Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

[TimeIsMoney]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Hi,

How are you all. I am a newbie and would appreciate your patience.I know this thread is a bit old, and am not sure if I am supposed to add to it or not, but I am not sure where else to post my question.

I am trying to understand the post in this thread when it comes to the BV drop down menu and the ability of the search engines to spider them. I have highlited the text below from this tread in blue:

Today i have had a very important confirmation: Google has indexed my example page, and the page in the cache is in http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:fEg83WMeBfwJ:www.navaldesign.info/Tips/phpmenu.php+site:www.navaldesign.info+navaldesign& hl=it&gl=gr&ct=clnk&cd=50


The text only version of the cache is in http://72.14.221.104/search?q=cache:fEg83WMeBfwJ:www.navaldesign.info/Tips/phpmenu.php+site:www.navaldesign.info+navaldesign& hl=it&lr=&strip=1

As you can see, in the text only version of the cache, Google HAS INCLUDED THE LINKS of the example menu. What does this mean ?

It means that a menubar, either made in BV (as the one i have used in my exaple) or through a text based CSS styled enu, even if included in the page from an external source (as in the example), can be spidered by SE. So, ALL of your links will be found and spidered.

So, if your menubar is text based CSS or BV's menu bar, it is perfectly ok for SE. ATTENTION: This is not valid for dropdown menus: they CANNOT be spidered. If you need to use a dropdown for functional reasons, i advise to include in your pages also a text based footer menu (like the one VH has in it's own pages, at the bottom.

Am I correct to understand that the BV drop down menue cannot be spidered by search engines period, or am I correct to understand that the drop down menue cannot be spidered by search engines only after a single menue page has been created with BV and PHP.

I want to use a dropd down menue but do not have to go the way of the single page with BV and PHP. I do not mind placing a menu on each page and updating each menu on each page when I have to do so, but I do not want to be disadvantaged in making use of a drop down menue. If that is the case I will use the BV menu bar.

Thanks for your kind help.

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

CSS or normal BV menubars can be spidered. Drop downs CANNOT be spidered. However, if your website is going to have 60 or 100 pages, beleive me, you will not want to update the menus in each page separately.

[TimeIsMoney]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Hi Navaldesign,
Thanks for your reply. Not what I wanted to hear, but at least it confirms what I thought to be the case. A pity!

I will have to s**** the BV drop down menu I put together for my website which I was quite happy with and consier the BV Menu Bar. Because if the drop down menu bar is not able to be spidered then my website will not be able to ranked by the search engines and without a reasonable ranking in effect will not be of much use to me.

Thanks again for your help.

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

You can hold your drop down and ad a text menu at the bottom of the page with your links. SE will spider those.

[hometreasurecove]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Can you use this trick if you're creating a template with a menubar? Also, if you use buttons with text on them in your menubar, can the search engines spider them?

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Yes, you can.

Buttons with text: you mean the standard BV menubar ? If yes, then Yes, they are "seen" by SE. But the best would be a CSS text based menubar as you can see it here

[Bethers]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Michelle,
Look here - this uses a CSS menubar also -

I highly recommend this method - with or without the CSS mnubar.

If you use the BV buttons, they are readable by se's the way they are done - it isn't javascript like you're used to that isn't - that you can see here - but this isn't using the php method cuz I didn't know it yet.

Highly, highly recommend you follow this method!

[hometreasurecove]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Thanks guys!

Yes, they are BV buttons. I saved my template by clicking file, save as template, and naming it. But when I try to open a new page with a template, instead of the template library poping up, I get an error message that says:
C:\Documents and Settings\My Documents\BlueVoda\Templates\***template1.wwb has a bad format.

I used some shapes, a couple of images, background color, menubar, and some text at the bottom to create the template. I changed the file extension to php, and added the code as you said to do in your instructions. Have I dove something wrong?

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

I beleive that this would be a problem that has nothing to do with the method described. It is either a computer problem, or how you have saved the template (or what you have given in the name field when saving as template).

[hometreasurecove]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

I was able to fix the problem, I can open new pages with my template now. I created my menubar in the template using your php instructions. So now each new page I create, I should change the file extension to php in page properties. Do I need to add the php code in step 2 to all my pages? Also do I skip step 4 using the html box on the new page since the menubar is already there via the template? I'm a little confused since I'm trying to use this trick with a template.
Thanks.

[Bethers]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Good for you!

Yes you need the code in all pages.
If the html box is in the template, then you don't need to add it again.

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Step 2 is the menubar creation. So, it is only done once, and you are done.

Step 4 is the menubar implementation in the page, so if you have done it in your template, no need to repeat that, as your pages already have it.

[hometreasurecove]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

No, I didn't put the html box in the template, should I go back and add it?

[navaldesign]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Yes, this way the code for inserting the menubar in the page, will already be in the template, and, automatically, in all the pages that you will create with this template.

[hometreasurecove]

Re: Single Menu Page with Bv and PHP

Ok thanks, I think I'm understanding this better, just one more question, the site I'm building in BV right now is not published yet. I'm actually in the process of moving my current domain name and site that is published on the internet from storesonline to vodahost. I'm trying to have as little downtime with my site as possible, so I want to have it pretty much completely finished before I publish with BV. My question is, should I be able to see the menubar on my pages in preview mode? Because right now when I look at them in preview mode, I don't see anything where the menubar should be.