Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Talk with others about anything shrine-related, be it presentation, content or something else.
Todd
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Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Todd »

Looking at your current sites, how many sites have site sections that are multiple pages? How many have site sections that are a single page? Is this something you planned when making the site, or did it just happen? What makes you go with multiple pages over a single page? Is it the subject, the size of the community, or something else? Which do you prefer as a webmaster -- multiple page site sections or single page? Which do you prefer as a visitor? Do any of your sites lack a site section altogether?
Destinie
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Destinie »

I usually go with multiple pages because I find that I just have so much to say about my topics! In shrines where I have less to say and want to provide a more narrative flow I will focus on a single page. I think that several, disconnected ideas should be separated into pages and allows visitors to read in a non-linear format. People can pick and choose what they want to read and when! In this format, however, I think it's important to link other pages if you are referencing them so people can go and read the related content.

I don't have a preference for what kinds of shrines I like to read. I like any shrine of any size and format! I enjoy focusing on the content over the size.
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Robin »

It really depends on how narrow my topic is to begin with, for me.

For instance, my Eighth Doctor site was always going to be a series of multi-page sections, because I had so much research-based ground to cover in the Doctor Who canon, and so many personal perspectives about Eight as well. However, my Bing Bong site is about a character that is only in half the film, so my canon research load was much lighter--I still had plenty to say about him personally, but I didn't have to do a whole TV series summary or anything. Thus, my Bing Bong site is a one-page site.

I like to visit sites with multi-page sections IF they provide a seamless flow between pages. If I have to keep clicking the back button to find the next page in the section, I get frustrated real quick; this is why I always include a hand-coded navigation bar at the bottom of each page in my bigger sites, so that visitors can progress through my sites easily and quickly. (Those Javascript forward and backward links don't cut it for me, because the forward link goes nowhere if you've never been to the next page before!)
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dubiousdisc
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by dubiousdisc »

Hold on! Are we talking pages in general, or pages about the site itself (about, contact, etc.)?
nyxmidnight
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by nyxmidnight »

All my shrines start out as one pagers. I find it easier to plan out the writing/write out of order when I can see everything by scrolling up or down. Whether I keep it that way or not depends on how long the page gets...
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Todd
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Todd »

Hahaha, guys, I'm talking about Site sections. Shrines sometimes are divided into "Info - Media - Site". I'm talking about how your organize that last section.
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Fiona
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Fiona »

I would say I tend to go for multiple pages "Site" sections.

I really liked the idea of having a work cited list (kind of like the footnotes at the bottom of a wikipedia article) from the last shrine I made back in 2008 before I left that shrining world for a while. However, for some strange reason, I never really liked actual footnotes but to separate the citations from the actual content itself, so I go for the multiple pages just to have that work cited list on its own page along with credits and acknowledgements. When I got back into shrining last year, I still chose to keep the work cited thing, at least I would like to keep it for all of my Final Fantasy shrines anyway. Haha.

The section I used to separate but now combined would be the "Links" section. I used to have a section for all the buttons and stuff for others to link back to my sites, and a separate section for links to other sites related to my shrines, but now I just combined those two sections together because there aren't as many shrines out there anymore for certain topics (that makes me sad). I also think it's because frames layouts and using really small fonts were popular back in the days (since screen resolutions for monitors used to be way smaller, like 800x600 and 1024x768 were the norm), so the space you get for all your contents was quite tiny. Nowadays, I think many people choose to use div layouts that use most of the screen, and with that you get more blank spaces for your written content (plus you can use bigger front sizes), so it's natural to make longer sections with more written content.
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Lethe »

Aww Fiona laid it out so well. :heart: :heart: :heart: I had never thought about the "shift" to fewer site pages this way, but it does make sense - layouts and their content areas as well as resolutions becoming larger!

Of the multi-page shrines I have, five have multiple pages in the site section, whereas three have all the content on a single page. At the moment, that does correlate with fandom size and source material size, but, knowing future projects I'd like to make and that I have somewhat mapped out, I don't think those are the primary factors. Aside from "technicals" (credits, links, buttons, etc.), I usually treat site sections as a full-fledged part of the shrine, a kind of personal epilogue and retrospect as I reflect not just on the subject, but also what it means to me, and perhaps my feelings and thoughts on it over the years.

