which design strategy?

by GKanes
3 replies
  • WEB DESIGN
  • |
Hi, I'm new here. This looked like the right place for this question; apologies if I'm mistaken.
This is not a question about how to code. It's about what might be the most effective design strategy for my site, and why. I've done a lot of searching and experimenting and I've found a lot of information for and against each option, so I'm hoping to start a discussion with people more experienced than myself.

Concept: Small business website. Logo and contact info at top of page should always be visible. Below that, five subtopic summaries are all in view in one screenspace with no scrolling. Each of the five subtopic summaries leads to one or more panels of further detail. The various "further detail" panels are intended to be viewed one-at-a-time, and sized to perfectly cover or replace the original five summaries. No scrolling, minimal navigation, one screenful of information at a time. Click a summary paragraph to open the associated detail panel, the detail panel replaces the five summaries until you close it.

Strategy: Multiple HTML files, one for the page of summaries, one for each detail panel.
Pros:
> Seems to be what Google wants, no hidden, off-screen, or otherwise out-of-view content.
> Every last bit gets indexed by search engines; detail panels can be linked to individually in search results.
> Making a sitemap is simple because every panel has a unique url.
Cons:
< Feels 1990s. Click Here to go there!
< At the mercy of the internet for every single click, because each panel is another html file to request & receive.
< Logo and contact links at the top of many different html files run the risk of being penalized for "duplicate content".

Strategy: Single HTML file, detail panels are <div>'s that move into and out of view via JavaScript.
Pros:
> Looks and feels really slick. CSS transitions give a very professional appearance to the opening and closing panels, and also give visual cues to organization as the panels appear to "grow" from the summary they relate to.
> No-wait navigation. Once index.html loads, you have the whole site.
Cons:
< Popular opinion suggests that my extended detail panels will either not be indexed at all, or somehow be indexed with less credibility. With 80-90% of my content in these panels, it would be a bad strategy that leaves it unsearchable.
< Haven't yet worked out a strategy for creating a useful sitemap link for div-based detail panels.

Strategy: iFrames
No.

Strategy: Single HTML file, detail panels NOT hidden, instead placed one below another, below the summary section, available by scrolling. JavaScript controls could be left in place to bring requested panels up to the top of the page, but they are always visible by scrolling too.
Pros: > Makes Google happy, whole site gets indexed.
Cons: < Navigation is not slick and potentially confusing.

Strategy: Something I haven't thought of yet?

I'm not a web designer. I'm a contractor building a site for my own business. I know enough HTML, CSS, & JS to put together working drafts of each of the described options, but I don't have enough live-site experience to know which would provide the best balance between effective SEO and easy, intuitive navigation for visitors.
My primary intended audience is potential customers who have just discovered me by searching for local contractors.
Can anyone contradict any of my assumptions, poke holes in my logic, or provide relevant information I've overlooked?
Any advice or insight would be greatly appreciated.
#best practices #design #seo #strategy
  • Profile picture of the author GKanes
    If anyone just knows of a more appropriate forum to ask this type of advice, that would be welcome too.
    Thanks
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  • Profile picture of the author coolwebo
    Hey Gkanes,

    First: I recommend to go for dynamic websites instead of multiple old school static HTML files. Wordpress is a good solution for that.
    Second: you can merge old school style and modern slick style design. For example: Typical Nav Div > Some Interactive JS slide with links > Typical preview contents > Footer > sidebar etc.
    Third: I'd recommend you to look for Data highlighter tags a.k.a data schema if you want to do SEO. Combine them in your websites
    Fourth: personally I don't like single page long form websites. Sometimes it takes years to load all of the JS and contents.

    That's all.
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    • Profile picture of the author GKanes
      Thanks for the reply.

      First off, in my preferred, single-page method, the entire page loads fairly quickly and should never need scrolling. Any requested section would move into the main, above-the-fold, viewing area until the user closes it. This is what I like most about this option.
      I am designing it to be dynamic in that the layout shifts to accommodate landscape vs portrait and sizes according to the user's screen.

      My concerns arose when reading Google Best Practices which strongly suggest that the more internal links you have, the better. I'm striving for NO internal links. Google also wants a sitemap, and the ability to serve a user relevant chunks of content directly from search results. If you search for something that is on one of my hidden-until-requested detail panels, how would Google serve that? The only URL is the index page and going there would only show summaries until you click one to get to the detail.

      There has to be a strategy that reconciles these conflicting goals, but I'm hitting a wall trying to find it.
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