Web Master Tricks
Site Navigation and Linking

Web Magic includes this section to our tips and tricks so that more site may learn the basics of linking and site navigation for their sites. There are many who do not provide user friendly navigation for their visitors.

The importance of site navigation becomes clear when you realize that unlike printed media where all your information is contained within one document the Internet allows visitors to enter your site from any of your pages.

Without proper navigation your visitors may not be able to locate your main page or the additional content of your site. Those who use Javascript or Java for navigation and fail to provide an alternative means of navigating their site are creating an unfriendly site. Remember although several browsers have these capabilities ... many choose (due to security risks) to disable the languages in their browsers.

URL Definitions for Various Services

URL	Service	Example
http://	WWW document	http://creativec.fateback.com/
gopher://	Gopher server	gopher://gopher.spandex.net:80/
ftp://	FTP server	ftp://ftp.host.com/
FTP into a specific account (Netscape)		ftp://username:password@ftp.whatever.com
file://	FTP file	file://ftp.host.com/pub/mosdos/index.txt
news:	UseNet News group	news:comp.www.annouce
mailto:	E-mail message	mailto:webmaster@internet.com
telnet:	Telnet session	telnet:lois.host.com

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Relative versus Absolute addresses

I have visited many sites which use absolute URL addresses rather then relative URL addresses. When you create your internal links using absolute references you force your visitor to re-access your server as if you were linking to external site. This will create slow navigation between your pages.

Using relative URL addresses creates a better flow of navigation within your site. Using Relative URLs will also make it very easy to move your site to a new server without having to make extensive changes to all your pages. Another important aspect is the ability to verify your internal links and navigate through your site locally (from your hard drive).

Test these examples (use your browser's BACK button to return here):

Relative: <A HREF="index.htm">Web Magic Index</A>     Web Magic Index

Absolute: <A HREF="http://ccwebmagic.netfirms.com/">Web Magic</A>     Web Magic Index

Unless the reference to your URL is to a specific page you should always reference your domain URL using a trailing "/". This is highly recommended for search engines and will insure your URL is looking for either index.htm or a index.html.

<A HREF="http://www.yoursite.com/"> - this will know to look for index.htm or html

<A HREF="www.yoursite.com/index.htm"> - this will enter specific page.

I have also noticed that domains seems to load quicker when the trailing slash is used. Perhaps it is due to taking the guess work out of defining the page you are seeking. It basically states you are looking for domain.com/index.htm or html. Test this for yourself by entering a domain name with or without the "/" at the end of the URL :)

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Methods of Linking - (also see Graphics )

<A HREF="URL"></A>
<A HREF="URL#******"></A>	in another document
<A HREF="#*******"</A>	within the same document - - <A NAME="***">defines the target</A>
Display image	<IMG SRC="URL">
Display image	<IMG SRC="URL" align=top|bottom|middle|left|right>
Link Something	<A HREF="URL"></A>
Link to Target	<A HREF="URL#***"></A>     (if in another document)
Link to Target	<A HREF="#***"></A>     (if in current document)
Define Target in Document	<A NAME="***"></A>
Display Image	<IMG SRC="URL">
Alignment	<IMG SRC="URL" align=TOP|BOTTOM|MIDDLE|LEFT|RIGHT>
Alternate	<IMG SRC="URL" ALT="***">     (if image not displayed)
Imagemap	<IMG SRC="URL" ISMAP>     (requires a script)
Client-Side Imagemap	<IMG SRC="URL" USEMAP="URL">
Map Description	<MAP NAME="***"></MAP>
Map Sections	<AREA SHAPE="RECT" COORDS=",,," HREF="URL"|NOHREF>
Dimensions	<IMG SRC="URL" width=? height=?>     (in pixels)
Border	<IMG SRC="URL" border=?>     (in pixels)
Runaround Space	<IMG SRC="URL" HSPACE=? VSPACE=?>     (in pixels)

Although perhaps not a rule but good formatting would be to keep your linking coding clean when adding additional formatting elements. For instance:

Good method: <B><A NAME="http://creativec.fateback.com">Creative Computing</A></B>

Not so good: <A HREF="http://creativec.fateback.com"><B>Creative Computing</B></A>

The second sample could be considered as opening one tag without closing a previous tag. And it's just better to keep the link coding itself clean.

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Site Navigation

Site navigation should be used on all your pages! Visitors to your site can enter on any of your pages and therefore it is necessary to provide a means for them to get around. You also want visitors to be aware of all your site pages.

I can't stress enough the importance of site navigation. If you are using anything but straight text links for your site navigation, you must provide an alternative means of navigation.

If using an imagemap then provide a text version on your page for those not able to view imagemaps.

When using graphics, use the proper ALT tags for those with non-graphical browsers.

If using JAVA or Javascript provide a text version for those who either do not have capability to view this language, or choose to turn the features off in their browsers. Many sites do not provide an alternate means of navigating their site and therefore their visitors are limited to the page they entered.

Think carefully about the use of frames for navigation. If you are only using frames for the purpose of displaying a small menu you may in the process limit your audience greatly to only those capable of viewing frames. There are many Internet travelers who dislike framed pages to the point that they will leave a site immediately if there are frames.

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