Site Menu

[Sinbad]

I would like to add a one row site menu at the top of my site. I am looking for the best way to do this. I would like to use a frame so I would need a drop down menu system that would show over the frame. What is the best way to go about this?

Thanks,
Allan Jagos

 

[WebGodiva]

take a look at

http://www.dynamicdrive.com

and look under menu/navigation there are several types of text drop downs that stay on the top that you can use.

 

[Qwark]

A very good menu can you find at

http://www.brainjar.com

Also a very good site for other javascript problems.
As WebGodiva say dynamicdrive is a good site too. But by brainjar you can download a perfect manual with the script.

Qwark.

 

[sivarajagopal]

Sinbad,

We have the same problem, did you find a solution ?
Please let us know.

thanks,
Sivarajagopal

 

[rsubras]

hi sinbad,
using frames is a non-profesional approach and u can have the same thing using .js files
Regards,
R.Subramanian

 

[Sinbad]

The issue of frames vs no-frames is one that is interesting to me. There are definate advantages and disadvantages to using them. Could you explain further why you say using frames is non-professional?

We are redesiging our web site and had the issue of using frames or not. The biggest reason I saw to not use them is that most new sites now don't and there must be a good reason.

Other disadvantages include difficulties with printing and bookmarking. Also users can get "stuck" in web pages that are within other page's frames.

The greatest advantage is it allows content like menus and header info to stay in one place without scrolling and without additional loading concerns.

That advantage can not be overlooked just because some people think it is unprofessional. rsubra, I would be interested ot hear more of your thoughts on this subject.

I understand how .js and include files can help in this area but it still does not help in the areas of scrolling and loading.

However, I did decide to not use frames with the main reason that new development just doesn't use them.

So in answer to sivarajagopal my solution was to not use frames and use DHTML for menus and also Flash in this area.

Thanks,
Allan Jagos
Web Developer
Robinson & Cole LLP

http://www.rc.com

 

[rsubras]

hi,
sinbad usage of frames esp for navigation menu can have the visitors stranded if they come to ur site thru other means esp thru a search engine...you might have given the keywords for a html page in each html pages' meta tag and not in the index page may be....in such cases the search engine may link to the webpage which will appear without any of the frameset and the menu u r giving in a separate frame..in those cases.....how wud u expect the visitor to navigate thru other pages of ur website??? I came across this kind of problem when i was browsing thru an online book... and further many search engines do not give efficient results on framed sites...and also many of the browsers do not support frames.....

[i hope u cud infer atleast something...sorry for being too confusing]

 

[secretsquirrel]

rsubras,

if you have a problem with search engines leaving users stranded, why can't you put a bit of javascript in your pages to check if the current page is in a frame? - if not, redirect the browser to your frameset.

and as for the meta tags, why not put them in your index page instead of your other pages?

and surely 95% of web users are using browsers that support frames ?

cheers,

ss

 

[rsubras]

hi,
u r right squirrel.....but frames are indeed giving an ugly look.........i dont think itz worth coding so much for redirection..better we can code for the functionality for which ppl use frames....What do u say friend???

Take care,
Regards
R.Subramanian

 

[Sinbad]

SecretSquirrel and rsubras,

All of the problems above can be handled through JavaScript as I have implemented on various sites. META Tags are not the only nor the best way some search engines provide results to users. Content, links, title info, etc are all more important then META tags but still using JavaScript to redirect does work in any case.

I agree that almost all users have browsers that support frames so that should not be an issue.

Many search engines do not rank frmaed sites well and that is a big concern for people.

You can not say that framed site are ugly compared to non-frames as I can create 2 sites, 1 with frames and 1 without and it would be hard for you to see the difference just by looking. You must be thinking of sites that actually have a border around the frames and that indeed does look ugly.

You can not deny that frame functionality can be superior to non-frames when it comes to navigation and keeping content static on a page.

Any site that sells a product would have a great concern on how they rank in search engines and since they don't like framed sites that is the single greatest reason many sites don't use frames in my opinion.

Thanks, Allan Jagos
Web Developer
Robinson & Cole LLP

http://www.rc.com