Your links

[jane doe]

This is a question about what links to include on what pages? Right now My
pages link to each other with just the main pages on front, and then other
pages about 40 or so link to other pages within. Well I was told I should
link to all of my pages using sub-menus on ALL of my pages. They said that
when you link to all of your pages you are putting value on your whole
website. So is this the norm? Or is it ok to use just a few or so like I
have done (40) to link to the rest?

 

[dorayme]

This is a question about what links to include on what pages? Right now My
pages link to each other with just the main pages on front, and then other
pages about 40 or so link to other pages within. Well I was told I should
link to all of my pages using sub-menus on ALL of my pages. They said that
when you link to all of your pages you are putting value on your whole
website. So is this the norm? Or is it ok to use just a few or so like I
have done (40) to link to the rest?

There is no good general answer to any such questions (not that
this will stop some of us from having a go). Best is to post a
URL and see what people think.

 

[jane doe]

: In article <kC46i.1800$dy1.285@bigfe9>,
:
: > This is a question about what links to include on what pages? Right
now My
: > pages link to each other with just the main pages on front, and then
other
: > pages about 40 or so link to other pages within. Well I was told I
should
: > link to all of my pages using sub-menus on ALL of my pages. They said
that
: > when you link to all of your pages you are putting value on your whole
: > website. So is this the norm? Or is it ok to use just a few or so like
I
: > have done (40) to link to the rest?
:
: There is no good general answer to any such questions (not that
: this will stop some of us from having a go). Best is to post a
: URL and see what people think.
:
: --
: dorayme

Keep in mind... right now some of the links on this page lead to no where
http://learningpc4beginners.com/template.php

 

[jim]

Jane,
One possible reason to link all pages together is that search engine
robots may come to visit your site. I believe they list and/or follow
all links to create a map. Perhaps one of your pages may be
considered more useful or topic oriented at the time and may thus get
more search engine hits than say your home index page. Just a guess;
you may want to google the phrase 'search engine robots' and see what
you can find.

From a personal standpoint, I hate following links to a dead-end with

no way back (no links to click and get back to the main menu or thread
where I started).

Jim

 

[jane doe]

: Jane,
: One possible reason to link all pages together is that search engine
: robots may come to visit your site. I believe they list and/or follow
: all links to create a map. Perhaps one of your pages may be
: considered more useful or topic oriented at the time and may thus get
: more search engine hits than say your home index page. Just a guess;
: you may want to google the phrase 'search engine robots' and see what
: you can find.
:
: >From a personal standpoint, I hate following links to a dead-end with
: no way back (no links to click and get back to the main menu or thread
: where I started).
:
: Jim
:

So sub-menus would be best for both search engines, and the public. OK Jim.
Thank you guys. Your swell.

 

[dorayme]

: In article <kC46i.1800$dy1.285@bigfe9>,
:
: > This is a question about what links to include on what pages?
:
: There is no good general answer to any such questions (not that
: this will stop some of us from having a go). Best is to post a
: URL and see what people think.
:

Keep in mind... right now some of the links on this page lead to no where
http://learningpc4beginners.com/template.php

I favour the following strategy, others will doubtless have other
ideas: list just the main categories on the home page. List the
same exact ones on other pages but with the current category
expanded to include the sub categories. You can "expand" it
literally by them being listed underneath and indented a little
or more indirectly as a horizontal (even file-system-tab like)
across the content area.

Another strategy which I think is almost always a bit over the
top is to have a super menu that drops down, expands out, all
singing and dancing with everything as long as the user is
dextrous and patient and careful with a mouse ... You can do
these things with css or with javascript. You can do it so that
if it does not work right at least you have the fallback position
of the situation I describe in the previous paragraph. Which
brings me to a point. Implement the scheme I suggest in that
first paragraph and then think about further things later.

 

[mbstevens]

This is a question about what links to include on what pages? Right now My
pages link to each other with just the main pages on front, and then other
pages about 40 or so link to other pages within. Well I was told I should
link to all of my pages using sub-menus on ALL of my pages. They said that
when you link to all of your pages you are putting value on your whole
website. So is this the norm? Or is it ok to use just a few or so like I
have done (40) to link to the rest?

As doreme says, it just depends. But:

Google for google webmaster tools, and read.
Submit a google sitemap file based on their instructions.

Make a regular site map page for your visitors.

