A good menu/navigation system is something that every Web site of significant size needs — and yet, amazingly, there isn’t any such control included with ASP.NET. Therefore, most Web developers feel forced to build their own, reinventing functionality that has already been built countless times before. You can take a more efficient approach by using one of the fine menu controls available on the Internet. Following is a sampling of a few of the free ones from which to choose.
The HoverList control (based on the menu at the top of the home page of this site) contains configurable menu items that highlight as the mouse is moved over them at run time. The list can be specified at design time or run time, and may optionally be data bound. Each list item consists of a string value and a formatted text item that may optionally include HTML.
http://SteveOrr.net/articles/HoverList.aspx
The VisiPanel expanding panel control used on the left hand side of this site can be yours for free, source code included. Download it, use it, and read this article to learn how it works if you're curious:
http://SteveOrr.net/articles/VisiPanel.aspx
skmMenu is a standard-looking open-source dropdown menu that would generally be placed near the top of your page. You can configure colors, fonts, and sub-menus via code or bind to an XML file that holds this data. It has thorough documentation online and off — and plenty of code samples.
Timothy Humphrey has been generous enough to provide a fairly deluxe dropdown menu too, with detailed documentation and examples available to help you get ramped up quickly. It’s configurable via XML files, and is available free of charge through a standard GNU general public license. He also provides some other interesting controls, such as a tab control and tree control.
http://timothy.humphrey.name/thwc/
Dommelen Slide Menu is a nice option if you want a menu on the side of your Web site instead of the top. It makes efficient use of space, while providing a familiar and friendly user interface. The only downside is the sparse documentation. There also is an interesting slide menu bar available for free.
http://At-Krays.Net/csharp.html
obout Inc.’s Slide Menu presents a user interface similar to the Dommelen Slide Menu, and ups the ante by providing plenty of online documentation and intuitive sample code that demonstrates the various ways the menu can be customized. Although the free basic version appears to be quite functional, there is a Pro version available for purchase that provides extra functionality, such as binding to an XML file.
http://www.obout.com/sm3/basic.aspx
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