Overview | Download Speed | Web Page graphics | Search Engine Optimization | Scanning and Skimming
Text Copy | Navigation | Frames | Scripts
Frames:
Some web sites use Frames to maintain a constant menu bar at a fixed location for all pages of the web site. This is a convenient option where SEO is not a concern, because search engines do not index Frames sites well. Alternatively, you are then driven to make use of the No Frames HTML tag to try and meet your SEO requirements. The results are seldom satisfactory.
Scripts:
The discussion here is with respect to third level programming or scripts that appear on the web page itself. JavaScript is the most popular of these and can create some striking effects and transitions. However, you must be mindful that, again, the search engine cannot decipher or follow linkages and pathways contained within the scripting language. A few search engines, such as Google, can now follow Dynamic URLs to their destination pages, but this capability is not widespread. And even so, there is disinclination to index such destination pages precisely because they are dynamic and can change from day to day, thereby adversely affecting the validity of the search results.
I have yet to see a database interface that responds within the comfort threshold of human patience. The reason is that the entire database has to be parsed before the queried result can be returned. When the database is designed efficiently, response time is somewhat quicker. When designed poorly, it can literally take forever. You might say that you have seen database interfaces that respond quickly. That is because the databases are very small. In such cases, it is preferable to directly link to the destination web pages for aesthetic considerations and for SEO reasons mentioned before.
I have covered some of the more important issues facing the web designer. I hope you find them useful.
RSD
