myTobago – your questions, review and comment about Tobago

Steve,

This is just a suggestion, but after spending time scrolling up and down between the map and the descriptions in the siteseeing page I wondered if it would be possible to put the map in a seperate frame at the top so that it stayed still as you looked through the descriptions.

Just an idea.

Peter

Hi Peter

I see exactly what you mean. Keeping the map in a frames as suggested would do the trick, but frames kill a site in the search engines and are the last vesitige of the amateur web author. I am redesigning the site shortly and you comment is very valid indeed, so I shall have to put some thought into the problem.

Thanks

Hi Peter

It's so long since I looked at those pages that I'd forgotten how I'd designed them.

Were you using the 'Top of Page' link just below and to the right beneath each entry? This takes you straight back to the location map at the top of the page. Another thought: keeping the map at the top of the visible window simply wouldn't work - it would simply occupy too much screen real estate and you would be constantly scrolling the content. If I showed the map any smaller, it would make showing and clicking on the location buttons too fiddly, but the bigger the map, the less area there would be beneath to see content. The 'Top of Page' links should be the quickest way to scroll backwards and forwards between the map and the detail and read the content in the least number of mouse clicks.

Steve,

In future it is probably best just to ignore me. If I had taken time to read what it said under the map I would have realised that I could

a) Hold the mouse over the dot to get a description
b) Clicked on the dot to go to the full text

as it was I was scrolling up and down like a loon.

And there lies one of the biggest problems of web design - making it all intuitive and "obvious" without having to write tons of descriptive instructions which you know nobody will read. Ah well, at least it gave me something to ponder while walking the dog yesterday afternoon. It always pays to "revisit" these problems and see if you can think of a better solution.

Steve,\\How about a map with CSS attributes that show popped up/rolled over info?

Do the beaches in one coulour dot, restaurants in another etc.

?

just musing, but I support the frames = no (as a user and designer) frames are the devils work.

Marc - I'm supposed to be the only one sad enough to be wasting time on myTobago while holidaying on the island. At just gone 9am you should be either walking that beach or in the pool, so sod off.

The location maps had already more-or-less done what you suggested. Each of the location numbers is hot-linked to the specific text in the article and an alt-text screen tip provides basic info about the location. The problem is keeping the maps clean and uncluttered, so it's impossible to combine restaurants, beaches, sightseeing spots, etc., all on one map at the size that I can show. However, I recently got permission and source cartography from those lovely people at Berndtson & Berndston in Germany who produce the excellent Insight Fleximap of Tobago, so hopefully will be able to do larger scale location maps for some areas.