HTML Layouts

Play Video
A layout or ‘template’ (as OpenAttestation describes it) is simply a graphical overlay used to visualise the underlying certificate data. With client-side Javascript, a certificate data file is combined with a layout to generate dynamic HTML, which is then rendered in a web browser. This process is called ‘tag substitution’ and it was made popular by user-friendly templating tools such as Handlebars .
Does this mean you need to hire a coder to create layouts? Curiously, our competitors are still relying on software engineers for layout creation and deployment. This results in layouts that are very plain, are cumbersome to visualise during development and which are not easily maintained. The OpenAttestation framework implements layout (‘templates’) in React , Svelte or Vue. These are Javascript frameworks that force layouts to be created by software engineers. And they require Git Pull Requests to deploy or update.
But not with NextCert! We believe that graphics designers – not engineers – should be able to easily create certificate layouts and deploy them in the NextCert Issuer. This is why we use HTML and CSS to create responsive layouts and why NextCert supports uploading of layouts using zip packages.
Our layouts are the most attractive in the industry because graphics designers already know HTML and CSS. They can easily create certs using multicolumn layouts, image overlays, custom date formats, auto-generation of QR codes with embedded logos, and many other features. During production, they can visualise them on any device with a browser. Once done, they simply zip up the package and send it to a colleague who has permission to upload it into NextCert. In seconds, they can start issuing certs using the new layout. No more relying on coders for layout creation!

Issue Your First
NextCert Now