IAC logo

The world of non-commercial film and A-V

Events Diary Search
The Film and Video Institute find us on facebook Join us on Facebook

 

ANCHORS & LINKS

Now I'd like you to add a further tweak - the structure illustrated on the previous page is a bit rigid and whilst you should be able to get anywhere by going back up the tree and then across and down why make life difficult? If you are looking at the Programme pages and want to check the club's address or the map - no need to do all that clambering about so just put a note at the bottom of the programme page 'find us here' and hyperlink it direct to the map. It's a simple principle - you find it on loads of sites and it makes life easier. So go round the site and see where these kinds of additional hyperlinks will be helpful but just don't go mad with links everywhere. As you go make additional links on your piece of paper.

Now look at it hard and take put yourself in assessment mode. Does it pass the one click importance test? Trace how you get around, does it seem easy, logical, clear.

Don't forget that some of the page to page links might need to go both ways.


Anchors

Not many people seem to know about these.

So far all the hyperlinks go from one page to the top of another page. However with an anchor a link can go to any specific spot on any page.

You need to consult your software to establish the exact mechanics but it is quite straightforward.

Now suppose that you have (as some clubs do) a long list of the club members with pictures and pen portraits - this page will be very long (I hope).

If the front page's Latest section says that Fred Jones has won the annual competition wouldn't it be a good idea to add a link from the home page to the portrait of him on the Club members page. Fred will be chuffed and new members can bowl up to Fred and ask him about his winning film etc.

A few of your pages may be very long (not many I hope) - perhaps a technical article or pictures of the club trip. (I found one club news page which required 16 'page downs'). Be kind to visitors: put a 'back to the top' hyperlink at the bottom. Just link it to the page you are already on and this automatically takes you back to the top of a page.

Your map might now look like this:

Expanded tree diagram showing additional links.

Now you have a clear idea of how the site looks so you can implement the links. Of course, as you do this you may see other links that might be useful - you can always add them later.

The Weebly Way

Tips on making anchors in Weebly

Weebly offers a way  for absolute beginners to create good websites
easily and without cost. Our series on how to use it begins here.


External links

Finally consider all the external links - there is of course no limit to this. They might divide as follows:
  • Local links - if you meet at a school include a link to the school and maybe they will repay the compliment.
  • Equipment links - Do you have any suppliers either physical or on the web who your members recommend. If Fred recently spent an evening talking about a new camcorder or gadget he has got - put a link to the website details or a review or a supplier. Don't forget any video exhibitions or demonstrations of kit you may have seen coming up.
  • IAC - you must include a link to the IAC - not just the main page but any pages you may have found useful. Also link to the websites of any suitable external competitions .
  • Video - many members of our club now put their videos on the web on YouTube or Vimeo etc., which are very easy to link to or embed on your site. (a link means you just have a hyperlink which opens up YouTube or whatever on a separate page whereas embedding means that you see a thumbnail image in a box and when you click the image the video plays in that 'box'.)

One important point - whenever you set up a link to go away from your site make sure that it is set up so that the new page opens separately from your current page so that you do not accidentally lose your site visitor before you have to.

Final words

If you are tempted to reorganise your website - be very careful - I guarantee you will end up with broken links or wrongly directed links. Some software will warn you and offer to help keep links working but otherwise just check and check... Alternatively if you are going for a root and branch revamp it is often better to start again and copy across the bits from the old site - that way you can make sure it all works before it goes live.


Website Makeover Guides - Introduction

What Should the Content Be? | Navigation | Planning Navigation | Anchors & Links | Words | Getting Pictures | Getting & Using Pictures
Processing Pictures | Video | Presentation Pictures | Colours | Layout Principles | Layout Schemes | Fonts | What is SEO?
Search Engine Factors | Check Your Search Ranking | Stay Legal | Website Health Check | Website No Goes more to come ...

A Beginner's Guide to Creating a Club Website with Weebly

Don't Panic! | Signing up to Weebly | Making your first (elegant) page | Adding more pages and navigation
Adding pictures and words | Creating a complex Coming Soon Page | Adding Forms, Emails, Maps and Videos.

IAC Competition to find the Best Club Website 2011


Share your passions.

Audience silhouette.

Share your stories.

Page updated on 19 January 2011
Contact Webmaster
Data Privacy
find us on facebook Join us on Facebook
Bookmark and Share
UNICA information UNICA member
Company Limited by Guarantee No. 00269085. Registered Charity No. 260467. Authors' views are not necessarily those of the Institute of Amateur Cinematographers. Website hosted by Merula. JavaScripts by JavaScript Source. Menu by Live Web Institute. Art work by Tony Kendle.