What is the best strategy for managing pagination when dealing with a large number of pages?

Question

What is the best strategy for managing pagination when dealing with a large number of pages?

Up until now, I have understood that pagination only links different pages together. This works fine when dealing with a limited number of pages or posts to display. However, what if I have 30 or more pages to paginate? Wouldn't it be impractical to create separate pages and link them all together using pagination? This approach could make it difficult to maintain a consistent layout across numerous linked pages. Is there a better design solution where I can have just one primary page (referred to as the parent page), and upon clicking navigation, only the content from child pages is displayed without changing the parent page itself?

Consider this scenario:

<div class="pagination">
  <a href="index/story0.html">&laquo;</a>
  <a href="index/story1.html">1</a>
  <a href="index/story2.html" class="active">2</a>
  <a href="index/story3.html">3</a>
  <a href="index/story4.html">4</a>
  <a href="index/story5.html">5</a>
  <a href="index/story6.html">6</a>
  <a href="index/story7.html">&raquo;</a>
</div>

In the example above, creating seven individual pages to link together seems cumbersome. Why should I create seven separate HTML pages for seven different stories with repetitive content? Can you suggest a more efficient practice? Refer to the photo below to see the type of page layout I aim to achieve.https://i.sstatic.net/i3bqH.jpg

javascript jquery html css pagination

Answer 1

Answer №1

It appears that you are embarking on the challenge of creating something quite intricate.

I gather this endeavor is a personal project, and it seems you have opted not to utilize a blog framework such as Wordpress.

Although I am unsure of your programming background, you seem to be at a beginner level (apologies if my assumption is incorrect).

For a blog website, you will need to store the blog posts, comments, and similar data. Your application will necessitate a database and backend application (consider using PHP or Node.js + Express for easier setup) to serve this data.

Regarding frontend development, utilizing one of the mentioned frameworks (Vue appearing to be the easiest to grasp) would be beneficial, or alternatively, you can opt for server-side rendering.

I came across this (very, very) basic example (I must clarify that I am not the author nor connected to them). This serves as a demonstration; constructing a real-world application would entail more time and effort, likely based on a comprehensive framework (both frontend and backend).

Below is a compilation of technologies for your consideration to select the ones aligning with your requirements.

Starting off with Wordpress, which functions as a blog framework. With this option, backend development may not be necessary, yet customization of themes might require frontend development work.

If you aim to build a blog site from scratch, familiarizing yourself with these technologies could be advantageous:

Backend development frameworks:

Python -> Django
Ruby -> Ruby on Rails
PHP -> Laravel
Node -> ExpressJS

Frontend development frameworks:

Angular
React
Vue
Ember
MarionetteJS

Database:

MongoDB
MySQL

Previous answer

This script offers a pure javascript implementation, although integrating a template engine like handlebars.js would potentially enhance its functionality.

var pageElement = document.querySelector('.pagination');
var totalPages = 8;
var pageText = ''

for (var currentPage = 0; currentPage < totalPages; currentPage += 1) {
    var content = currentPage;
    
    if (currentPage === 0) {
      content = '&laquo;';
    } else if (currentPage === totalPages - 1) {
      content = '&raquo';
    }
    
    
    pageText += '<a href="index/story' + currentPage + '.html">' + content + '</a>\n';

}
pageElement.innerHTML = pageText;

<div class="pagination">
</div>

Answer 2