Chapter 9 in the Missing Manual talks about some page layout tools developed in HTML. The two major ones are table-based and style-based layouts. Tables are possibly the most basic of layout tools, infinitely customizable as to size, organization, and even the visibility of the outlines. However, they are notoriously sensitive to deal with, and if any one tag is missing, the page itself can be horrendously warped. Style sheets, on the other hand, create a much simpler format for HTML code. Since the sheet is a separate document which the page references, all the formatting standards are not necessary in the HTML, because they are dictated by the style sheet. This is the style which utilizes the cascading style sheets which have already been discussed earlier this semester. I've been working on these already, and I think they have great potential. However, I have a long way to go to make them seem effortless!
Frames are another tool in the web developer's arsenal. Chapter 10 talks about how to create them, and the (dis)advantages of using them on a web page. They have all but disappeared from many large web sites, mostly because they are annoying to a wide population of web users, not to mention unable to be viewed on cell phone web browsers. The basic concept of frames is that they split the browser viewing window into several different web pages, each broadcasting their own content. That is how the navigation bar is able to stay the same, no matter what is in the main part of the page. Blackboard is an example of this, because within the course site the navigational bar to the left stays static, no matter what the body text is in the right/center of the screen. I will probably utilize some of this design for the navigational part of the site, although I am considering just adding the code to each individual page. It's bulky, but at least it makes each page more cohesive. I will have to play with it to see.
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