Web Policy - Web Services: Antioch New England

Web Policy

This guide describes the stylistic choices that reflect ANE's branding strategy. It is important that these guidelines be followed with care so our site will be consistent and professional. This guide will cover six areas:

Standards
Issues relating to the user experience and browser settings we design toward
Design
Issues relating to the layout and graphic elements of the site
Navigation
Issues relating to organization, naming conventions, and linking strategy
Content & Editorial Style
Issues relating to the text, grammar, and punctiation.
Web Applications
Issues relating to dynamic data applications and services
Maintenance
Issues relating to content freshness

Standards

Our Jan 2008 statistics tell us that:

99% of our users have Java-enabled browsers and Javascript 1.2
91% of our users have high-end browsers (MSIE 6.x, Firefox 2.x)
93% of our users' monitor resolution is set at or above 1024x800 pixels

Our strategy is to design our pages to work optimally at these settings. However, this does not mean that we will exclude browsers with different settings.

Global Standard 1: All web pages should function, at least minimally, in text browsers and graphical browsers on a 15-inch monitor set at 800x600.

Global Standard 2: The "brand" should be visible on every web page.

Global Standard 3: Every page should have navigational elements in proportion to its depth. That is to say one should always be able to get to the Home Page of that directory and to the ANE Home Page from any other page.

Global Standard 4: Users must be able to find the phone number and/or e-mail address of a contact person on every web site.

Design

Professional site design requires attention to detail, knowledge of design fundamentals, mastery of the software, creativity, and, above all, the ability to get the message across to the user.

Design Standard 1: Web Services and Communcations are responsible for developing a core design that effectively promotes our brand identity. The design must be dynamic and easy to update. All web pages will incorporate the core design.

Design Standard 2: The core design may include the use of Cascading Style Sheets, audio clips, video clips, Javascript, ColdFusion applications and other technologies where appropriate.

Design Standard 3: The core design will use graphics strategically, and not excessively, to enhance the content. To support text-based browsers and users with disabilities, all graphics should be accompanied by alt text and/or a text link.

Design Standard 4: All graphics should be created and/or approved by Web Services. All photographs should be in JPEG format and have a .jpg file extension. All illustrations should be in GIF format and have a .gif file extension. In most cases, photos should be no larger than 300 pixels tall or wide and illustrations should be no larger than 20,000 pixels square (e.g., 200x100, 20x1000, 500x40). Most graphic files should be smaller than 15K. Depending on circumstances, some graphic files may be larger, but should not exceed 30K.

Navigation

Navigational structure is the roadmap that visitors use to find their way around a web site. A successful implementation of navigational tools lets users know where they are, where they have been, and where they can go. Consistency and comfort are the keys to understandable navigation. The following navigation standards guide us to that end.

Navigation Standard 1: Both function and form are important, but without exception, navigation should be functional.

Navigation Standard 2: Key navigational elements should be placed across the top and down the left side of web pages because users are most familiar with this position.

Navigation Standard 3: Our web site should offer multiple ways of finding information, including standard drill-down navigation, an effective search engine, and a site map.

Navigation Standard 4: Because users may not be familiar with the ANE's administrative and academic structure, our navigation need not mirror our organizational chart.

Content & Editorial Style

Content is the heart of our site; without it we would have nothing to offer. To distribute our content effectively we must show it to users in a way they will understand. The content standards that follow are derived from various web style guides and the Chicago Manual of Style and are dictated by the Office of Communications.

Content Standard 1: Departments are responsible for reviewing the content of their respective pages and working wiht Web Services to have the pages updated regularly.

Content Standard 2: In developing content, be concise and offer additional information via a link. Many people do not read web pages; they scan them. If a document is longer than one or two typed pages, break it up into smaller sections and take advantage of the flexibility that hyperlinks offer.

Content Standard 3: All text should be rendered in the default typeface, color, and size determined by the core design.

Content Standard 4: Text Style - justification, uppercase, bold, italic, spacing

4a: All paragraphs of text should be left justified. In some cases a paragraph might need to be indented for clarity. Use the <blockquote> tag to indent entire paragraphs. Columns in tables should also be left justified. In cases where decimal places must line up, columns may be right justified.

4b: All text should be rendered in sentence case, that is, uppercase for the first letter of a sentence and for proper nouns, and lowercase otherwise. The only time uppercase is appropriate is when a proper name or logo dictates. (e.g., MEDLINE) People read words by looking at the top of each word and recognizing the shape of the letters. Uppercase text is very difficult to read even in headlines and announcements.

4c: Text that should be seen as bold should be coded using the <strong> and </strong> tags. The use of bold text should be limited to subheads and important notices. Frequent use of bold text diminishes its value and can be difficult to read on a screen. Do not bold links, entire sentences, or paragraphs.

4d: Text that should be seen as italic should be coded with the <em> and </em> tags. The use of italics should be limited to names of publications as it is extremely difficult to read onscreen.

4e: The   tag can be used to create an extra space before and after an italicized word or phrase so it doesn't run into the characters that precede and follow it. It should not be used to indent the first line of a paragraph or block of text.

Content Standard 5: The list tags <ul> and <ol> should lend visual and structural organization to your content. Use the <ul> tag when a list of items requires simple or no bullets. Use the <ol type=""> tag when your list needs to be ordered with numbers, letters, Roman numerals, or a combination of these characters. Both <ul> lists and <ol> lists are indented.

Content Standard 6: Tables should also lend visual and contextual structure to your text. Therefore, turn table borders to "0" and use the alignment of the data as well as cellpadding and cellspacing to align your columns.

Content Standard 9: Numbers

9a: Avoid unnecessary zeros (8 p.m. not 8:00 p.m., $4 not $4.00, 75 cents not $0.75).

