What is the best web site layout?

[delerious]

I hope you have an alternative navigation scheme in place for those 15% or
so out there that do not have javascript enabled

If I could find a Javascript menu that worked off of images in the HTML, then
that would solve that problem. Does anyone know of a Javascript menu like
that?

 

[rf]

If I could find a Javascript menu that worked off of images in the HTML, then
that would solve that problem. Does anyone know of a Javascript menu like
that?

We had a thread about this very thing just recently. The poster had a
javascript menu where, without javascript, it was impossible to get to the
items that live in the dropdown panels. In the end the poster decided to do
what we had come up with as a suggestion: to have an intermediate page that
is linked to from the menu bar containing the same links as in the dropdown
panel. This is, funnily, exactly what is on that site Mark just posted

Cheers
Richard.

 

[Spartanicus]

Even better:

http://devedge.netscape.com/

Doesn't work sans javascript in Opera 7.21, devedge has a tradition of
catering for IE and Moz only, evil gunk.

 

[Kris]

Doesn't work sans javascript in Opera 7.21, devedge has a tradition of
catering for IE and Moz only, evil gunk.

Apart from whether dropdown menus are a good idea, is this an ok one?
<http://www.joukedevries.nl/>

 

[Spartanicus]

Apart from whether dropdown menus are a good idea, is this an ok one?
<http://www.joukedevries.nl/>

No. Although there is a fall back for non js usage, it doesn't list all
of the available links. The navbar beneath the "menu" also breaks when
resizing window width.

 

[Kris]

No. Although there is a fall back for non js usage, it doesn't list all
of the available links. The navbar beneath the "menu" also breaks when
resizing window width.

Is the fallback not good enough?

 

[Spartanicus]

Is the fallback not good enough?

Of course not, a proper fall back makes all links available.

 

[delerious]

We had a thread about this very thing just recently. The poster had a
javascript menu where, without javascript, it was impossible to get to the
items that live in the dropdown panels. In the end the poster decided to do
what we had come up with as a suggestion: to have an intermediate page that
is linked to from the menu bar containing the same links as in the dropdown
panel. This is, funnily, exactly what is on that site Mark just posted

I may actually be able to design a navigation bar that has the Javascript
dropdowns and still works (that is to say that the top level images could be
clicked) with Javascript disabled. This article describes how to create a
navigation bar with DIV tags, CSS, and Javascript:
http://brainjar.com/dhtml/menubar/

I'd just have to use IMGs in place of the DIVs. What do you think of this
solution? Would the CSS described in that article work across all browsers?
Thanks!

 

[kchayka]

Of course not, a proper fall back makes all links available.

Um, all of the links are available. They are listed on the page that is
linked from the top-level menu item.

Where does it say that the fall back drop-down/submenu links have to be
available on every page? Isn't that what a site map is for?

 

[Mark Parnell]

Sometime around Wed, 05 Nov 2003 13:34:11 GMT, (e-mail address removed) is
reported to have stated:

This article describes how to create a
navigation bar with DIV tags, CSS, and Javascript:
http://brainjar.com/dhtml/menubar/

I'd just have to use IMGs in place of the DIVs.

Why use images of text (which I can't resize to make them readable), when
you can use the real thing (and I _can_ resize it)? That would solve your
problem of the menu not wrapping, too.

 

[Alan J. Flavell]

I'd just have to use IMGs in place of the DIVs.

If that's the answer, then there must have been something wrong with
the question. SCNR.

What do you think of this
solution? Would the CSS described in that article work across all browsers?

If it necessarily involves IMGs, then how could it "work" across all
browsers? (Hint: not all browsers display images).

OTOH if the IMGs' ALT text can do the job on browsers which need that
kind of thing, then why bother with the IMGs at all?

 

[Toby A Inkster]

Doesn't work sans javascript in Opera 7.21

Yes it does. The alignment is just a little... errr... weird.

 

[Spartanicus]

Yes it does. The alignment is just a little... errr... weird.

Not for me: http://www.spartanicus.utvinternet.ie/img/devedge.png
Opera 7.21 Win

 

[Toby A Inkster]

Not for me: http://www.spartanicus.utvinternet.ie/img/devedge.png

Precisely! An alignment issue. The menu still drops down -- it's just a
few ems too low. All the top-level entries are fine and most of the other
items on the menu can still be reached.

Also, the menus can be fixed completely by using one of the following key
combinations:

F12, J, F5

-or-

Ctrl+G

 

[Spartanicus]

Precisely! An alignment issue.

Nope, most of the menu entries are gone.