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Anyone who's ever had to change a multitude of static pages on a site knows
what a pain it is to find and change the same snippets of code on one page after
another- even using an HTML editor's find-and-replace function can be cumbersome
since you have to upload all of the pages to the server again with the new code.
Sometimes a page or two will get missed or the find-and-replace function replaces
some things you didn't intend to change, so it requires some quality-checking
time to run through all the pages and make sure the changes are there.
An easier way to manage pages in your site is by replacing chunks of repeating
code, such as your navigation links, with server side include (SSI) files. Instead
of repeating the same code over and over, you create a separate file with just
that chunk of repeated code in it, then place a line of code on each page that
tells the server to insert the contents of a separate file into that spot on
the page.
When someone visits your page, the server scans the code, pulls
in the files needed to assemble that page and returns the page as a single,
complete page to the browser. Your "includes" code is replaced by
the contents of the file the code called. Since this all happens on the server's
side of the transaction, your
visitors don't need to have any special browsers or plug-ins in
order to make this work; SSI returns a "normal" html page to the browser.
SSI files can simplify the maintenance of your site. Information that may change
from time to time or that replicates across many pages can be replaced with
SSI files. Then, when you alter that include file, every page on your website
changes where the included file is being read. You will find include files often
being used to replace the entire header and footer for each page. When set up
as includes, the background color, graphics, navigation, or copyright information
can be changed across the entire site by altering the include file for that
information. Without includes, you would be forced to go through all your pages
to make the necessary changes.
You can use as many includes files on a page as you need- you can also call
different includes files for different pages. A good example is subnavigation
links that only appear on certain pages, you only call that include file where
it's required. Any block of code in your site that repeats across pages is a
good candidate for SSI.
The format for the code you will use to include a file within an HTML page
will depend on the operating system of your server. For most sites, this will
mean either Windows or Unix/Linux. If you are using Windows, you'll be changing
your file extensions to .asp. For Linux/Unix systems, you will use .php extensions.
You should check with your web host or server administrator if you are not sure
what platform your site is hosted on.
Here are the two standard file include methods for both Windows
and Linux systems (Note: you must use the proper file extensions [.asp or .php]
in order for these functions to work.) Remember, the included file will process
just as regular HTML; all you are doing is splitting your pages into manageable
parts for easy editing and maintenance:
Windows (.asp)
<!--#INCLUDE FILE="header.asp"-->
1. Create a file called header.asp that only contains the code
that you want to include.
2. Include the file with the above code in the place where the
code should appear on each page.
3. Name all files with a .asp extension.
Linux/Unix (.php)
<" include("header.php"); ">
1. Create a file called header.php that only contains the code
that you want to include.
2. Include the file with the above code in the place where the
code should appear on each page.
3. Name all files with a .php extension.
In both cases, relative paths can be determined as in HTML, such as:
<" include("../header.php"); ">
or you can use an absolute (full) path, which is ideal for sites that have
multiple levels of folders in their structure:
<" include("http:www.site.com/header.php"); ">
Changing the extensions of your pages can be a temporary
headache, especially for established sites but in the long run,
the ease of maintaining and changing the site is worth the
effort. Before changing page extensions, be sure to have a custom 404 error
page in place. (Most hosting packages today offer custom 404 page tools in their
control panels- contact your host if you don't see an option in your hosting
control panel.)
SSI gives you the flexibility of a framed site without all the
usability issues that come along with frames. It allows you to
separate the page content from the structure and graphics, giving you the freedom
to easily change any consistent element of the site without a major hassle.
It's worth changing existing sites and should definitely be considered when
planning a new site.
About the Author:
Scottie Claiborne is the owner of http://www.rightclicksweb.com
and the facilitator of the Successful Sites Newsletter
(http://www.successful-sites.com). She is a speaker at the Search Engine Strategies
conferences and the High Rankings Seminars as well as the administrator of the
High Rankings Forum (http://www.highrankings.com/forum/). |
