Site Maps for Hypertext

Abstract

Hypertexts are electronic presentations of information comprised of any number of documents connected by electronic links that allow users to move between them with a mouse click. In addition to text, the documents also may contain pictures, videos, demonstrations, or sound resources. With the addition of such media, hypertext often is referred to as hypermedia. A hypertext can present information contained in a college course or the products offered by a cleaning supply company. A hypertext can contain as little as two documents or as much as the holdings of an entire library. Because hypertexts can be quite large, site maps often are used to provide users with an overview of a site’s content and structure. While they may appear as simple tables of content, they also can provide a graphical representation of the site’s documents and even the network of links connecting them. Regardless of the form a site map takes, it may appear as a simple overview or, more commonly, as an interactive tool in which each entry serves as a link to the page it represents. Site maps may appear on a hypertext homepage or on a separate page, often as a help menu option.