Website Guidelines

These guidelines have been developed to provide web page authors with an understanding of what is expected of all web pages on the USM Libraries' Website.

Templates

A series of templates have been created which incorporate the official headers and footers of USM as well as additional elements for the library website. The templates all adhere to these guidelines and will enable you to work creatively while maintaining a uniform look and feel throughout the website.

The use of these templates is required.

For a list of the templates and their usage, see Appendix A.

Accessibility

Create web pages which can be used as effectively and for the same purpose by anyone regardless of any disabilities.

Rationale - Provide an accessible website that gives all members of the community equal access to library information, services and resources.

Methods - Follow the guidelines of Section 508 Subsection 1194.22 of the Rehabilitation Act. Editors can test their pages for compliance with Bobby. See the Section 508 Website for more details.

Compatibility

Create web pages which can be used as effectively and for the same purpose regardless of browser choice.

Rationale - Increased browser competition and the surge of wireless handheld devices have made cross-browser compatibility a necessity in reaching the target audience.

Methods - Web editors are responsible for testing pages in each of the top browsers. Editors are strongly discouraged from implementing any browser-specific features which do not degrade gracefully on other browsers. Dreamweaver provides a browser compatibility checking tool.

Writing for the Web

Webwriting should be Concise, Scannable, and Objective.

Rationale - Usability expert Jakob Nielsen has shown through testing and studies that Applying Writing Guidelines to Web Pages can improve Usability by as much as 159%.

Methods - Write concise, scannable text using:

• highlighted keywords (hypertext links serve as one form of highlighting; typeface variations and color are others)
• meaningful sub-headings (not "clever" ones)
• bulleted lists
• one idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)
• the inverted pyramid style, starting with the conclusion.
• half the word count (or less) than conventional writing

Remain objective: remove excessive adjectives and buzzwords.

Fonts

Do not change fonts within documents.

Rationale - Uniform fonts give the website a consistent look and feel across all pages.

Methods - The font styles provided in the templates should be sufficient for any needs. If new font styles are needed, the webmaster must be notified so that the templates may be changed.

Text Formatting

Format text for ease of readability.

Rationale - Users should not find reading and scanning pages to be difficult or counterintuitive. Conventions used in print often do not carry over well to screen-based presentation.

Methods - Format text using the following rules:

• Do not use all uppercase letters except when necessary (e.g. URSUS)
• Do not use italics except for book titles. Use bold text for emphasis instead.
• Do not use underlining. Underlining should be reserved for links only. Other uses of underlining will cause users to incorrectly assume the text is a link.
• Do not use colored text within paragraphs. The only colored text should be links. Other colored text will cause users to incorrectly assume the text is a link.

Don't Use Frames

Avoid creating web pages that use frames.

Rationale - Navigation, printing, bookmarking, and linking problems occur frequently on webpages which use frames.

Methods - In every instance when you would use frames, tables or preferably divs can be used to display information in a similar layout. File management becomes much easier, and the audience for the information is increased.

New Browser Windows

Avoid having links that open new browser windows. Popup windows are strongly discouraged and require approval from the web committee.

Rationale - this disables the browser's back button which is the way that users normally return to a previous page. Users often don't notice when a new window has opened and are confused by the greyed out back button.

Don't Use Page Elements That Flicker

Avoid using page elements that are animated or that flicker.

Rationale - These elements may cause seizures among individuals who have photosensitive epilepsy. Additionally, many individuals with full use of their sight and no epileptic condition claim that animations are distracting and annoying.

Methods - the HTML elements <blink> and <marquee> are both deprecated and should no longer be used. Animations can have a legitimate use, but should be avoided when their sole purpose is decoration. If animations must be used, avoid flickering. It is also helpful to provide a method for users to start and stop the animation. However, it is best to limit the use of such elements altogether.

Give Links Context

Ensure that each link's text corresponds directly to the location it brings you to. Avoid the use of "click here", "this link", or "here are links".

Rationale - When the word "here" is used as a link, the style is awkward, and does not indicate what is to come. Giving context to a link allows the user to determine whether they are interested in following a link at a glance.

Using the verb "to click" assumes that the user will be using a mouse. People using wireless devices, or those with a disability that requires assistive technology will not be "clicking" anything.

Methods - Examples:

Use "Further explanation of portable database searching skills is available."

Instead of "For further explanation of portable database searching skills, click here."

It is also helpful to remain consistent between the link's text and the title or heading of the page it brings you to.

Example: a link whose text is portable database searching skills should bring you to a page whose title/heading is "Portable Database Searching Skills" otherwise, the user may think they have clicked on the wrong link.

URLs must be valid and always linked

All links must include the http:// part in the URL. If a URL is ever written out in a document, it must be a link.

Rationale - some browsers cannot handle links which do not append http:// to the beginning of the URL. Having a URL written out, but not making it a link forces an extra step on the user unnecessarily.

Methods - Examples:

<a href="www.usm.maine.edu">USM home page</a> is incorrect.

Use <a href="http://www.usm.maine.edu">USM home page</a> instead.

http://library.usm.maine.edu/Instruction/databasesearching.html is incorrect.

Use http://library.usm.maine.edu/Instruction/databasesearching.html or preferably database searching instead.

Don't change URLs

Avoid changing the URL of web pages

Rationale - Changing URLs will break any bookmarks and external links to the site

Methods - If a URL must change, inform the webmaster so that a server-side redirect from the old URL can be provided.

Don't use recursive links

Pages should not have links to themselves.

Rationale - Users expect to go to a different page when they follow a link.

Methods - Do not link to the current page.

Use <title> tags consistently

The <title> tag defines the title of a document. In most browsers, the title is the text that shows up in the "titlebar" of the window (not on the page itself). All library web pages must have a <title> tag, and that tag must follow a consistent scheme.

Methods - The title should reflect the location of the document in the library website hierarchy. As a general rule, use the same text as is used in the breadcrumb navigation.

Example: The title of this page is USM Libraries: About the Libraries: Policies: Website Guidelines

Last Update: 03.31.2004