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Web Site Development Policy
(Full Version)

Summary and Policy Home Page

Web Site Policy Document

INTRODUCTION: WEB SITE STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES
FOR INSTITUTIONAL AND PERSONAL PAGES

REQUIRED STANDARDS FOR PERSONAL WEB PAGES

REQUIRED STANDARDS AND GUIDELINES FOR INSTITUTIONAL WEB PAGES

SITE RESPONSIBILITY AND ENFORCEMENT OF STANDARDS

I. WEB SITE ENVIRONMENTS AND TOOLS
A. Server environment
B. Desktop development environments
C. Multimedia server environment
D. Web publishing tools
E. Graphic/image files

II. CONTENT ORGANIZATION/SITE ARCHITECTURE
A. Process for Organization

III. CONTENT TEXT – WRITING/STYLE/PRESENTATION
A. Common elements and conventions
B. Structure
C. Diction
D. Correctness
E. References

IV. UWRF BRANDING REQUIREMENTS
A.& B. Common page elements
C. Page size
D. Font style and size
E. Colors
F. Breadcrumbs
G. Content terminology and usage

V. WEB PUBLISHING CONVENTIONS
A. Navigation
B. Accessibility
C. Opening new browser windows
D. Limiting file size
D1. File Management and Naming
E. Optimizing images
F. Use of HTML
G. Use of publishing elements other than HTML
H. Use of layers
I. Use of frames
J. Naming of files
K. Addressing of files
L. Use of alt tags
M. Use of motion
N. Use of meta tags
O. Use of mailto tags vs. HTML/CGI contact forms
P. Use of “under construction” links
Q. Usability by search engines
R. Usability by various browsers/versions/technologies

APPENDIX A. TERMINOLOGY, USAGE, AND SPELLING

APPENDIX B. ABOUT THIS DOCUMENT

Campus Web Development Office
21 North Hall, 425-0661
webmaster@uwrf.edu

SECTION III. CONTENT TEXT - WRITING/STYLE/PRESENTATION

A. Common elements and conventions

STANDARDS:

1. Each institutional Web page should contain

• a plainly worded, descriptive page name (title) at the top,
• clear navigational information (see Section IV: UWRF Branding Requirements), and
• meta tag keywords and descriptions (see Section V, N: Use of meta tags).
  

Explanation:

Since a user may reach any given page from a search engine without first visiting the site’s home page, and since a user may print out any given page, Web pages must be more able to “stand alone” than those in print media.

2. UWRF institutional Web sites should follow the accepted conventions of Web writing. For example,

• the page name should match the name of the link used to reach the page,
• nothing on the page should be underlined that is not a link,
• links should be easy to identify

3. UWRF Web sites should follow the standardized terminology, spelling, and usage formats provided in the attached glossary (Appendix A).

 

 

 

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