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Web Style Guidelines
Tennessee Tech Web documents (both on main and individual
servers) are expected to adhere to the following guidelines, as mandated
by TTU's World Wide Web Policy.
These guidelines are subject to change and are expected to evolve
as technology on the Web and at Tennessee Tech changes.
- Please read through and follow the Web
Site Requirements , these Web Style guidelines
outlined below as well as the Accessibility
Guidelines to ensure your site has gone through
all possible steps before contacting the Office of Public Affairs
for review of your site.
- Once your site is completed it must be reviewed by the Office
of Public Affairs. Contact the WebMaster.
(Within your e-mail notification include the name of your site
directory, contact information, e-mail
address and phone number).
The Basics of Web Page Development
- Training
There are several ways to learn the technology needed to
build a web page. IT's
Training Center has several courses in Web page
develpment. TTU faculty/staff members have access to The
Institute for Technological Scholarship for training
in web-based technologies.
- Planning Your Web Page
Answer the following questions
Who is your intended audience? Are you trying
to reach current students, staff, and faculty; prospective
students; alumni; and/or outside researchers and scholars?
Will you want input from persons who view this page?
Define the purpose of your Web Page?
Once you have defined your audience, what type
of information do you wish to make available to them? Pay attention
to the level of detail that you want to present on your Web
page.
Make use of the linking capability of
hypertext
Well-placed links can be used to make the text
of a document flow more smoothly. Linking can take the user
to many different Web sites to gather information. One word
of caution - make sure that your links work. Check each one
before your page makes the transition from development to go-live.
- Designing Your Web Page
Good design principles
One thing to keep in mind when designing a Web
page is that not everyone who accesses your page will have
a the latest and greatest in technology with a computer with
a fast processor, lots of mega of RAM or a 19-inch color monitor.
Many people access the Web via modem. The longer a page takes
to load, the less likely they are to sit and wait for it to
appear. Also, the more difficult the page is to read, the more
people tend to look somewhere else.
- Graphics
The use of graphics is important. Make sure that
a graphic adds to the usefullness of your Web page. Also, try
to limit the size of your graphic - most sources recommend
between 35K and 50K. Large graphics can delay a Web page in
loading. Make sure the graphic you use is not copyrighted or
that you have proper permission to use a copyrighted graphic.
Organize your information so that users can move around easily
and find the information they need quickly.
Graphics, used thoughtfully, can enhance your
document and make it more effective. However, bear in mind:
1. The Web is littered with examples of poorly
laid-out pages loaded with meaningless and unnecessary graphics.
2. Graphic images take time to transfer and
increase network traffic.
3. Users at Tennessee Tech and external to
the university may not have the capability to view images.
To use graphics effectively:
1. Try to keep the total size of each of your
graphics on your welcome page under about 20-25K.
2. Consider minimizing the download time of
pages with many images by providing thumbnail sketches that
the visitor can select for a larger view.
3. Provide an alternative view for users using
text-based browsers, using the ALT tag.
4. Keep the banner graphic less than 640 X
480 or 800 X 600 pixels wide.
5. Use icons consistently to avoid creating
a patching, confusing jumble.
- Things to avoid
Including too many images or images that are
too large; creating section heading with no meaning (ie: Section
1 rather than How to Schedule Hometown News Releases); avoid
the "click here" syndrome - make a hypertext link
on a word or phrase rather that instructing the viewer to "click
here"; and creating very long documents that readers must
wade through.
- Use Standard HTML
In order to make your pages accessible to a wide
range of Internet users, use HTML version 4.0 Transitional,
4.0 Frameset, 3.2 or 2.0. Please note the following points:
- Insert the appropriate DOCTYPE (DTD) tag at the top of all of
your newly created HTML files. The appropriate tags are:
- For HTML 4.0 Transitional:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML
4.0 Transitional//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
- For HTML 4.0 Frameset:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Frameset//EN"
"http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/frameset.dtd">
- For HTML 3.2:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 3.2//EN">
- For HTML 2.0:
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
-
Use hexadecimal numbers rather than color names when specifying
colors
-
Offer non-table versions for tables that involve more than
one column of textual material (in order to allow access from
Lynx)
-
Test any special color choices specified for text or background
on different computers and across some browsers
- Be aware that some older browsers will not render certain elements
of HTML 4.0 as expected. If you need to ensure accessibility from
all browsers, restrict yourself to an older version of HTML such
as 3.2 or 2.0.
