Use JavaScript to Dynamically Update Your Website
By Shelley Lowery
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 "');"
(without the quotes). 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. I
highly recommend it.
http://hop.clickbank.net/hop.cgi?wsnet/willmaster
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 Webmaster of Web-Source.net - A complete resource
portal for the Internet entrepreneur. The site assists the entrepreneur in
developing a serious Web presence by providing a wealth of free information,
resources, tools and content.
http://www.web-source.net
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