CMK2901
07-04-2007, 07:52 AM
When I first started web development, using just plain HTML, I discovered what a time-waster changing the site's background color could become. Then I learned CSS, and that made all that very easy; update a few lines in a single file, and you're good to go.
Then, I considered how I could apply this same sort of process to the entire page and greatly reduce clutter...Javascript seemed the obvious answer. One of my web pages, cmk.byethost22.com, uses this simple structure:
javascript: loadTop();
html: page content
javascript: loadBottom();
This works fine, putting all my site's layout code into a single external file, so updating time consuming things (such as the copyright notice's date) became incredibly easy.
Now, however, with a new site I'm developing, I'm trying to do things the right way: conforming to standards, getting the largest audience possible, etc. Obviously, my javascript method completely destroys the site for people without Javascript; they will see the page content on a white background.
Is there a method for avoiding these time-consuming things without javascript? Can something like PHP/ASP be used and not leave out a lot of the audience (I don't know anything about PHP, but would learn)? The most practical example I can think of is the year on the bottom of the page; updating a copyright notice on 3,000 pages manually is terrible.
Then, I considered how I could apply this same sort of process to the entire page and greatly reduce clutter...Javascript seemed the obvious answer. One of my web pages, cmk.byethost22.com, uses this simple structure:
javascript: loadTop();
html: page content
javascript: loadBottom();
This works fine, putting all my site's layout code into a single external file, so updating time consuming things (such as the copyright notice's date) became incredibly easy.
Now, however, with a new site I'm developing, I'm trying to do things the right way: conforming to standards, getting the largest audience possible, etc. Obviously, my javascript method completely destroys the site for people without Javascript; they will see the page content on a white background.
Is there a method for avoiding these time-consuming things without javascript? Can something like PHP/ASP be used and not leave out a lot of the audience (I don't know anything about PHP, but would learn)? The most practical example I can think of is the year on the bottom of the page; updating a copyright notice on 3,000 pages manually is terrible.