 

[jane doe]

: In article <Bh56i.1821$dy1.860@bigfe9>,
:
: > : > : In article <kC46i.1800$dy1.285@bigfe9>,
: > :
: > : > This is a question about what links to include on what pages?
: > :
: > : There is no good general answer to any such questions (not that
: > : this will stop some of us from having a go). Best is to post a
: > : URL and see what people think.
: > :
:
: > Keep in mind... right now some of the links on this page lead to no
where
: > http://learningpc4beginners.com/template.php
:
: I favour the following strategy, others will doubtless have other
: ideas: list just the main categories on the home page. List the
: same exact ones on other pages but with the current category
: expanded to include the sub categories. You can "expand" it
: literally by them being listed underneath and indented a little
: or more indirectly as a horizontal (even file-system-tab like)
: across the content area.
:
: Another strategy which I think is almost always a bit over the
: top is to have a super menu that drops down, expands out, all
: singing and dancing with everything as long as the user is
: dextrous and patient and careful with a mouse ... You can do
: these things with css or with javascript. You can do it so that
: if it does not work right at least you have the fallback position
: of the situation I describe in the previous paragraph. Which
: brings me to a point. Implement the scheme I suggest in that
: first paragraph and then think about further things later.
:
: --
: dorayme

Sounds good. I was wondering about the other because i thought I would have
a scroll from hell. Visitors would give up, after scrolling through half of
it. So the sub catgories sounds good. Plus sinse my website is based on
about maybe ten or twelve subjects, then it makes sense.

Thank you very much.

 

[jane doe]

: On Sat, 26 May 2007 20:51:45 -0400, jane doe wrote:
:
: > This is a question about what links to include on what pages? Right
now My
: > pages link to each other with just the main pages on front, and then
other
: > pages about 40 or so link to other pages within. Well I was told I
should
: > link to all of my pages using sub-menus on ALL of my pages. They said
that
: > when you link to all of your pages you are putting value on your whole
: > website. So is this the norm? Or is it ok to use just a few or so like
I
: > have done (40) to link to the rest?
:
: As doreme says, it just depends. But:
:
: Google for google webmaster tools, and read.
: Submit a google sitemap file based on their instructions.
:
: Make a regular site map page for your visitors.
:
:
:
:

I do have a site map but i pulled it because I have changed content, and
renamed pages so it was showing 68 dead links, and I just didn't want to
keep that up for the guest. I will make a new one though.

Thank you!

 

[mbstevens]

i pulled it because I have changed content, and
renamed pages so it was showing 68 dead links,

As you have probably realized, then,
one of the basic SEO tricks is never to change the URI
of a page if you don't absolutely have to, and if you do,
arrange for the old URI to still work for your old visitors.

 

[jane doe]

: On Sat, 26 May 2007 22:46:17 -0400, jane doe wrote:
:
: >> : Submit a google sitemap file based on their instructions.
:
: > i pulled it because I have changed content, and
: > renamed pages so it was showing 68 dead links,
:
: As you have probably realized, then,
: one of the basic SEO tricks is never to change the URI
: of a page if you don't absolutely have to, and if you do,
: arrange for the old URI to still work for your old visitors.

You are right. Unfortunately I had to learn the hard way, and it has caused
me to loose rank when I got my domain. Hopefully I can pull it back out of
the gutter. You live and learn.

 

[Jukka K. Korpela]

Scripsit jane doe:

This is a question about what links to include on what pages?

You might take casual advice from a noisy newsgroup, or you might take
advice from usability specialists such as Jakob Nielsen (
http://www.useit.com ) who says "less is more".

You might even take advice from me. Put links to major sections onto the
main page. Put links to subpages on the section pages. And link to the main
page from every page, and to a section page from every subpage. That's the
minimum.

Then think hard whether any addition to that is a) needed at all or b) so
important that it justifies the added complexity in maintenance, structure,
and appearance.

What you might need is not new links everywhere but a search utility, or a
site map, or both.

How are you going to handle the problems of speech-based user agents if you
put a dozens of links at the start of every page? There's no good solution,
so it's best to avoid wasting effort in creating the problem.

 

[Adrienne Boswell]

You might take casual advice from a noisy newsgroup, or you might take
advice from usability specialists such as Jakob Nielsen (
http://www.useit.com ) who says "less is more".

You might even take advice from me. Put links to major sections onto
the main page. Put links to subpages on the section pages. And link to
the main page from every page, and to a section page from every
subpage. That's the minimum.

I agree, and for subpages of subpages, I include a breadcrumb trial, eg:.
<li>Home</li><li>Products</li><li>Category</li><li>This product</li>.
Since I do most stuff server side, that's pretty easy to produce, and a
sitemap is also easy to produce.

In regards to sitemaps, I have seen a few where the link to the sitemap
was an XML document, not a human readable sitemap. Just as one should
have a human readable privacy statement, the sitemap should also be human
readable.

 

[Bergamot]

So sub-menus would be best for both search engines, and the public.

Not necessarily so for the general public. A lot of us don't like huge
navigation lists on every page, DHTML type drop-down or fly-out menus in
particular. Most aren't keyboard-friendly, anyway.

Keep it simple, and use a site map.