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bradley
Joined:
24 Feb 2004
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78
Location:
Chesterfield, Mo. Suburb of St. louis
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 5:11 pm
Post subject: Left hand side menus VS Right hand side
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What are the pros and cons of having a left hand side menu vs a right hand side. I know it seems to be industry standard to have a left hand side menu navigational but does it really make a big difference?
For example, the site I am currently working on, the template i used has the menu on the far right. At first, I didnt like it, but what i like about it is....#1...when you come to the home page, i want you to read the content, not be distracted by the menu on the left hand side. Also, at the end of the home page, i will have links where to take the next step. And the menu links do appear at the bottom of the page.
That is my 2cents, would like to hear other feedback on this issue.
Thanks,
Chris Bradley |
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robertb
Joined:
09 Aug 2003
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Columbus, OH
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 7:07 pm
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Most studies will tell you people will look to the left side of a page first. That makes sense because people naturally read from left to right (well, most people that speak english).
It depends what your MWR (most wanted response) is. Put the items on the left side that you want to get the most attention. On many of my sites, I ran a navigation bar on the left and Google Adsense on the right.
So I was in a sense "pushing" my visitors to the navigation bar rather than the Adsense. Apon following a tip, I switched these sides, placing Google Adsense on the left, and my navigation bar on the right.
From what I've noticed, I still have as many people going from page to page via the navigation, but my Google Adsense CTR has gone up very nicely.
It all depends on your MWR. For my niches, it currently pays me more to send them out via a Google Adsense click, rather than keep them in site longer.
I know that was a round-about way of answering your question. I hope that helps.
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Robert
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netadventures
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27 Jun 2004
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135
Location:
Canada
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administrator
Site Admin
Joined:
02 Jul 2003
Posts:
1493
Location:
Maryborough Queensland Australia
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 9:10 pm
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Robert,
You haven't allowed for my wife and all those others who pick up a magazine and flip the pages from back to front. I've never worked out why!!
Cheers, Pal.
Wally Morgan - Moderator
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robertb
Joined:
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Location:
Columbus, OH
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Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 10:20 pm
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| administrator wrote: | Robert,
You haven't allowed for my wife and all those others who pick up a magazine and flip the pages from back to front. I've never worked out why!!
Cheers, Pal.
Wally Morgan - Moderator |
LOL 
Now that Google allows multiple ads, maybe I'll put them on both sides of the page then.
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Robert
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Charlie
Joined:
22 Aug 2003
Posts:
3305
Location:
UK
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 10:41 am
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| administrator wrote: | Robert,
You haven't allowed for my wife and all those others who pick up a magazine and flip the pages from back to front. I've never worked out why!! |
Is it something to do with the earth's axis? A bit like plug holes, maybe. 
Seriously, when it comes to buying ad space in the paper media, I understand that spots on the right hand page (of the two page spread) are more popular (and cost more).
I think the reason left hand navigation menus have become the norm on the web is a carry over from the offline catalogue era. That is simply the way people expect things to look.
As with much web design (with a view to getting people to the right thing as opposed to just say that looks nice), it's a balance between making people comforatble by (by showing them what they expect to see) and making yourself stand out (by showing them something they don't expect to see).
Is it just me, or is that half the fun? 
Cheers,
Charlie.
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AllanGardyne
Site Admin
Joined:
02 Jul 2003
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6326
Location:
by the beach, Australia
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Posted: Sat Oct 23, 2004 1:23 pm
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You might want to consider how search engines see your page, too.
As I understand it, words high on the page are considered more important to search engines. Depending on what's in your index, you might not want search engines to read your index before they read the article on your page.
If your article is keyword-rich, you want search engines to read it first.
One solution is to put your index on the right-hand side of the page.
However, if you believe that an index rightfully belongs on the left side, you have to find another solution.
Here's one...
You can fiddle with the HTML so that your visitors see the index on the left, but anyone viewing the actual code (including search engines) sees the article BEFORE the index.
That's what I've done on the pages in my Affiliates Dictionary - http://www.associateprograms.com/affiliates-dictionary.shtml
Clicking on View/Source in Internet Explorer reveals how it's done.
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Allan Gardyne
AssociatePrograms.com - You're here. Explore it! |
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JKing
Joined:
13 Sep 2004
Posts:
3
Location:
USA
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 5:23 am
Post subject: Left Hand Menus - Right Hand Benefits
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I just posted this in another forum. But it seems to be relevent to this
conversation, so I wanted to post it here to.
In the new world of search engine optimization. It seems that the right hand
menu is winning out.
But thanks to CSS, it's still possible to please your "traditional left hand"
preferring types too.
I have just created some left hand menu templates that still put the content
before the menus.
So you can get the best of both worlds. These templates are for Dr. Andy
Williams SEO Website Builder only... at the moment.
But I have been getting requests for the "regular templates" that can be
used with Dreamweaver, Frontpage, etc.
So they will be out soon. : )
If there is a need, I will proceed. : )
But take a look anyway. Just to see that you can definetly still have the
tradition of the left hand menu, but the benefits of the "content first"
right hand menus.
Don't ya just love this stuff?!!
Best regards,
John King
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John King
Website Templates and Tools for Today's Affiliate Marketers |
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bradley
Joined:
24 Feb 2004
Posts:
78
Location:
Chesterfield, Mo. Suburb of St. louis
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Posted: Thu Oct 28, 2004 3:03 pm
Post subject:
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For anyone looking for some good optimized templates, check Johns site out. Plus, he's been great at support which is essential for an advanced newbie like myself. I was one of the guys "encouraging" John to use a left hand side navigation but after posting this question in this forum and another, I decided that I like the right hand side better, at least for the 2 sites I am currently working on b/c I want my visitor to read my content and then I will lead them to where I want them to go at the end. I dont want them distracted by going to the menu on the left hand side.
Just me 2 cents
Chris Bradley
PS. John, you answered my next question with regard to templates for Front Page lol |
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Andrea Thomson
Joined:
14 Sep 2004
Posts:
110
Location:
Vancouver, BC Canada
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Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2004 3:10 am
Post subject:
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Hey All -
Menu placement appears to be a moving target (literally)
Here's the trend we've seen...
> 2 column, menu left (late 2001-2002)
> 3 column, menu left (started Jun 2003)
> 2 column, menu right (started Jun 2004)
So, why the all the changes?
The trend in June 2003 was primarily based on the introduction of Google Adsense. This past June, James Martell promoted his success with Adsense on the left and bingo, he was right.
Trust this insight is useful -
Cheers,
Andrea
_________________
Andrea Thomson
professional web designs .:. affordable templates ... and coming soon affiliate templates |
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jackson992
Joined:
17 Jun 2004
Posts:
97
Location:
USA
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