Should a URL Be Forwarded With Masking?
A URL is a Uniform Resource Locator, which is the official name for a Web address. Masking is one of several methods for forwarding, or redirecting Web visitors to content from a different site. URL masking is a simple trick with both benefits and detriments; whether it's a good idea is debatable. A Web designer should examine the good and bad aspects of masking before deciding whether the technique is appropriate for a particular site.
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Masking Technique
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A Web page may contain panels or frames that call in content from another file. That imported file can be another Web page. The file read in to the master file does not have to be on the same server. It can be read in over the Internet from a different address. Filling the containing Web page with a frame means that the Web page at the destination address does nothing but display the entire page located at another address. This way, the visitor to address A is “virtually” forwarded to address B, without going to address B. Thus, the second address is masked.
Benefit
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For an example of an application of URL forwarding by masking, imagine an online computer store that wants to start up a website, but needs to be sure that no rival can buy up similar sounding URLs to sabotage its image. For example, a company called Talvins Computer Store wants a website, so they buy talvins.com, talvins.it, talvins.us, talvins.tv, talvins.org, talvins.net, talvins.info and talvins.biz. Rather than maintaining eight different copies of the website, which itself may contain many pages, the company maintains one copy at talvins.com and uses the URL masking technique for all other domain names. The company would only have to buy a hosting package for one site. For the other domain names, they could just use the parked page that usually comes free with a domain name.
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Addressing
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By buying up all the domain versions of the same name, the company does not have to worry about customers remembering exactly the right address. All they have to remember is “Talvins” and any domain they type in on the end of that will get the customer through to the main site.
Problem
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URL masking does exactly that – it masks the true URL of the site the user actually views. The parked page, for example, the talvins.it version, contains talvins.it in the address bar throughout the visit to the site. The website will likely have a menu structure with a menu option for products, another for “about us” and another for support. Under each menu option there may be other options leading to other menus and more pages, creating a hierarchy for the website. When the user clicks on a menu option to go to a different page in the site, the address in the address bar will remain talvins.it. None of the address structure of the true website will ever be shown in the address bar. This makes it impossible for visitors to bookmark a page, or refer to a particular page in the site by its direct address. Any repeat visit would have to cycle through the menu structure starting at the homepage.
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References
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