This page is to help explain how this web site is constructed, and why I did some of the things I did. to get to this point.
First off, this site is probably always going to be changing in some manner, not just in content, but in the design, as I find newer and better ways of doing things.
I have tried to make this site as cross-browser compatible as I know how, without putting in a bunch of hacks. I think I have found a layout and menu system that achieves this with virtually no trickery, while utilizing XHTML markup and Cascading Style Sheets for presentation. I also wanted to make this site as compatible and standards compliant as possible.
Layout
The previous layout utilized a header and 3 colums of content, which I was never really satisfied with. When the browser window was shrunk down the right side didn't gracefully collapse and was always different when viewed with different browsers.
In the new layout I am using a header, 3 colums of content and a footer. These are all within a master container placed on a background. I finally found a few websites that used this layout, so I borrowed from several concepts on how to achieve my ends.
Navigation
Change Log
2/14/2008 - Start redesign of this web site. Experiment with different navigation functionality but keeping general layout the same. Problems with cross browser support for nested navigation links. Not supported in some IE browser versions, wont pop out in IE7. Works great for Firefox or Opera. Also not passing XHTML tests for nested lists. HTML Tidy helped out here.
2/21/2008 - Decided on simple link rollovers for navigation menu for cross browser functionality. Borrowed design with some changes from Maxdesign.com - Listmania.
3/10/2008 - Found information about cross browser text sizing. Settled on em sizing so that the site looks pretty much the same if users use Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Opera for the PC. Not sure how the MAC browsers stack up in this respect.
3/11/2008 - Add Small gray bar under header for additional navigation links for Home, About this Site and Contacts. Added Update to left side of gray bar, removed from center section.
3/11/2008 - Start bulding additional content. Software, Academics, Aboutsite, Life to Eagle page.
3/12/2008 - Add 'Announcements' Box on Home page for new announcements visibility.
3/13-15/2008 - Cleanup menu system, fix broken or incomplete links and gerneral update of all pages.
3/18/2008 - add Local information page with weather map, local community links and history of the town of Aubry/Stilwell
4/17/2008 - Started coding for a centralized navigation menu. Now all I have to do is edit one file for navigation changes. yeah!
Copyright Free - Stilwell BoyScout Troop 483
