HTML and CSS Reference
In-Depth Information
pages. This helps you determine which structure works best for the type of information
your site contains. A well-designed structure ensures that users will be able to navigate
the site without getting lost or missing important information.
Every Web site should begin with a single
home page
that acts as a focal point for the
Web site. It is usually the fi rst page that users see. From that home page, you add links to
other pages in the site, defi ning the site's overall structure. The Web sites you commonly
encounter as you navigate the Web employ several different Web structures. You'll exam-
ine some of these structures to help you decide how to design your own sites.
Linear Structures
If you wanted to create an online version of a famous play, like Shakespeare's
Hamlet
,
one method would be to link the individual scenes of the play in a long chain. Figure 2-2
shows the storyboard for this
linear structure
, in which each page is linked with the
pages that follow and precede it. Readers navigate this structure by moving forward and
backward through the pages, much as they might move forward and backward through
the pages of a book.
Figure 2-2
A linear structure
Each page is linked with the
preceding and following pages.
. . .
Act I
Scene 1
Act I
Scene 2
Act I
Scene 3
Act II
Scene 1
Act II
Scene 2
Act II
Scene 3
Linear structures work for Web sites that are small in size and have a clearly defi ned
order of pages. However, they can be diffi cult to work with as the chain of pages
increases in length. An additional problem is that in a linear structure, you move farther
and farther away from the home page as you progress through the site. Because home
pages often contain important general information about a site and its author, this is usu-
ally not the best design technique.
You can modify this structure to make it easier for users to return immediately to the
home page or other main pages. Figure 2-3 shows this online play with an
augmented
linear structure
, in which each page contains an additional link back to the opening
page of each act.
Figure 2-3
An augmented linear structure
Each page is linked with the preceding
and following pages with an additional
link to the first scene page.
. . .
Act I
Scene 1
Act I
Scene 2
Act I
Scene 3
Act II
Scene 1
Act II
Scene 2
Act II
Scene 3
