Javascript, frames, pop up windows, and SEO...

[Mike Koewler]

David,

Thanks, but I knew this! Many JS menus are read by search engines, but
the children or grandchildren usually are not.

The easiest solution for those concerned with SEO is to simply create a
sitemap (there are several freebie sites that will do this), add the
file to their site and create a link to it on the Home Page.

For the record, though, I have been getting away from Nav Bars that rely
on JS and flyouts for children or grandkids. My paper's site doesn't
have a single Nav Bar, yet anyone can navigate from one page to whatever
page they want. Thanks to an inexpensive Search Engine (Zoom Search),
visitors can enter their term and if it is on my site, find it
instantly. This helps decrease the need for Nav bars.

It's not as important for designers in the US, but for those in the UK,
they can be cited by the disability police for not complying with
Britain's version of the ADA. That's why they need to be aware of how a
screen reader or such many "see" their site.

Mike

 

[DavidF]

Frequently we see questions about using javascript menus, pop up windows,
dynamic menus, frames and search engine optimization in this group. I ran
across this page today, and this author's "rants" about the subjects not
only rang true with me, but also explained some concepts that I had not
fully understood before. I think anyone that is building a website would
benefits from reading this material. (Mike Koewler...be sure to read the
javascript menus material. Some javascript menus can be indexed by the
search engines.)

http://apptools.com/rants/

DavidF