Sponsors, Affiliates and Friends...
Check out the Getting Started guide for designers.
Gill Cleeren - Microsoft Regional Director, MVP ASP.NET
Blog: www.snowball.be and www.codeflakes.net
David J Kelly - Silverlight MVP
Blog: HACKINGSILVERLIGHT and HackingSilverlight.net
Getting Started
  1. Ok, first things first. If you haven't already, you'll need to register first. Once that's done, come back here and we'll move on to the next steps.
  2. Once you're registered, you'll need to update your profile. This is very important because without this information, we can't send you your money. Please be sure all the information is accurate (especially the billing information) because we have to charge a fee for reissuing checks.
  3. Now that the house keeping is over, we can move on to the good bits. Silverlight projects are typically built using Expression Blend or Visual Studio. You can download all the tools you'll need from Microsoft here.
  4. Once you have built your template, it's time to package it up so it can be sold. A template package consists of the following elements:
    • A zip file of the entire Silverlight project or solution
    • A thumbnail image - this should be the screenshot image that best represents your template
    • The compiled xap file for your template (more about this in a minute).
    • Some descriptive information regarding the tools needed to work with your template
    • A list of the important file types (extensions) in your project. This is just to give the buyer a heads-up as to what they are buying.
    • Two prices: one for a single copy and one for 'total ownership' of the template.
    So knowing all of this, click on add a new template to enter the necessary information.
  5. Depending on your browser, you will see a page that looks basically like this...
    Upload Template
  6. Package your entire project (starting from the root folder) in a .zip file. Please use only zip (not .rar, not .tar, not .gz or any other format you can think of). Yes, we know there are lots. We apologize if zip is not your favorite, but we're trying to simplify things here. Zip up your project and use the upload button to upload your package.
  7. Give it a title. The title should be descriptive but concise. Please try to keep it to 5 or fewer words.
  8. Take a screenshot of the most representative page in your template. This will be the image that will be displayed in user searches. Try to use jpg or png images no larger than 200KB.
  9. If you haven't already, create a xap file from your template. Here's a simple way to do this:
    1. In your Silverlight project solution, if one does not already exist, add an ASP.Net web application project.
    2. Go to the property pages for the web application project (Project Menu / Project Properties)
    3. Go to the Silverlight Application tab
    4. Click the Add button and then add the existing Silverlight project
    5. Rebuild the solution and go to the ClientBin folder. The ClientBin folder will contain the .XAP file.
  10. Ok, the hard parts are over. Next enter a brief description of your template. One or two sentences should be enough.
  11. List the software requirements for working with your project files (Visual Studio, Blend, an image editor, etc.).
  12. Enter any keywords (tags) with which you would like to associate your template. This will aid in searches.
  13. Select one or more categories with which to associate your template - again, to aid in searches.
  14. Now the really good bit. Set a price for your template. In an attempt to control the chaos, we offer a choice of prices. If you don't see the price you'd like to charge, shoot us an email explaining your case and we'll certainly consider adding to the list or making an exception. The first price you will select is for a single copy. When a buyer purchases a single copy, they get just that - a copy. The template can be resold over and over again like this.
  15. Select a Unique Price for 'Total Ownership'. Naturally, the price ranges are much higher, because when a buyer selects 'Total Ownership', the template is no longer offered for sale. Just to be clear, we are not guaranteeing that when a template is sold under 'Total Ownership' it is unique in the world and no other site on the web will look like it. It could very well have been sold as a copy 100 times. Total Ownership simply means that going forward, no one else can purchase it.
  16. Once you check off that you have read the Terms of Use, you can then click Submit to upload your template package.
  17. From that point, it will take up to 48 hours (probably less) for us to review your template package to make sure that everything is in order. Please be sure that your code compiles, all the required pieces are in the zip file and that it is free from viruses or other nasty stuff. We double check all of this, but it's nice if we don't have to send the friendly 'There's a problem with your template package' email. Once everything checks out, we flip the switch and it is available for purchase.
  18. You can view the templates which you have uploaded in your Dashboard section under view my templates. This page is divided into two sections: published and unpublished templates. In this way you can check on the status of your work.
  19. If, for some reason, you upload a package and then realize that you have misspelled something or forgotten a file, you cannot edit the package once it is uploaded. The reason for this is that once it is uploaded, we are notified and we get right to work on it. Imagine the chaos that would ensue as we are checking things and you are changing the information without us knowing. Now imagine that multiplied by many designers doing the same thing. Not an ideal situation. Now, that being said, we will probably catch the simple stuff and try to help you out as much as we can by correcting misspellings. Missing files, however, we can't do much about. So if stuff is missing or if it doesn't work or just doesn't compile, we'll send you an email letting you know what's wrong and ask you to resubmit your work.
  20. Still confused? Email us at Support@silverlighttemplates.com and we'll try to help you out.
  21. Tell your friends! The more developers and designers we have, the greater our web presence and hence, the more potential buyers will be buying your work.
  22. Do you have a blog related to Silverlight or know of someone that does? Let us know and we'll include a link to it in our gallery of Sponsors, Affiliates and Friends. Likewise, if you have room, we'd appreciate it if you can include a link to our site. If you'd like a link to SilverlightTemplates.com on your website or blog, let us know at Info@SilverlghtTemplates.com and we'll send you a small logo image to use as the link.