Left bar or right bar

Discussion in 'HTML & Website Design' started by Axcell, Apr 1, 2010.

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  1. #1
    is the navigation bar can effected SEO?
     
    Axcell, Apr 1, 2010 IP
  2. canadianguy_001

    canadianguy_001 Peon

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    #2
    With css you can put it on either side and have it anywhere you like in your markup, as long as you know what your doing. It is better, obviously to have your body content appear as close to the top of your HMTL markup as possible
     
    canadianguy_001, Apr 1, 2010 IP
  3. jinmin

    jinmin Active Member

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    #3
    It can be either way, as far as I know there is no effect in terms of SEO. It's individual preference.
     
    jinmin, Apr 2, 2010 IP
  4. etc

    etc Well-Known Member

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    #4
    i prefer it in the right side as most users use their right hand while handling the mouse :D
     
    etc, Apr 2, 2010 IP
  5. Gr33ny

    Gr33ny Peon

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    #5
    It depends on the site I'm building, more usually on the right side though, it just feels better when browsing.
     
    Gr33ny, Apr 2, 2010 IP
  6. jinmin

    jinmin Active Member

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    #6
    hmm...may be someone could run a survey in future to see which side is preferable from user point of view. With this info, webmaster could be more aware when creating new website template or wordpress themes
     
    jinmin, Apr 2, 2010 IP
  7. Clive

    Clive Web Developer

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    #7
    Good point.
    On the other hand, I have the windows taskbar located at the left of my widescreen monitor,
    so a left sidebar would do better there for me.
     
    Clive, Apr 2, 2010 IP
  8. Axcell

    Axcell Active Member

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    #8
    Someone told me that better for SE Boot read the content first then the website navigation link. So i think its better to put it on the right
     
    Axcell, Apr 3, 2010 IP
  9. deathshadow

    deathshadow Acclaimed Member

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    #9
    Visual positioning has NOTHING to do with what a search engine sees. This is just PART of why even google suggests you view your site in a browser like Lynx which strips away most all formatting.

    What the search engine is going to see is source order - and with CSS you can put it in any order you like and put the columns left, right, any order you want in relation to the source.

    So ask yourself, is the menu more important than the content? In most cases it's better to put your menu before the content, but anything else that ends up in a sidebar after the content; this is why I prefer horizontal menus to vertical ones... This also works well for CSS off navigation and small screen users, since it gives them the navigation options FIRST, and then the content. Adding a 'jumpto' type menu you hide in your 'screen' media type can also help greatly, even more so if you put accesskeys on it.

    But really "left" and "right" mean jack **** to a search engine. That's presentation the search engine won't even see. Source order is what it's about - and regardless of if your sidebar (or bars) are before or after the content with CSS you can put them any damned place you want; the search engine isn't going to see it.
     
    deathshadow, Apr 4, 2010 IP