Methods of Website Generation

Abstract

Methods of generating websites using any combination of remotely and locally stored content are contemplated. Content is procured by a user on a client computer, and a request to add that content to a source folder is sent to a server. The server adds the content to the source folder, where it is made available for website creation. When a client requests creation of a website using the contents of a source folder, the server then generates that website. In some embodiments, the website can be generated according to a user-selected theme or a default theme.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of generating a website, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by a server from a client, a website creation request, the website creation request comprising a source folder identifier, wherein the source folder identifier corresponds to a source folder comprising items to be included in the website;   generating, by the server, an item representative for each item in the source folder;   determining, by the server, a preliminary arrangement of item slots for the website, wherein each item slot is associated with one or more item representatives, and wherein each item slot is selected from a plurality of item slot types based at least in part on one or more attributes of the associated one or more item representatives;   determining, by the server, whether one or more gaps exist in the preliminary arrangement of item slots, and eliminating at least one gap by altering at least one of the position or item slot type of at least one item slot;   generating, by the server, the website and a website URL, wherein the website comprises each of the item representatives in a corresponding item slot, and the website is accessible by the website URL; and   sending, by the server to the client, the website URL.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the items to be included in the website is one of:
 an upload;   a web link; or   a note.   
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein each of the item representatives comprises at least one of:
 an image;   a title;   a subtitle; and   a description.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the plurality of item slot types comprises at least two of:
 single with text overlaid on image;   single with image and text split horizontally;   single with image and text split vertically;   wide with text overlaid on image;   wide with image and text split vertically;   tall with text overlaid on image;   tall with image and text split horizontally; and   tall and wide with text overlaid on image.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more attributes include:
 item type;   image resolution;   image dimensions;   title length;   description length; and   video aspect ratio.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 5 , wherein the server selects an item slot type for each item slot by evaluating one or more of the attributes against the plurality of item slot types and assigning a score to each item slot type, and wherein the server selects the item slot type with the highest score. 
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein a first item in the source folder is in a first subfolder of the source folder, and wherein a second item in the source folder is in a second subfolder of the source folder. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the website includes a first section comprising a first item representative associated with the first item and a second section comprising a second item representative associated with the second item. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the first section is a normal section and the second section is a gallery section. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the server determines whether one or more gaps exist in the preliminary arrangement of item slots by evaluating adjacent combinations of item slots. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein altering the item slot type of at least one item slot comprises selecting a different item slot type that is compatible with the associated one or more item representatives but still eliminates the gap. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 1 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by the server from a client, a first request to add, delete, or change an item within the source folder; and   regenerating, by the server, the website based on the added, deleted, or changed item within the source folder.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the server automatically regenerates the website in response to the first request. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , wherein the server regenerates the website in response to a second request from the client after the first request. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the website is a programmatic website written in a scripting language. 
     
     
         16 . A method of generating a website, the method comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by a server from a client, a set of user-selected items, the set of user-selected items comprising at least a first web link and a second web link;   adding, by the server, the set of user-selected items to a source folder that is associated with a source folder identifier;   receiving, by a server from a client, a website creation request, the website creation request comprising the source folder identifier;   generating, by the server, an item representative for each of the user-selected items in the source folder, each item representative comprising at least one of a text block and an image;   determining, by the server, a preliminary arrangement of item slots for the website, wherein each item slot is associated with one or more item representatives, and wherein each item slot is selected from a plurality of item slot types based at least in part on one or more attributes of the associated one or more item representatives;   determining, by the server, whether one or more gaps exist in the preliminary arrangement of item slots, and eliminating at least one gap by altering at least one of the position or item slot type of at least one item slot;   generating, by the server, the website and a website URL, wherein the website comprises each of the item representatives in a corresponding item slot, and the website is accessible by the website URL; and   sending, by the server to the client, the website URL.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the plurality of item slot types comprises at least two of:
 single with text overlaid on image;   single with image and text split horizontally;   single with image and text split vertically;   wide with text overlaid on image;   wide with image and text split vertically;   tall with text overlaid on image;   tall with image and text split horizontally; and   tall and wide with text overlaid on image.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the one or more attributes include:
 item type;   image resolution;   image dimensions;   title length;   description length; and   video aspect ratio.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the first web link in the source folder is in a first subfolder of the source folder, and wherein the second web link in the source folder is in a second subfolder of the source folder; and wherein the website includes a first section comprising an item representative associated with the first web link and a second section comprising an item representative associated with the second web link. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 16 , further comprising the steps of:
 receiving, by the server from a client, a first request to add, delete, or change an item within the source folder; and   regenerating, by the server, the website based on the added, deleted, or changed item within the source folder.