Use
JavaScript to Dynamically Update Your Website
Use JavaScript to Dynamically Update Your Website
If you've been on the Internet for a while, you've probably seen
numerous examples of JavaScript use. JavaScript is a powerful scripting
language used to create special effects on your website, but did
you know it can also be used as a very powerful web design tool?
Have you ever joined a new affiliate program or created a new publication
that you wanted to add to your existing navigational set up, but
dreaded having to manually add the links to every page on your site?
You can use JavaScript to enable you to dynamically update every
page on your website with just one file. This technique is the same
technology used by numerous syndication services on the Internet.
It enables them to deliver dynamically updated content to every
website in their program.
Before we begin, if you'd like to see an example of a navigational
system that is dynamically displayed, visit http://www.web-source.net.
This website has over one thousand pages and each and every one
of them displays its navigational system using JavaScript. If I
want to add an additional link, I simply update one file and every
page on the site is automatically updated.
The first step in setting up your JavaScript feed is to create
the file that will contain your content. To do this, open a text
editor such as NotePad and simply copy and paste your existing navigational
setup into a new page. There is no need to begin the page with <HTML><HEAD>,
etc. as you are only creating the feed for one section of your existing
web page which already has those tags.
Once you've created your new page containing your navigational
HTML, you'll now need to add some additional JavaScript coding to
each line of your HTML.
The first line of your new file will look like this: <!--
The next line will begin with: document.writeIn(' and end with:
');
Your first line of HTML will be placed between the beginning and
ending coding. For every line of your original coding, you'll need
to add the above-mentioned codes before and after.
Note: Make sure you don't add any extra spaces, including at the
end of each line, as JavaScript is very sensitive.
Your new file will end with //--> on the last line.
Here's how your code might look:
<!--
document.writeln('<TABLE BORDER="0" ALIGN="Center">');
document.writeln('<TR>');
document.writeln('<TD>');
document.writeln('Your table content');
document.writeln('</TD>');
document.writeln('</TR>');
document.writeln('</TABLE>');
//-->
Each backslash (\) should be preceded with another backslash.
Example: \\
Each apostrophe (') should be preceded with a backslash.
Example: \'
You can include most HTML and JavaScript coding however, you cannot
include JavaScript that must access another file to run.
After you've created your content and added the special JavaScript
coding, you'll need to save your new file. Try to select a name
that reflects your file such as navigate.js and make sure your filename
is no longer than eight letters.
Next, you'll need to create a new directory on your server where
you store your HTML files. Name this directory "content"
(without the quotes) and upload your new .js file in ASCII.
Here's where the magic occurs... Place the following code in your
HTML pages where you would like your navigate.js content to be displayed.
Make sure you change the URL and direct it to your new .js file.
The following code must be displayed exactly as it appears. Make
sure there are no spaces after the first line of code.
<SCRIPT language="JavaScript" src="http://www.yourdomain.com/content/yourfile.js">
</SCRIPT>
If you've followed the above steps correctly, your navigational
system should now be displaying on your web page. If you are receiving
a script error message, most of the time, it's due to an extra space
at the end of a line or an extra or missing character. Make sure
you go over your code very carefully. Once you've created your content
feed and it is displaying your content, updating your file will
be simple.
If you'd rather not have to code the JavaScript yourself, I use
a great script called, Master Syndicator which will code your content
for you. Using JavaScript to display your navigational set up can
not only enable you to instantly update the content on every page
of your website, but can also save you hours of valuable time.
About the Author Shelley Lowery is the
author of the acclaimed web design course, Web Design Mastery. http://www.webdesignmastery.com
And, Ebook Starter - Give Your Ebooks the look and feel of a REAL
book. http://www.ebookstarter.com Visit Web-Source.net to sign up
for a complimentary subscription to Etips and receive a copy of
the acclaimed ebook, "Killer Internet Marketing Strategies."
http://www.web-source.net
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