- From: <w3t-archive+esw-wiki@w3.org>
- Date: Mon, 25 Apr 2005 17:23:30 -0000
- To: w3t-archive+esw-wiki@w3.org
Dear Wiki user, You have subscribed to a wiki page or wiki category on "ESW Wiki" for change notification. The following page has been changed by RichardIshida: http://esw.w3.org/topic/geoFaq1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ---- - = Global Gateway Pull-downs = + = Using Pull-downs to Link to Localized Content = - What are the best practices for using a pull-down menu on my company's Web site to direct visitors to their country Web sites? - - '''MD: Is this the only FAQ on Global Gateways that we will ever have? If not, I suggest to thange the title to 'FAQ Global Gateway Pulldown' or some such. - - - '''JY: Good point. I expect there will be others on this topic.''' - - '''GEO telecon: let's use a more specific title, eg global gateway pulldowns, as there is more to be said on global gateways''' - - '''[FTF 4 mar] put global gateway into title proposed further down''' - - '''[DC 23 mar] Re 'global gateway', are we seeing this as a sort of homepage? Given more and more deep linking, ie, linking into an information page within the site, should locale/language altenatives be offered on every page? Eg, I may send a product page to a friend who speaks English, but prefers French, would they have to return to a homepage to see if that page existed in their prefered language with their preferred locale information (especially given the English locale page may not permit purchase and delivery where they live). ''' - - '''Suggestion: that locale/language alternatives are available on every page. Additionally, this would be a driver for using a drop-down, where the main focus of the page was information, rather than dedication to language/locale alternatives. However, there is a distinction between: - - Sites that offer each and every page in each and every language, eg, where each and every product is available globally and the differences are language, currency, delivery, variation in product spec/branding, etc. - - Sites like BBC World Service and Boeing (SM?) where a different cut of information is offered according to language/locale, eg, with BBC WS each news page is not available in each language.''' - - '''[SM 23 mar] I certainly see 'global gateway' as home page only. I can't imagine a scenario with loc. alternatives on every page. The only time Boeing has non-home page link is on a very few news releases translated for some reason, where at top of page is text link like "en espanol"''' - - *** - - '''AP: 1. I think it mixes up several different applications for a "pull down" which should be kept separate: - - * Selecting the language of the current content (i.e. "show me this site in French") - * Selecting a different site or section of a site targeted to a different country audience (i.e. "show me the site for France") - * Selecting formatting and other preferences, possibly as a combination of the above (i.e. "show me information on this site formatted using the French/France locale")''' - - These are not the same application and the best practices here only apply (I think) to one of them (the middle one). - - MD: I agree halfway with Addison here. Often, these three are combined. Most formatting usually goes hand-in-hand with the language. And there is usually only a small combination of courtry/language pairs. How much a site empazises language or country may depend on business; amazon for example is very much language-oriented (e.g. they ship French books everywhere in the world from their French(France) site, but you order in French) because the product is language-oriented and the business isn't legally tied to a country. Things might be much more country-oriented for e.g. a company offering legal services, or a big global company that is traditionally organized in per-country subsidiaries. But having more than one 'global gateway' doesn't make sense. - - So I think the FAQ should mention both language and country, but should defer the exact relationship between them maybe to a separate FAQ. And I don't think it should mention formatting conventions, in this context, they are (or should be) a detail. - - RI: I agree with Martin. I think we should not get too specific in this FAQ about the type of link. Therefore I suggest s/direct visitors to their country Web sites/direct visitors to localized Web sites/. Note that this avoids the locale word. - - [TT 16 feb] 3) This faq confuses locale and language. It starts out discussing locales, which to me means it is about selecting the region that the site will discuss. - Later it talks about language. I think a web site should be clear on whether the navigation is addressing the type of content being selected or the language being selected. - - '''[FTF 4 mar] Tex's comment already dealt with.''' - - **** - - '''AP: 4. The question's phrasing is awkward... Might I suggest: - - What are the best practices for using a pull-down menu to direct visitors to a country- or language-specific content (such as a country Web site)? - - I think this makes more sense because not all websites belong to a company. Also "country Web sites" are not always what is being accessed. - - MD: Agreed, except that the phrase in parentheses can probably go; the title is already very long. - - RI: I propose the following text: "What are the best practices for using a pull-down menu to direct visitors to localized content?" + What are the best practices for using pull-down menus to direct visitors to localized content? - SM: I like Richard's suggestion. - RR: I like it also'''. - ---- == Background == As companies launch an increasing number of localized Web sites, user-friendly global navigation grows in importance. The term "global gateway" is frequently used to refer to the visual and technical devices that Web sites employ to direct visitors to their content. One of the more popular devices is a pull-down menu on the home page that includes links to the other locales. @@ -271, +218 @@ '''[TT: 16 feb] I would consider taking the comments that are not pulldown specific and making them general comments. For example, location, globe icon, utf-8, use of graphics etc. could be stated as considerations having nothing to do with pull-downs, but general techniques that may also be used for pull-downs.''' + = Comments relevant to other FAQs = + + == Do you include links to localized sites on every page? == + + [[DC Re 'global gateway', are we seeing this as a sort of homepage? Given more and more deep linking, ie, linking into an information page within the site, should locale/language altenatives be offered on every page? Eg, I may send a product page to a friend who speaks English, but prefers French, would they have to return to a homepage to see if that page existed in their prefered language with their preferred locale information (especially given the English locale page may not permit purchase and delivery where they live). + + Suggestion: that locale/language alternatives are available on every page. Additionally, this would be a driver for using a drop-down, where the main focus of the page was information, rather than dedication to language/locale alternatives. However, there is a distinction between: + - Sites that offer each and every page in each and every language, eg, where each and every product is available globally and the differences are language, currency, delivery, variation in product spec/branding, etc. + - Sites like BBC World Service and Boeing (SM?) where a different cut of information is offered according to language/locale, eg, with BBC WS each news page is not available in each language.]] + + [[SM I certainly see 'global gateway' as home page only. I can't imagine a scenario with loc. alternatives on every page. The only time Boeing has non-home page link is on a very few news releases translated for some reason, where at top of page is text link like "en espanol"]] +
Received on Monday, 25 April 2005 17:24:53 UTC