List of links or one sitemap link?

2 replies
  • SEO
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I have always had problems with massive lists of information, my eyes swim and I start making mistakes especially when a list is in the middle of a load of other information which is not related..

Imagine the source code for a typical site for instance you have text, pictures, type set and all that..

To that end I am simply thinking about making ONE link to a dedicated sitemap page on each of my pages that will navigate people around my site and have a fairly fundamental question.....

Will this help my readers or just piss them off?

Obviously I want to make sure people can find their way around and the more links you have mixed in with other stuff the more confused you can get when trying to learn coding at the same time as doing it.

I would appreciate a dedicated map page, but how do others feel and can it either help or hinder your efforts?

And yes, I know I only seem to ask questions but I find that without the experience of such things on my own it is better to simply pinch someone elses lol
#link #links #list #sitemap
  • Profile picture of the author dvduval
    I have started to like the mini site maps in the footer. I think it can be quite useful for the user, but doesn't interfere with their experience.
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    It is okay to contact me! I have been developing software since 1999, creating many popular products like phpLD.
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  • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
    Sparhawke, what I do on my primary site is to link to the main sections of the site at the top and bottom of all my pages (web design tutorials, free graphics, products, sound effects, etc.), along with a few extra individual pages in the bottom of page navigation like my contact page, privacy policy, etc.

    These navigation links are called into the page using SSI, so there's only one file to update for the top and one for the bottom to have that change reflected on all my pages.

    Those links go to what I call jumpstations, which are really topical sub-indexes. For example, one link is to a content section offering free graphics. On the graphics jumpstation are the links to the actual pages with free graphics. When I add a new page of free graphics I only have to update the one jumpstation page and two site map pages. One site map is in HTML for visitors to surf (all nicely categorized by content type) and the other is an XML Sitemap for the search engines.

    It's really easy to maintain your navigation this way. I have about 300 pages on my main site, but adding new pages takes only seconds. It also makes it easy to get around for your visitors. They are not overwhelmed with links, but are never more one click away from an index page (jumpstation) for the topic they are interested in.
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    Just when you think you've got it all figured out, someone changes the rules.

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