9b: Spell out numbers one through nine, use numerals for 10 and above, except for dates, times, prices.

9c: Spell out any number at the beginning of a sentence or rewrite the sentence to avoid starting with a figure.

9d: Telephone area codes, 603-358-2102, no parentheses. KSC extensions, 8-2102, no ext. or x.

Content Standard 10: Times and Dates

10a: The order is time, day, date (8 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 9). Abbreviate months when used with dates, except March, April, May, June, July. Spell out all months when used without dates. (The conference is Saturday, Sept. 9. Six films will be shown in September.) Use day with date (Monday, Sept. 11).

10b: Avoid "st" and "th" (March 1, not March 1st).

10c: Use a.m. and p.m., not "o'clock," "in the morning or evening." Use noon or midnight, instead of 12 a.m. or p.m.

10d: Use "to" when separating times (noon to 4 p.m.) in text. Use a hyphen (1-3 p.m.) in lists and tables.

Content Standard 11: Punctuation. There are any number of "correct" punctuation styles, but using these guidelines will ensure consistency throughout the web site.

11a: Use a comma before "and" in a series. (Students, faculty, and staff of Keene State College?).

11b: Use single quotes in headlines (Hitchcock's 'Vertigo') rather than emphasized text.

11c: Periods, commas, and semicolons stay inside quote marks. ("We're proud of this achievement," said the president.)

11d: Questions marks may go inside or outside the quotes, depending on meaning. (When is she going to "get a life"? Here is the answer to the question, "Where are students going on spring break?")

11e: There is no space before or after a hyphen (post-season). Use one space before and after a dash (2/1/95 - Keene State College).

11f: Refrain from using excessive punctuation such as multiple or frequent exclamation marks!!!

Content Standard 12: Perhaps most important, please remember that your web page can be viewed by many more readers than even our most widely distributed printed publications. Please take care with spelling and English usage. Feel free to call College Relations (8-2102) to talk about language issues.

Content Standard 13: It is important that web pages load quickly. To this end, .cfm files should be no larger than 50K, and other web documents including .pdf, .doc, .xls, and .ppt should not exceed 300K.

Content Standard 14:

Academic degrees, departments, and programs
received her doctorate in clinical psychology
received his master’s in conservation biology
Mr. Doe holds a master of arts in psychology

Academic departments
Department of Applied Psychology
Department of Clinical Psychology
Department of Education
Department of Environmental Studies
Department of Organization & Management

Academic Programs
Dance/Movement Therapy Program
Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program
Master’s Programs in...
Doctoral Programs in...

Content Standard 15:
Comma use in a series
In a series, a comma precedes “and.”
Example: Antioch University New England, the City of Keene, and the State of New Hampshire

Content Standard 16:
Hypens
Email, online: no hyphen
Part-time, full-time: hyphenated

Content Standard 17:
Last names
When more than one last name is listed, alphabetize by the first last name.
Abigail Abrash Walton is...

Content Standard 18:
Phone and fax numbers
Use periods instead of hyphens (example: 603.357.3122)

Content Standard 19:
Possessive for nouns ending in “s”
Sam Samuels’s office

Content Standard 20:
web, website
Don’t capitalize “web”; write “website” as one word

Content Standard 21:
Web URLs
www.antiochne.edu
Don’t use “http://” unless it is needed to create a live link, as in an email publication.

Content Standard 22:
Affiliated websites
Various entities are affiliated with Antioch University New England and enjoy the benefits of the school’s sponsorship and support. The school recognizes that these entities are independently managed and are responsible for their own online communications efforts. However, ANE requests that these entities acknowledge the school on their websites and use the official logo and other approved communication elements in their acknowledgments. For further guidance, please contact the Department of Communications.

Web Applications

Web applications - i.e., a group of pages built using a programming language such as ColdFusion Markup Language that offer additional functionality and/or data integration - allow us to exchange information with our users more effectively and efficiently. These standards help insure the integrity, consistency, and appropriateness of the applications and data.

Web Application Standard 1: A web application is necessary and appropriate when one or more of the following is true:

massive amounts of uniform data need to be displayed on the web
an application would save a significant amount of time in the future
an application would make information available in a more timely fashion
an application would provide a beneficial service to users
data must be shared between multiple offices
the content owner needs to update content regularly, but is not proficient in HTML
users need to search through massive amounts of data online

Web Application Standard 2: Creating a web application takes a significant amount of time and requires a solid commitment from all parties. The originating department and appointed data editors must take responsibility for maintaining the data.

Web Application Standard 3: All official web applications use Microsoft Access as the database platform and Macromedia ColdFusion as the development platform.

Web Application Standard 4: All web applications must conform to campus and system wide policies including those regarding security, e-commerce, and privacy.

Web Application Standard 5: In order to maintain functional integrity, web applications should be created, maintained, and edited by, or in coordination with, the webmaster. The role of the page editor is to clearly outline the needs of the department and to brainstorm ways in which these needs can be met.

Web Application Standard 6: To maintain the integrity and security of the data used in web applications, page editors and data editors must access web application databases exclusively through web forms. Direct access to a database can compromise the integrity of the application and data.

Maintenance

Site maintenance, the upkeep of all aspects of a web site, is crucial. Out-of-date content makes for a poor user experience. Following these standards will increase the likelihood that the web site will stay fresh and useful.

Maintenance Standard 1: Server hardware, software, strategic plans, and policies should be thoroughly evaluated every year.

Maintenance Standard 2: Site design, web applications, and navigational structure should be evaluated every six months.

Maintenance Standard 3: Regular content pages should be evaluated on a quarterly basis. A complete content evaluation of each site should occur annually.