Varying whether the Mast is frozen

HTML & CSS
1

Is it correct that the top part of your website is called the “mast” - like the part that has your company logo, menu bar, etc?

Well, whatever that is called, I decided to freeze that so if someone is reading a long article they never lose site of where they are at. Also that way they don’t lose the ability to easily get to the menu bar.

Now I am working on e-commerce checkout, and I’m thinking it’s better to not freeze the mast, because a.) it takes up precious space, and b.) because I have stripped out the menu from the mast as I don’t want people navigating off of a checkout page.

So is it a big deal if I “unfreeze” the mast for the e-commerce checkout portion of my website?

2

Hi there UpstateLeafPeeper,

personally, my preference is for fluidity. :winky:

As you pointed out, keeping something fixed to
the top of the page is a total waste of space. :wonky:

coothead

3

@coothead,

Well, I like the frozen mast in some places of my website - which is like an online newspaper - because then people don’t lose sight of which website they are on and they can easily navigate to other sites. (FWIW, my website design is “old-school” for now. The next version will be responsive.)

But I don’t think a frozen mast in some places is a good idea (e.g. checkout). So in those rare instances, if I unfreeze the mast is it the end of the world from a design standpoint?

4

Au contraire, I would suggest that it is the
actually the beginning of enlightenment. :winky:

Don’t underestimate your visitors, trust me,
they will not forget where the site’s menu is
even when it is totally out of sight. :biggrin:

coothead

5

Ha ha. Yeah, they may not forget where it is, but don’t you think it is annoying to have to scroll back up 5-10 pages just so you can navigate to a new article?

This is why “Freeze Pane” is used in spreadsheets when the situation makes sense… :wink:

6

Not particularly, I just grab the scrollbar and drag it to the top
of the page. :winky:

If you think that it is a problem for your visitors though, then
you can always place “To Top” anchors at strategic places
on the page. :biggrin:

coothead

7

On article pages I did add that feature long ago.

Well, it sounds like your advice is “Don’t freeze the mast ever and then your OP is answer!”

I’m experimenting now trying out my idea…

8

I would prefer…

…it sounds like your preference is…

Others may have really valid reasons to
have fixed menus on a page, of which I
am totally unaware. :winky:

coothead

9

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