Layout of the Home page
Here is a description of the layout of the Home page starting at the top and working down left to right.
Top large logo bar
To the left of this is our logo and that of the HLF who have generously provided the startup money for our volunteer activity. There is also a Google search engine window to the right which is dedicated to searching the site: use it just like you would if you were outside the site looking for something on the Internet.
Top small grey bar
This serves two purposes. When you are deep in the site you will see your navigation history displayed in the bar and if you click on any location along your history trail you will be taken there. Then when you click on the Home link at the left end of the bar the navigation history is replaced by quick links to important material on the site and to all our new things.
Left panel
In the left panel "Browse the site" you have indexes which hold everything on the site. The material is organised by Parishes, Topics and Media. Some articles may therefore appear in more than one place. Generally speaking this layout is best suited to those using touch pad computers as it is well spaced out. At the bottom of the left panel there is a log in area for those wanting to register and contribute to the site.
Scrolling Banner
The images scroll only when you are on the Home page and have a browser that runs Flash Player. If you click on any image you will be taken to a page which holds them all and where you will find a brief description. The iPad users are given an alterernative route to see the images.
Home - central left panel
At the top of this panel "What's new at RDCA..." we have latest Newsflashes and below this latest New Articles and latest New Comments. Links provided at the end of each of these leads you to an archive for each subject.
Home - central right panel
This "How to..." panel only appears when you are on the Home page. It generally holds material of interest to those new to the site - search information, registration and contribution etc.
Right panel
At the top of this "Or look here" panel is a duplication of the main part of the Index panel on the left. This is now in a very compact format and is visible wherever you are on the site. It is best suited to those with a traditional computer and mouse or touch pad and provides a very quick way to go somewhere totally different on the site.
Below the compact index are things that we would like to draw your attention to and which we tend to change these from time to time. Click on the images or the text to see the featured material.
Bottom bar
In the bottom bar is Accessibility information, for people who find the mouse and some keys difficult to use, and legal stuff. Also a "Site map". With it you can see all the public material on the site as a long listing, all items on the listing being clickable.