Hotspots

Hot spots are another form of highlighted or hypertext; the difference is that they are used in conjunction with graphics on a page rather than HTML. Let’s say, for example, that on your main page, you have a picture of your product. You can link the entire picture or you can use what is known as a “hotspot” Programs such as Dreamweaver , Net Objects Fusion are all capable of creating a hotspot. Hotspots differ from normal hypertext in that you can create a link or a series of links on the same graphic.  A good example of how to use hotspots is a geographical map of the states. Each state can be a separate hotspot when clicked to go to a specific page in your site. Once you have highlighted the graphic, you can then place a rectangle or circle on top of it. When the viewer passes the cursor over the graphic, it becomes an active hand that designates it as a hyperlink to another location on your site or a location external to your site. The more active options you have on each of your web pages, the more interesting they will be to your web site visitors. Most web site design software uses the same procedure to create a hotspot. Check your software manufacturer manual for specific instructions.

Frames

For the first time web designer, the use of frames can be a very frustrating task. Advanced users design pages with multiple frames to provide significant content and visual enhancement to the viewer. A web page frame is like a separate window on your web page. Sometimes you will see a frame with a scroll bar, if the content within that frame is substantial. Frames are intentionally hidden, in some instances and function as a separate window within the page. My recommendation to the first time designer is to forgo use of frames for your first web page design. Complications most often occur when you upload your page or when you are saving frames in one frame set. It’s very tricky, and to be perfectly honest, it is not necessary to do. You can still have a very professional looking web site without the use of frames. If you do not utilize specific controls over your frames they may interfere with the indexing or spidering of your site and result in inaccuracies within your content. Using frames may also prevent your site from being correctly spidered by the search engines.