests and personality? But when you enter "free Myspace layouts," or "MySpace free layouts," or something similar in Google to learn how to do this you get thousands of listings -- none of them especially helpful?

Never fear, this 10-Minute Web Search Guide will show you how to utilize MySpace free layouts to customize your profile quickly and easily and will also point out some of the best online sources of free layouts and other graphics from among the many thousands of offerings out there.

Joining MySpace is simple enough -- just go to MySpace.com and click on the "Get Started on MySpace!" banner in the lower left section of the page. You might or might not want to take their tour, it's not really necessary. But you should have a photo of yourself loaded onto your computer. During the setup process, MySpace will suggest that you upload it to your profile. (However you can put that off until later if you want.)

I won't go through the process of setting up your MySpace page. It's ultra-simple and is just a matter of following the instructions they provide. The fun comes in once you have your basic page done and are ready to start customizing it.

You can change the look of your page drastically to project whatever kind of image suits you -- you can change its background, text, various fields in your profile, and add background audio, among other things.

What MySpace doesn't let you change much are the About Me and Comments sections. By the way, you don't have complete artistic freedom here. MySpace editors will be looking over your shoulder and if you add anything pornographic or otherwise offensive to good taste and basic civility, (or if you cover up their ads) they'll take your page down faster than kudzu.

Quick Start Guide

I'm assuming that, like most of us, you're not an HTML/CSS type person, so let's do this the easy way. "Easy" means using somebody else's graphics. This is not plagarism, they want you to use their graphics, in fact there are thousands of websites out there practically begging you to take their Myspace free layouts and backgrounds and other graphics and paste them on your MySpace page. Why? Because in this way they get traffic to their websites and make money through advertising.

OK, let's start with an easy-to-use "generator" site. These are sites that generate the HTML you need to customize your site. We'll start with a few very simple customizations.

Go to the Thomas MySpace Editor. First, click on "Background." This lets you choose a new background color for your MySpace page. If you want to use a background image, like a picture of the mountains near your home, you have to have the picture loaded to a hosting service. You can enter the background image URL and indicate "Background Position" and whether or not you want the image to "tile" (i.e., repeat) and whether you want it fixed in place or to scroll with the page.

Next, click on the "Text" button and this will take you to a page where you can make various changes to the text in your page, such as color, size, style, and font. If you wish you can also click on "tables" and "scrollbars" to make changes to those elements as well.

Finally click on "Code." Presto, there's the code you need to make the changes show up on your MySpace site. Just copy it (CNTRL-C) and then go to your MySpace edit page, click on "Profile" then "About Me" and paste the code in the "About Me" box.

By the way, to get to your edit page, go to MySpace.com, log in, then click on "Edit Profile" or on whichever section you want to make changes to (Profile, Photos, Videos, Calendar, Blog, etc).

Well, that was easy -- you've got a whole new look for your page. Not completely satisfied? You can delete the code you pasted in "About Me" and simply start over. For more elaborate MySpace free layouts and customizations, read on.

Using MySpace Free Layouts

Customizing MySpace sites using MySpace free layouts is a booming business on the Internet and you can find thousands and thousands of websites which make customizing (or "pimping") your MySpace site as simple as copying some HTML code. These sites let you choose layouts, backgrounds, headings, videos, audios, and a multitude of other features and enhancements. All you have to do is select what you want, then copy the code to your MySpace edit page.

To see how easy this is, let's pick one of the many MySpace free layouts sites and choose a layout for your MySpace profile.

Let's try Xoospace, which is a pretty good one to use for this example.

1. On left sidebar of the home page, click on "Layouts."
2. Choose a category. Let's say you pick "Celebrities."
3. Scroll through the free MySpace layouts offered and click on the one you like best.
4. If you wish, click on "Live Preview" for a quick preview of how this layout will look on your MySpace page.
5. Now copy the code, using CNTRL-C on your keyboard.
6. Log in to your page at MySpace.com.
7. In Control Panel, click on "Profile." (Or you can click on "Edit Profile" next to your picture.)
8. Paste code in "About Me" box (using CNTRL-V on your keyboard), then below click on "Save All Changes."
9. That's it -- you can now view your newly customized MySpace page!

As you see, there are many additional free customizations you can make using Xoospace or similar sites. For example, you can add glittering graphics to your page, or animated graphics, or audios or videos. Below, I provide additional instructions for more customization of your MySpace pages.

Adding Graphics:

Adding graphics, such as glitter text, smileys, backgrounds, animations, etc. is just like adding layouts. Choose the graphic effects you want fromXoospace or a similar site, copy the codes, then log in to your MySpace Page and click on "Edit Profile." You can copy the code into any text field, such as "About Me," "interests," "Hobbies," etc.

Adding Music:

First you have to find the song you want to add. Got a favorite band? See if they have a website or search for their page on MySpace. Or check out your friends' sites to see what songs they're using. When you find the song you want, look for the Add link (it should be next to that song on the site's jukebox), click the Add link and confirm your entry. That's all there is to it, the song is added to your profile page and will be played whenever your page is viewed.

Adding Video:

Start by clicking the Videos link under your picture on your profile page. That takes you to the main video page. Click on the "Categories" or "Channels" tab at top of page to search for videos. Choose the one you like then click on "Add to Profile." (You can also take videos from non-MySpace sources like YouTube if you wish. Just copy the code for your selected video and edit it into your MySpace profile.)

That's it - our ten minutes are up! (OK, maybe twelve or thirteen.) Below is a listing of Web resources to help you continue your research on MySpace free layouts.

II. Review Section

This Section provides reviews and recommendations of Web sites and other online resources

MySpace Toolbox

One of the very best sites of MySpace free layouts and other goodies like videos, backgrounds, images, and layouts. Nice choice for MySpace beginners who want to customize their pages with as little hassle as possible.

Windows Movie Maker

Want to upload personal videos to your MySpace page? Windows Movie Maker is free software you can use to edit your video, add sound and text, and save it as a Web-ready file. (If you use a Mac, try iMovie instead.)

Quizilla

Allows you to create quizzes ("How much are you like me?, Would I date you?, etc.) for your MySpace site then paste the results onto your page. Lotsa fun.

Audacity

Free downloadable software for turning your computer into a recording studio. Great if you have a band and want to convert your songs into formats uploadable to MySpace. Also great for wannabe podcasters.

III.Discussion Group

Have questions or thoughts to share regarding MySpace free layouts? Visit our Web Search Guides Discussion Group. To suggest a Guide topic or to contact Joseph Ryan, Editor, click here.