Things that I generally mention in one way or another are:
  • the subject in relation to myself
  • meaning of the shrine title
  • what thoughts went into making the layout
It's mostly that first point on the list that varies in length, so most of the time, that decides whether or not the site section becomes multi-page or not.

Usually, for smaller projects, or projects that don't have as much "substance" based on source material size, I make site sections shorter because chances are I've already expressed all I've wanted to say over the course of the shrine, which includes my personal view on things.

For bigger projects, I try not to write the site section (even though I know what I want to talk about) until I'm further into the project so as to prevent suboptimal repeating: If something that I want to address in the site section is better off being discussed in the main parts of the shrine, I prefer to have it there so that it gets more focus and is better embedded into the overall impression. I would then reserve pages in the site section for further examination or summarization of the subject from an angle that hasn't been covered elsewhere on the shrine.

Sooo most of this is planned - but, as with everything else, it's good not to fixate too much on that plan and leave space for other options as you figure out your shrine while working on it. As a visitor, I have no definite preference: I do greatly enjoy reading what a subject means to a person, or their history with it, but not everyone necessarily wants to talk about that, and it's by no means a must have. If there isn't much to add, leave it as is. As Fiona said, a bunch of older shrines have a looooot of links in the site sections for one reason or another... Nowadays, I prefer scrolling over clicking/loading, so if the links, buttons and credits parts aren't overly long, I like it more when they're grouped together in some way.

---

Slightly off-topic, but fun to talk about, and fun to discover on other people's shrines?

One of my favourite site sections I've done is Strength of Heart's because, despite not commenting on the layout and the shrine title (I don't write about the title if it's self-explanatory when reading the shrine), there was a lot of fun stuff to talk about. :heart:

On future shrines, I think I'd like to try connecting my own creations more by putting other shrines I've made in relation to the respective subject, such as on Sway. It's fun to think about what draws you to certain subjects and what things they have in common. Also slightly makes up for the lack of links due to lack of affiliates for the same subject. :eyes: :eyes: :eyes: :eyes:

I really enjoy reading translation commentary (usually in the form of FAQs) on other people's site section, whether it's about their own translation process or what they've learned about different translations. And hilarious FAQs in general BECAUSE OLD SCHOOL. Or any kind of trivia, and links to recommended sites and articles for further info, including compilations of official sites. Full site histories with numbers and names make me nostalgic because they remind me of big fansites back in the day, which really prized their own history. :music: Aaaand a page on planned content is always interesting to see, and makes the site look active to me...

tl;dr I REALLY LOVE IT WHEN THERE'S A SURPRISING AMOUNT OF CONTENT POPPING UP IN THE SITE SECTION. :heart:
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dubiousdisc
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by dubiousdisc »

...And all this lovely stuff aside (Lethe: you are allowed to slap me), I usually do it on one page because I'm always awkward on those sorts of pages and I feel like I'm talking over myself and, if I'm to discuss the personal significance of the subject etc. etc., I've usually already done so to satisfaction in the rest of the site. (SAD TROMBONE)

The main point of the site page for me is for the credits and to link out to other things (I'm a big fan of the idea of the citations, Fiona!!), but I find I don't have that much to do with it? In fact, I think I find less to link to the bigger the community is, because I don't find much of a point to link to every Pokemon fansite and then have to maintain the list. It's just not the scope of my site.

I can't say that's something I plan, but I more so don't expect the site section to be that big, so I allocate one (small) page to it.

As a visitor, on the other hand, I am interested in what everyone else has to say, however long it gets. I just find it hard to talk about it myself.
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Tara
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Re: Multiple Page vs Single Page Site Sections

Post by Tara »

Most of my older shrines have multiple page site sections, but recently I've decided combining everything into one page is a lot easier. There's just not enough content to go into my site sections that I really deem important enough to separate into smaller, individual pages. It's also a lot easier to get everything on one page so I'm not spending a large amount of time on a section of the site I really dread making.
I used to practice smiling when i'm feeling sad, y'know.
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