Archive: December 2010
Website menu tools have existed since the begining of the net. Providing convenient navigation for your site visitors is a crucial component of any website design. Over the years there have been many advancements relevant to website navigation tools and some of these have actually had a negative impact in relation to Web optimization because they have made it more difficult for search engines to easily crawl your website.
Among the most well-known menu system types are the simple html menu (1 level only), horizontal drop down menu, vertical menu (aka: side navigation), tabbed navigation and floating navigation. Each type of navigation has its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Figuring out which type is most suitable for an individual website is based upon on the overall website design and the structure of the site.
There are also many various technologies required to accommodate these various menu system types such as standard HTML, CSS (cascading style sheets), Javascript, jQuery and Flash. From an SEO perspective, building your navigation with simple HTML and CSS is the safest option. However with the debute of jQuery into the mix, many of the cool effects only doable with Javascript can now be applied to a standard HTML unordered list, which is definitely totally SEO-friendly. As far as Flash goes, there are a few ways to get your navigation menu to be somewhat SEO friendly, but the bottom line is that flash navigation should be avoided if SEO is a number one concern.
The last consideration that remains is where should the navigation be placed? The obvious leading 2 standards are along the top and the left side. However many blog sites have their particular navigation located to the right side. There are also countless sites that use a mix of both. For example, their top navigation represents the 1st level of their site and the sub navigation is provided in the form of left or right nav.
With all this in mind, the final decision to use a common html menu system over a more elaborate jQuery menu system really comes down to the amount of time you are willing to invest towards the development of your navigation. jQuery is an awesome new technology, but defintely has a serious learning curve. If you do want a more sophisticated navigation system and don't have working experience with jQuery, it's most effective to work with an online jquery menu bulider. This way, you get the benefits of having a very SEO-freindly navigation system and the impressive user experience provided by jQuery's functionality.
A essential piece of any website is the menu system used(ie ajax jquery menu. If you happen to be a web designer wanting to construct a ajax jquery menufor your website, the overall most effective option is to build a jQuery menu system. There are two key reasons jQuery menus will soon become the standard for website navigation.
To start with, jQuery menus are 100% Search engine optimized unlike their earlier Javascript or Flash relatives. There are some real arguments to be made about making Javascript and Flash menus SEO-friendly, but ultimately, the html mark-up for a jQuery menu is generally a basic unordered list. You just can't get more SEO-friendly than that!
Subsequently, jQuery menus have a massive amount to offer with regards to leading-edge user interface features. jQuery has proven to be capable of pulling off some pretty sophisticated animations and effects. As the use of jQuery grows, so will the collection of jQuery plug-ins, making it an even more formidable technology.
Ok, so now that that you're (hopefully) convinced of the potential and flexibleness of jQuery, just a single stumbling block; Like all new technologies, there is a considerable learning curve associated with learning how to create an advanced jQuery menu for your website. This is one of the primary motives that our jQuery menu builder was created. Not only can you make an amazing menu for your website, but it's also a superb way to learn by example since you can download all of the html, css, and jQuerycode and images necessary to run the menu. As always, we look forward to receiving your suggestions on our tool as we proceed to work toward further developing it.
Before advanced content management systems, a wide range of pro web design organizations relied on managing static HTML web sites for a considerable percentage of their revenues. Nonetheless, with the emergence of content management systems such as DotNetNuke, the client has promptly become knowledgeable of the many advantages offered by dynamic internet sites. The skinning architecture in DotNetNuke allows professional web designers to create spectacular user interfaces which integrate seamlessly with the underlying portal application to generate a powerful, yet aesthetically pleasing client web site.
The phrase “Skinning” pertains to a software architecture which provides you with a manageable way to distinguish application logic and content from its presentation. This abstraction of “form” and “function” is sometimes referred to as a two-tiered presentation model. The advantages of skinning are that application logic and web page layout are separated and can be designed and modified separately. A software developer and a web page designer can collaborate without the possibility of interfering with each others work.
However, this simplicity comes with a price. Nearly all ASP sites contain a mangled spaghetti of intermingled HTML markup and ASP script, making them hard to understand and even more difficult to maintain. This problem normally rears its ugly head when web designers need to alter the user interface. Since the presentation attributes are inlayed in the ASP script, adjustments usually require a joint effort between a web developer and a designer to ensure the integrity of the modification. This ultimately results in more effort, more time, and increased cost.
Skinning requires the use of "templates" which separate presentation and layout characteristics from application logic. An intelligent skinning engine is then utilized to construct the artifacts into a final product. This two-tiered approach affords both developers and designers a considerable level of freedom when it comes to maintaining a web site, and can considerably decrease the time and effort required in the post-release phases of a development project.
However, skinning also presents some complexity to your web application. The process of merging multiple files into a single page can produce considerable performance degradation. Not to mention, developers must be effectively knowledgeable to keep the presentation details of layout and appearance abstracted from their script code. Both of these items can be mitigated through the use of technology and a robust skinning architecture.
Because of this the skinning solution needs a process for a web designer to define a skin using the most obvious base technology. HTML is the lowest common denominator when it comes to the World wide web and has the widest support in terms of design resources. The only problem with HTML is that it is absolutely static - yet a web application has demands for dynamic elements at the same time.
