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 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:
· The site map should be the simplest page on the
web site.
· Keep the name "Site Map" so those visitors won't
be having a hard time looking for it.
· Always avoid "dynamic" site maps. Those in which
the visitors have to find their way easily to get hold of
information.
· If the site map is list of text links, use the
TITLE attribute of the anchor tag and include keywords inside
it.
· Putting a sentence describing the page contents
below the link for that page on a site map is always good.
· It should not be the primary navigation on the
web site it should complement it.
· 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.
· 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.
Jeremiah Patton has been currently using sitemaps for easy
navigation for visitors and for better crawling from search
engines. Jeremiah Patton uses a sitemap for his work at home
moms website http://www.2ndincome4u.com with
great success.
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