Details on HTML 4.0, 3.2 and 2.0 are located at http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/, http://www.w3.org/pub/WWW/TR/REC-html32.html and http://www.w3.org/hypertext/WWW/MarkUp/html-spec/html-spec_toc.html,
respectively.
- Provide a Text-Based Path for Essential
Information
Except for cases where information is intrinsically graphical
in nature (e.g. a campus map), information must be accessible
to text-based browsers. This will allow access for those using
text-only browsers, graphical browsers with image downloading
turned off (typical of many connecting to the Interent via
a modem), or text-to-audio browsers (for people with visual
disabilities).
When displaying images, use the ALT attribute to avoid meaningless
[INLINE] references in text-only displays. Here's how:
<IMG SRC="something.gif" ALT="">
This makes the image link invisible to Lynx users. Alternatively
text can be inserted between the quote marks of the ALT tag when
you want to provide information about the image or its link to
users with text-only displays.
- Use Custom Features with Care
Web capabilities are in constant change with new features
such as Java, VRML and Active-X arriving almost on a daily
basis. Java and Javascript are compliant with HTML 3.2 and
above and may be used on TTU's official pages, although web
authors are urged to use them with care since many users lack
the necessary equipment to access material presented in this
format. Other features may not be compliant with HTML 4.0 and,
while possible to use on TTU's official pages subject to approval
by the Office of Public Affairs, can present even greater threats
to the usability of pages representing the university. Any
technology incorporated into a web page should enhance the
page's performance, not detract from it. Furthermore, content
presented using advanced technologies should be offered in
an alternate manner to ensure users with older computers can
access the material.
The overriding intent of the university's official, or main,
web pages is to present information about Tennessee Tech in
a professional manner that balances visual appeal with sensitivity
to users and usability.
* Microsoft FrontPage Components * Please becareful if you
use Frontpage that not all components may not work if
- Sign Your Work
Each document should have an author, date of last update,
and an e-mail address for more information. One convention
is to place a mailto: link at the bottom of the document. For
example:
<HR><ADDRESS>This page maintained by Jane Q. User,
<A HREF="mailto:jqu1234@tntech.edu">jqu1234@tntech.edu</A><BR>
Last updated: 9-October-2004</ADDRESS>
<A HREF="http://www.tntech.edu/">
Go to TTU Home Page</A>
Each additional page should have a pointer back to a previous
page or the department's welcome page. For example:
<A HREF="../">
Go to TTU Chemistry Home Page</A>
- Proofread
Check spelling, formatting and grammar carefully, and test
links to make sure they are correct.
- Test the Document
Before making a document available, it must validate as one
of the recommended HTML versions with no errors. You may validate
your web pages with the W3C HTML Validation Service at http://validator.w3.org/.
(By the way, once your document checks with no errors, it is
preferred that you not insert their suggested icons on your
page).
* Note not all web page editors validate.
- Limit Document Lengths
Large documents take a long time to transfer and readers do
not generally read more than a few screens before deciding
if the material is interesting. A general rule of thumb is:
1. For menus giving access to other things, fewer than 24
lines.
2. For textual documents, up to about five pages.
- Note That Different Browsers Display
Documents Differently
Each Web browser displays items such as headings, paragraphs,
lists and pictures a bit differently. Furthermore, screen widths
and rendering of colors vary a great deal between workstations.
If possible, obtain access to several browsers (e.g. Lynx, Netscape,
Internet Explorer) on different types of computers so you can see
how documents appear in each of them. It is better to have a document
that looks OK in many browsers than one that looks great with one
browser but terrible with others.
- Don't Link in "Empty" Pages
It's a waste of your audience's time, patience (and possibly
money) to offer pages containing no information other than "Under
Construction" or "Coming Soon." Pages should
have content before they go public. Sections where you plan
to add additional information should be kept private (e.g.
not linked or listed) until the content is there.
- Maintenance
One of the most important things
Now that you have tagged your text with HTML, downloaded graphics,
designed your page, and copied the file(s) to your TTU web
directory so it can be seen by all, remember the most important
thing- maintain your Web site. Information changes and your
Web site should remain current. Information which is out-of-date
is not useful and reflects poorly upon your department and
the University. Check links to make sure they work.
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