Based on the requirements and issues described above, it would seem useful to enable web designers to incorporate placeholders into their HTML markup which represent dynamic functionality. This offers the cleanest abstraction of “form” and “function”. The skin file could be changed without impacting the application logic. The application logic could be re-factored without impacting the user interface. The only challenge is the performance penalty added by this extra layer of separation.
Website navigation tools have been around since the dawn of the world-wide-web. Providing simple to use navigation for your site visitors is a crucial attribute of almost any website design. Over time there have been many improvements pertaining to website menu tools and surprisingly some of these have actually had negative results regarding Website positioning because they have made it much harder for search engines to successfully crawl your website.
Among the most well-known menu system types are the simple html menu (1 level only), horizontal drop down menu, vertical menu (aka: side navigation), tabbed navigation and floating navigation. Each type of navigation has its own set of advantages and disadvantages. Choosing which style is most appropriate for a certain website is based upon on the overall website design and the structure of the site.
There are also many distinct technologies needed to support these various menu system types such as standard HTML, CSS (cascading style sheets), Javascript, jQuery and Flash. From an SEO perspective, building your navigation with simple HTML and CSS is the safest option. However with the debute of jQuery into the mix, many of the fabulous effects only feasible with Javascript can now be applied to a standard HTML unordered list, which is actually highly SEO-friendly. As far as Flash goes, there are some ways to get your navigation menu to be reasonably SEO friendly, but the bottom line is that flash navigation should be avoided if SEO is a top concern.
The last aspect to bear in mind is where should the navigation be placed? The obvious leading 2 standards are along the top and the left side. However many blog sites have their particular navigation placed to the right side. There are also lots of sites that use a mix of both. For example, their top navigation represents the 1st level of their site and the sub navigation is displayed in the form of left or right nav.
With all this in mind, the decision to use a simple html menu system over a more advanced jQuery menu system really comes down to the amount of time you are willing to devote towards the creation of your navigation. jQuery is an awesome new technology, but defintely has a considerable learning curve. If you do want a more complex navigation system and don't have practical experience with jQuery, it's most effective to utilize an online jquery menu creator. This way, you get the advantages of having a very SEO-freindly navigation system and the impressive user experience provided by jQuery's functionality.
Prior to modern content management systems, a number of professional website design organizations relied on handling static HTML internet sites for a substantive percentage of their profit. On the other hand, with the emergence of content management systems such as DotNetNuke, the client has quickly become savvy of the benefits provided by dynamic websites. In order to cope with this new requirement, web designers need to become familiar with the opportunities introduced by these innovative technological developments. The skinning architecture in DotNetNuke allows professional web designers to create awesome user interfaces which integrate seamlessly with the underlying portal application to produce a impressive, yet aesthetically pleasing customer website.
One of the good things about classic ASP - and one of the major explanations for its reputation as a rapid web development (RAD) tool - is the fact that ASP scripts can be inserted into standard HTML markup to turn otherwise static HTML content into intelligent web pages. This characteristic makes it feasible to rapidly write ASP applications that create web pages dynamically from a database (or other external data source), and to develop powerful web applications.
Skinning involves the use of "templates" which separate presentation and layout attributes from application logic. An intelligent skinning engine is then utilized to assemble the artifacts into a final product. This two-tiered approach allows both developers and designers a fair level of independence when it comes to maintaining a web site, and can substantially decrease the time and effort needed in the post-release phases of a development project.
However, skinning also presents some complexities to your web application. The process of joining multiple files into a single page can cause critical performance degradation. Not to mention, developers must be well knowledgeable to keep the presentation details of layout and appearance abstracted from their script code. Both of these items can be mitigated through the use of technology and a solid skinning architecture.
Because of this the skinning solution needs a method for a web designer to define a skin using the most basic base technology. HTML is the lowest common denominator when it comes to the Web and has the greatest support in terms of design tools.
Based on the requirements and difficulties specified above, it would seem to be useful to make it possible for web designers to include placeholders into their HTML markup which represent dynamic functionality. This can provide the cleanest abstraction of “form” and “function”. The skin file could be changed without influencing the application logic. The application logic could be re-factored without affecting the user interface. The only problem is the performance penalty added by this additional layer of separation.
A important piece of virtually any website is the menu system used(ie jquery list menu. If you are a web designer wanting to build a jquery list menufor your website, the overall most efficient option is to build a jQuery menu system. There are two important reasons jQuery menus will soon enough become the standard for website navigation.
First of all, jQuery menus are 100% Search engine optimized unlike their earlier Javascript or Flash cousins. There are some valid justifications to be made about making Javascript and Flash menus SEO-friendly, but in the end, the html mark-up for a jQuery menu is generally a common unordered list. You just can't get more SEO-friendly than that!
Second, jQuery menus have a substantial amount to offer with regard to advanced user interface bells and whistles. jQuery has proven to be capable of pulling off some pretty leading-edge animations and effects. As the use of jQuery grows, so will the library of jQuery plug-ins, making it an even more impressive technology.
Ok, so now that that you're (I hope) confident of the potential and flexibility of jQuery, just one disadvantage; Like all emerging technologies, there is a significant learning curve associated with learning how to construct an advanced jQuery menu for your website. This is one of the major motives that our jQuery menu builder was created. Not only can you generate an impressive menu for your website, but it's also a fantastic way to learn by example since you can download all of the html, css, and jQuerycode and images necessary to run the menu. As always, we look forward to receiving your suggestions on our tool as we continue to work toward further developing it.