Things New Page Editors May Want to Know

1. Web Design Do's and Don'ts

DO's

• Put an email link on the page
• Add alternative text for image maps and graphics
• Maintain an overall style and cohesiveness
• Include varieties of navigation paths
• Use distinctive titles for pages
• Watch file naming and directory structure
• Plan for growth
• Use a spell checker
• Avoid frames and unnecessary plugins
• Test with different computers and speeds

Don'ts

• Make pages too long
• Overuse large graphics
• Overdo colors
• Use phrases like Return, Back, Click Here
• Steal copyrighted material
• Forget the title
• Put important information at the bottom of the page

2. File Names

Shorter names work best.
Keep Original file name to maintain existing links.
No spaces in UNIX file names.
UNIX uses .html files only (no .htm)
The main file in a directory must be index.html
(Some files were named wrong in the beginning. A duplicate must be copied to index everytime it is revised. I.e. the main page was jvl.html and index.html)

3. UNIX is case sensitive.

Our rule has been to use lower case only. This avoids many problems.

Set your WS-FTP file transfer to force lowercase and change extensions from .htm to .html

4. Titles on Pages

All pages must have titles. This is not the title that shows on the page, it is made by going into PAGE PROPERTIES. Files will not index or bookmark correctly without titles. We have made decisions about titles for pages.

NSU Library -Dept or Resource - Other subpart

5. Location of Graphics

All graphics reside in one directory: /gifs

You should not copy the graphics with your files into the same directory. Put new graphics in the /gifs directory. Link to graphics in the /gifs directory. We have the same graphics on every page. These should be in only one place. It saves file space. It makes pages load faster and takes advantage of caching. It also makes updates easier. Some publishing programs copy graphics with files, this should be avoided.

When placing graphics on a page, make sure the height and width are specified. Also, you must type in Alternate (alt) text. This shows up when graphics do not display and is used by Lynx and ADA requirements. It also helps graphic links to be indexed by search engines.

6. Relative file linking

Use relative (link only to the file name and directory structure) for all library files and graphics. DO NOT USE full URL's (http://). Relative linking makes files portable, decreases response time and helps server load, takes advantage of browser caching. Many of our files have mixtures of relative and full urls. We will have to edit full urls, many relative urls will not need changed.

7. Standardize

All library files should appear to be sponsored by the same organization. We must standardize the way files display. The best way to do this is to make templates that everyone uses.

We need to standardize:
Background color or pattern
Fonts used
Attention devices
Bottom information
Navigation and standard links at each level