Dog Lover Website: Navigation Help Needed!

Q: Should I not put links on the left like that? I am not sure if it would be right because I might need to add stuff and it'd be annoying to have to go through all my links to add 1 small thing... what should I do?

A: Why not use some SSI so if you change the text file it will automatically update all the pages? I would also add bullets of some kind for each link. But it looks nice!

Q: Should I keep on adding the links to each page like that? (Look at #1). Is there an easier way of navigating my site that would look good and fit into the way the site is? And if I shouldn't keep the links on the left, where should I put them? Frames? At the top of the page in font size 1? What should I do?

A: No- I wouldn't recommend frames. I like it how it is actually. You might want to put a picture before the links or something- cause the text starts right at the top...

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FireBurn Web Publishing: http://www.fireburn.com
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Nice design. I think it looks great.

Justin, a question: You said <<No- I wouldn't recommend frames.>> Why is that?

I'll second that emotion. The site looks good. The left-side links column is so common as be the almost defacto standard for basic page layout. It's simple and everyone on the net knows how to navigate sites that use it. That tends to make a site feel friendly and familiar and "homey".

Using SSI is definitely the way to go with the links if you intend to update that section frequently. Just store the links in a file called links.htm (or any other file name) and replace the links section on EVERY page in your site with:
<!--#include file="links.htm" -->

Then, every time you need to update that section you merely update that single links.htm file and the changes appear on every page. And I'd also recommend that you abandon frames. You don't need them for layout or design. They're okay if used properly (and they rarely are), but you can acomplish the same result without them. What really makes them annoying is that you can't bookmark individual pages in a framed site, only the initial index page with the <FRAMESET>. So if people want to bookmark a page deeper in your site they need to go in the front door and then drill down into that page each time they visit. That sort of design won't win you any friends and it will hurt the number of repeat visitors you might get. Keep is simple.

Exactly Maverick- that's what I feel about frames also...

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FireBurn Web Publishing: http://www.fireburn.com
Get paid to be ONLINE: http://www.getpaid4.com

Thanks guys. I just needed some help with that. I didn't know about that SSI thing that's cool. But one question: What if I want to update just that link? I don't want my links to have the same part of the dog article and the "More -->" thing on it. how do I change that?

Well I assume that part is just on the one page. So you set up the links on SSI and edit the main content the normal way.

Inluding files via SSI is most useful when you have the same info on multiple pages. If that info ever changes you can make one edit (in the included file) and it shows up on every page that uses the include. If a page has unique content from other pages SSI offers no benefit to changing that. You need to edit one file to change one file.

Does angelfire allow SSI? That would be the first question I would have.

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Dan
CDS Web Design