Al Everett wrote: > For those of you taking a lot of time getting your dynamic site URLs > to look like static ones, this article may be of interest to you: > > http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2005/4/emw232456.htm > > (I am in no way affiliated with the site. It just happened to come up > in a Google Alert and covers a topic I've seen pass through the list > more than once.)
I think the main reason for having "search engine friendly" URLs these days has absolutely nothing to do with search engines, and everything to do with the people using your system. Search engine friendly URLs are somewhat more user-friendly than their query string-based equivalents if done right. Let's take a simple example. For instance, let's say that you were writing a bit of blogging software. Which looks more user-friendly to you: 1. (a) http://example.com/archives/2005/4/25/ (b) http://example.com/archives.cfm?yr=2005&mth=4&dy=25 (c) http://example.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.archives&yr=2005&mth=4&dy=25 2. (a) http://example.com/entries/name-of-an-entry/ http://example.com/entries/348/ (b) http://example.com/entries.cfm?name=name-of-entry http://example.com/entries.cfm?id=348 (c) http://example.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.entry&name=name-of-entry http://example.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.entry&id=348 And so on. I think you'll agree that the (a)s are a bit easier on the user. [Aside: I'm not sniping at Fusebox, in case anybody's thinking I am. It's a good framework, but exposes some things that the user shouldn't see, like the fact it's being used at all. This goes for any framework.] Also, user-friendly URLs also mean that you can change the underlying architecture of your app without breaking the URL part of its user interface. A lot of people forget that URLs are just as much a part of the UI as what you see in the viewport, and shouldn't. K. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Logware (www.logware.us): a new and convenient web-based time tracking application. Start tracking and documenting hours spent on a project or with a client with Logware today. Try it for free with a 15 day trial account. http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=67 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:4:204261 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/4 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:4 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.4 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
