Sitemap Creator
An important tip to remember every
now and then is that people visit
the site checking out for some
information. These Surfers
can be an unforgiving lot. Once
they found things useful for them
in a site they would definitely
visit every now and then.
The reason why site maps are indispensable is due to its helpfulness in letting the surfers understand the site program and plan and therefore, speed up the way to onset to what the site will be showcasing. This is a part of the website created where the edifice of a web site can be visible to a surfer or visitor. These visitors can choose the link to where they want to surf with just a touch of the mouse of keyboard.
Here are Significant key pointers of a good site map, which helps visitors at finding information faster on a web site:
ｷ
The site map should be the
simplest page on the web site.
ｷ
Keep the name "Site Map" so those
visitors won't be having a hard
time looking for it.
ｷ
Always avoid "dynamic" site maps.
Those in which the visitors have
to find their way easily to get
hold of information.
ｷ
If the site map is list of text
links, use the TITLE attribute of
the anchor tag and include
keywords inside it.
ｷ
Putting a sentence describing the
page contents below the link for
that page on a site map is always
good.
ｷ
It should not be the primary
navigation on the web site it
should complement it.
ｷ
It is very important that there is
a link to the site map page and
all pages should carry this link.
The site map link can be combined
with other links in the main menu
on the web site or placed at a
section on the web page from which
is it clearly seen.
ｷ Other important factors on a web site should complement site maps. For example, the link color for visited links should be different from that of not yet visited links so that visitors have a clear idea which pages they have already seen and thus, save time.
In addition to the advantages a site map showcase to "living" surfers, it is also significant for robot surfers from search engines . As a web developer should be aiming to get all visible pages on the web site found in the search engine database. As expected a site map, from one page to another, should carry links to all, it is an ideal form to submit to search engines . Submission of the site map to a search engine might help in getting all web pages indexed quickly by the search engine. I may be incorrect since I have no data to support this point but it just seems logical. However, on a similar note, there is still a limit to all the information that a search engine could provide a visitor. For example, if there's a page which is not found in the directory program of the web site, it will not be detected other search engines. With this in mind, another importance of a site map it tells the search engine instantly to go to a specifc page rather than scouting through the links.
Two important questions:
1. Will the website appear as it
was planned even for robots?
2. Are the pages exact
and effectively designed?
Having a site map assists the
creator in planning the site
before he can even start creating
it. Once the pages have been
decided, the whole thing becomes
simpler and the web pages designs
are easily matched to the
creator's
ideas.
There are 5 important tips in making a good site map:
Good Site Must-Have 1
The logo should be linked to the
website
homepage.
Good Site Must-Have 2
The Site map must be place either
on top or on the upper left, under
the header. Unless
everything's in order already and
sure about the design, never try
to alter or make changes for a
while.
Good Site Must-Have 3
There must be a congenial way to
go around searching the web
site. Do not place the site
map in a location that is
different from one page to
another, like if it is placed
horizontally on one page, it
should be placed horizontally on
the rest of the other pages.
However, the case is different if
it is a navigation system for a
homepage. This could differ
in homepages.
Good Site Must-Have 4
Additionally, the logo of the
homepage should be linked with a
HOME or any equivalent sign
for easy work around or
navigation. There should
also be a Contact us, About our
site, pages to be
visited.
Good Site Must-Have 5
The golden rule for a good site
map is that the number of a
visitor's clicks should be leading
him every step of the way and not
jumping to other pages. It
is required that the move should
be as easy, reliable and above
all, very
user-friendly.
