Site Development Strategy: Ajax vs Templates
I am developing a new site using Dreamweaver. I am trying to decide the best way to achieve re-useability. Suppose my design has a basic structure with a menu, logo, and other elements that are the same on every "page". I seem to have three basic options.
ASP.Net is a very "proprietary" environment and requires a pre-processor to interpret its code. I am not crazy about using it.
I have played around with the Ajax load and have encountered problems such as getting CSS classes to apply to the newly loaded elements, and getting jQuery or other scripts to run. I am sure these issues are surmountable.
I anticipate that my site will eventually comprise upwards of 100 individual pages (or loadable content), and that the structure will rely on not only the main page fixed elements, but sub-pages with fixed elements as well.
The Dreamweaver templates (as well as the ASP.Net "Master Page" concept) provides a model for developing and maintaining a library of similar pages with fixed elements, but you must load each page entirely at run -time.
Ajax, on the other hand, allows "Dynamic Assembly" of pages at run time without the need to re-load entire pages. But Ajax, even with jQuery, seems like it will require a lot of coding.
So, which way to go? When a user selects a menu item do I link to a new page, or run a load script?
Or, is there some middle ground?
- Forget about Dreamweaver and use MS ASP.NET with its "Master Page" structures, or
- Use Dreamweaver's templates to create and maintain a library of separate pages, or
- Have a single page and use Ajax to load the changing content from separate files.
ASP.Net is a very "proprietary" environment and requires a pre-processor to interpret its code. I am not crazy about using it.
I have played around with the Ajax load and have encountered problems such as getting CSS classes to apply to the newly loaded elements, and getting jQuery or other scripts to run. I am sure these issues are surmountable.
I anticipate that my site will eventually comprise upwards of 100 individual pages (or loadable content), and that the structure will rely on not only the main page fixed elements, but sub-pages with fixed elements as well.
The Dreamweaver templates (as well as the ASP.Net "Master Page" concept) provides a model for developing and maintaining a library of similar pages with fixed elements, but you must load each page entirely at run -time.
Ajax, on the other hand, allows "Dynamic Assembly" of pages at run time without the need to re-load entire pages. But Ajax, even with jQuery, seems like it will require a lot of coding.
So, which way to go? When a user selects a menu item do I link to a new page, or run a load script?
Or, is there some middle ground?
Topic Participants
kesterwatters2
jakecigar
jtara-jquery