Help creating a web page

[mauu]

I'm not very savvy with web design and it's been while besides. I would have used frames to create my page, but have been reading a lot of negative stuff about them so I'm trying to get help finding a better way, or if frames are ok then help with that. pretty basic site, menu on top, menu on left, middle (body) will contain a scrollable table that has pics, text, links all grabbed from a database (sql server).

Things I don't know how do do just yet:
1. I'd planned on using a stored proc for the body content. Problem is I'm not real sure how to present that in a web page...my guess is I create a table inside witch i place <text> links to each field....also, how do i create the connection? is it ok to just write it right in the source? or will that create security issues?

2. The frames thing...if frames are bad what is an easy alternative? any basic examples out there I can easily learn from and expand on?

3. I found a ton of Java samples out there that seem really cool, but I'm worried that some people wont have java installed and therefor will get messed up results viewing my page. Is that something I should worry about or is it not realy an issue?

4. Any other things you can think of for a newbi designer.

 

[BillyRayPreachersSon]

how do i create the connection? is it ok to just write it right in the source? or will that create security issues?

You'd need to ask this one in the relevant forum for whatever server-side scripting you're using (ASP, JSP, etc). There should be no security issue, as the server-side code will never be delivered to the browser (thus the reason it's called "server-side").

The frames thing...if frames are bad what is an easy alternative?

Frames have a time and a place... perhaps you could expand more on what the top and left navs do, as at the moment we have no context on which to base our decisions. Either way, you might want to ask this question in the HTML / CSS forum (forum215) for more detailed help.

I found a ton of Java samples out there that seem really cool, but I'm worried that some people wont have java installed and therefor will get messed up results viewing my page.

Do you mean Java, or do you mean JavaScript? If the former, I'd avoid using this, as (IMHO), less people will allow Java applets that have JavaScript disabled. But I'd also not go for a pure JS solution for SEO reasons... make your site work without either, and then enhance it with JS.

Hope this helps,
Dan



Coedit Limited - Delivering standards compliant, accessible web solutions

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[marias0]

He seems to be referring to javascript. If you do use that, you can prompt the users to have a link to install the needed files but it's best to steer toward usability and go for what most users are going to be able to see without taking the extra steps of downloading/upgrading their systems.

If you're going to use frames, I suggest using iframes.

Maria Santella
Technical Sales Engineer
ICP DAS USA
310-517-9888

http://www.icpdas-usa.com