How do you like your navigation

My boss wants to use FP's navigation (yeck!)

[sparrow]

I have to rebuild our 2 corporate websites. I am trying to figure out the proper navigation for them. Site 1 is basically informationally. Site 2 could do some e-commerce but the pres wants the 2 sites to look similiar and my boss wants me to use Front Page (yeck!!!)

I'd personally would like to hand code it, which is what I'll end up doing anyway if me makes me use FP.

What kind of naviation do you like, and where do you like it; top bottom, left, right.

Thanks for the ideas!

[john316]

If the FP thing is that cheesy js menu...please don't.

It is soooo obvious that someone just got a new copy of FP installed and thought the menu was cool.

However if your boss says so, maybe you can put in some scrolling marquee text too :)

[dstanovic]

You can use FP and create/use any type of button/graphic or text links that you want to, and you are definately not forced to use what FP comes with :)

[korkus2000]

Hey what about center navigation with frontpage ;)

I like to always have a top navigation. If I use right or left depends on audience and design, but I like to have major links at the top.

[chris_f]

Joking aside. I was thinking of being different for my personal site. With the layout like this ...

LEFT: Picture related to the page (like a watermark but with colour)
CENTER: Navigation menu
RIGHT: The page content

I might switch the left and right panels over. What do you think?

[Eric_Jarvis]

don't go near FP navigation...we've had nothing but problems with it...if you want to build an amateur one off site that will never change then by all means...but if the site is likely to expand and is even remotely important to the business then avoid any FP extensions

[EliteWeb]

Use the program like a really big memory hogging text editor that can upload to the server :) Build yer own stuff, server supports PHP or SSI you have solutions ;) I dont ever touch the crap within the program like the templated stuff (:

[JayCee]

You can use FP, without using anything that depends on the FP extensions and by editing the CSS yourself, to build sites that don't look like FP and work fine.

I still use FP for low budget sites and find it more productive for simple sites (but more limiting) than the "pro" web wysiwyg editors, once you understand the program.

FP includes are OK to use and I've never had a problem with the regular text mouseovers or image maps(but have with the "hover button" rollovers).

So, If you MUST use FP, just make your own nav in a table, instead of using their "shared borders". You can even use their block diagram thingy. If you turn off "add to navigation" on each of the pages in the block diagram, FP won't try to create a nav system.

And (as stated above), you can create, add, delete or modify the graphics and colors and fonts of an FP "theme" as much as you like - and even save it as a new official FP theme. Or use no theme and just do your own "look".

I like to have a text only list of links at the page bottom, you know - the traditional "¦ Home ¦ About Us ¦..." sort of thing (in an include) for the robots and the occasional human that needs them.

My favorite layout is the one FP uses (they did their usability homework):
-Nav column on left for local folders and subfolders
-Logo and page Title along the top
-Nav along the top for links that should always be accessible from any page
But, I like to do a breadcrumb trail across the top as well.

I also like just having every available link to every page in a left column and no nav on top, if the site is small enough.

US$0.02

[brotherhood of LAN]

what jaycee said.

And, just use include files. If your boss thinks you need frontpage (or he needs it) then he won't find it too hard editing a navigation include where the extent of the html is <h1>title</h1><h2>blah</h2>

as above, everyone dislikes/disapproves FP extensions etc etc :)

[sparrow]

So sorry for not getting back into this yesterday, critical problem with our email server, our ISP, and our web host all on the same day. We weren't sure who are what was going on at any given time......just about blew my mind.

Ok, try this idea (I blow off FP!) we go with the major sub-heading pages at the top with a logo (I hate our logo, it can't be resized, and it's virtually impossible to duplicate, grrrrrrr!)the left we do a js in a 2 column table and we do the typical text link of those items in the js at the bottom.

The site they we are consider going e-commerce it tricker; they sell gps like equipment. We used a js Menu Tree in the past and broke it down buy equipment type, then mfg, then style, then produced a frame page with model nos on top and descriptions on the bottom. I'd like to get away from that if at all possible. Anybody got any ideas Please...........