Sid,

What is YOUR time worth? In my opinion,  you will easily pay for the subscription based on the time saved.  Also, they do answer most of your questions.  

As an alternative, there are 3 different ways of creating skins.  HTML/XML, ASPX, and the new HTML/Skin Objects.  Each have their merits, and drawbacks, however working with ASPX is the most direct method.  I would suggest you download several of the Skins from the Skining contest and review what as been done in each.  Then play, however you will need to read and understand the skining manual first. 

On top of the skining methods, are the various page layouts -- table (considered evil by many) and div (considered the best for CSS).  The table layouts are easy to implement but harder to use CSS -- div layouts are the reverse.

Lastly, you will need to review the various menus available with DNN and the associated CSS to control the look and feel of the menu.   

I build my first skin by playing around -- I had a lot of question and even purchased a book on DNN Skinning.  It did not help as I had learn what the book provided by the time I purchased it.    I wish I had the videos to start... I would have saved soooo much time.

So, I still recommend spending the time -- either just paying with existing skins or watching the videos.    Your choice.

Good Luck,
Paul.   

Mark,

I use the following:

• Photoshop and illustrator, for design
• Dreamweaver, for creating the XHTML and CSS Layouts, and editing all of the skin files during the conversion to DNN
• A Local version of DNN installed with the Microsoft Web Platform Installer, to speed things up rather than trying to work on a hosted site
• Firefox, IE6/7/8, Opera, Chrome, Safari, and Flock for browser testing

Rick.

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PSDtoDNN - You supply the artwork... we'll build the skins!™
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A question I can answer; three really good reasons to use .ascx.

1. You don't have to use xml, which is a pain to write.
2. with .ascx you can just ftp the changed file to your dotnetnuke installation, while .html files will have to be re parsed, which is  pain.
3. With .ascx, I think, it's been a while since I've worked with .html skin files, your control configuration is inline with the code, making it easy to make changes?

Mark