The concept of a "Zone" or "Region" within a site is one that's been around since web sites were first created. Logically separating your site into pieces helps you keep a consistent feel to your site, as well as making sure your visitors know what to expect. If you've ever created a site, you have probably already implemented this concept, possibly without even realizing it. Let us take a look at a common layout used in many sites, and the same layout we currently have in our sample site. Here is how the site breaks down:
With this layout, we've already declared three Zones for our site—header, body, and footer. Each Zone serves a specific purpose and, when done well, the visitor will know easily what to expect from each. By understanding the functionality of each of your Zones, you will be able to spend less time on things such as your site layout and more time on getting the pieces your have within your site just the way you want them. In addition to the layout we are...