Ideas for website navigation menu

looking for ideas on where to place links.

[new2this]

I'm creating a new website but I wanted to know if I should place all my links vertical or can I use both vertical and horizontal links all my links are text links by the way but I was also wondering if I used hover buttons will my links still be spidered and indexed by google I just want to create the best possible website because it's going to be an information website

[Voltec]

new2this,

First of all, the links should be followed by Google and other search engines requardless if they 'hover buttons' (or mouseovers as they are generally called). A link is a link and they will follow as long as you don't tell them not to.

Now, the links themselves... well, I am not sure exactly what you are asking. Are you talking about menu type links to your internal pages? If that is the case, you can put them either horizontal or vertical as long as they are easy to spot. Of course, for an informational site, you can also interweave them into the content for the page... That would like increase the users moving deeper into the site if they were interested in what they were reading.

Good luck!
Matt

[mack]

I think menu placement is almost like a website fasion statement. It used to be your main links would be placed along the top, with some minor links placed on the foot of the page. How we are seeing a lot of sites making use of the left side navigation. I am however, noticing quite a lot of sites are now moving the navigation to the right. Not sure if it is as effective but it's different.

It is very importaint to keep your site as usable as possible. You do not have to include a link to every page, just either your main topic areas, or related pages. I would also recomend you make it possible for a user to go streight to your homepage as easily as possible. You can do this either using a text link "home" or even a logo link. I think surfers now expect a logo to link to the homepage.

In terms of hover buttons they may not spider to well if they are javascript based. You may want to use standard images or why not just stick with plain good old text.

Mack.

[Voltec]

If there is any question as to whether the links will spider or not, put a set of text links at the bottom of your pages. Most websites do that anyway...

Matt

[varya]

I have links everywhere.

Horizontal breadcrumb near the top and bottom of each page. Horizontal text links across the bottom of each page (home, site map, privacy policy, contact, search)

I have navigational links down the left side.

Off-site links usually go underneath the article in the center div.

Adsense and affiliate links down the right side.

On some of my sites, I also have the contact, home, site map, and search links in the very upper right corner of the page.

I try to design my sites so that they have at least three different linking structures for navigation.

[Pibs]

Quick question - I have found some scripts to create buttons (bear in mind I know almost nothing of HTML and use a WYSIWYG editor).

These are plain, simple white buttons, like the Google search button.

Do SE spiders track those links, or am I confusing the lil critturs?

The HTML looks something like this

<TD><FORM METHOD="LINK" ACTION="index.html">
<INPUT TYPE="submit" VALUE="Home">
</FORM></TD>

I like them as they seem to load faster than adding a .jpg file and linking it. Spiders do recognize and follow these links, right?

P.

[Pibs]

I'm guessing that was a silly question?

:o/

P.