[ESW Wiki] Update of "geoFaq1" by RichardIshida

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  == Background ==
  
- As companies and organizations 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 using the select element that includes links to localized versions of the content (eg. translated or alternative country sites).  Such selection lists are not restricted to use on the home page, but may also be seen as a space-effective way of allowing users to switch between translations or regionally localized sites on a page by page basis.
+ As companies and organizations 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 using the select element that includes links to localized versions of the content (eg. translated or alternative country sites).  Such selection lists are not restricted to use on the home page, but may also be seen as a space-effective way of allowing users to switch between translations or regionally localized sites on a page by page basis.
  
  The localized content pointed to may be an alternative country site, a translated version of a site or page, etc.  In this article we look specifically at some of the pros and cons of using selection lists, and best practises if you think this approach is right for you.  There are numerous other aspects to global navigation that will be described in other articles.
  
@@ -74, +72 @@

  
  === Pros and cons ===
  
- Pull-downs can appear very attractive where space is at a premium.  However, the pull-down menu is not always the best solution for global navigation and you need to decide whether it is the best solution for your 
+ Pull-downs can appear very attractive where space is at a premium.  However, the pull-down menu is not always the best solution for global navigation and you need to decide whether it is the best solution for your Web site.  The following points may help.
  
- Web site.  The following points may help.
+ The key advantage of using pull-downs is to fit the selection into a smaller space.
  
- The key disadvantages of using select for links to localized pages or sites are:
+ Key disadvantages of using select for links to localized pages or sites are:
-  - users may not have fonts for all the option text, and graphics cannot be used instead of text
+  * users may not have fonts for all the option text, and graphics cannot be used instead of text
-  - it is hard to find a label for the list that is not language-specific
+  * it is hard to find a label for the list that is not language-specific
-  - users cannot see or access the links straight away
+  * users cannot see or access the links straight away
  
- If your site supports only a handful of localizations, it is probably better to avoid using a pull-down menu altogether and simply include links directly on the page. This gives you more flexibility to use graphics to 
+ If your site supports only a handful of localizations, it is probably better to avoid using a pull-down menu altogether and simply include links directly on the page. This gives you more flexibility to use graphics to represent foreign text, avoids the difficulty of finding a suitable non-linguistic label for the list, and allows users to recognize the presence of and link to a page much more quickly.
  
+ If your pull-down points to more than 20 other sites or pages you should consider whether this is usable for those Web users who must scroll to the end of the list. If not, you may consider linking to a dedicated global gateway page at the home page level.  If linking between localized versions of specific pages, this may not be a practical solution.
- represent foreign text, avoids the difficulty of finding a suitable non-linguistic label for the list, and allows users to recognize the presence of and link to a page much more quickly.
- 
- If your content is available for more than 20 locales, selection list is less usable for those Web users who must scroll to the end of the list. In this case you may consider linking to a dedicated global gateway page at the home page level.  If linking between localized versions of specific pages, this may not be a practical solution.
  
  '' should also mention the use of maps as an alternative ''

Received on Wednesday, 4 May 2005 17:08:56 UTC