Web Dos and Don’ts
Content | File Naming | Formatting | Headings | Images | Linking
Content
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Store sensitive information such as meeting minutes on an appropriate network drive and/or email to appropriate people | Put sensitive local content onto the website | Websites security is fallible; Website content should be of broad interest so content intended for limited viewing should be distributed by other means |
Seek written approval from the relevant people/organisations before publishing content | Put information, or images, on the website without copyright approval | Legal copyright and privacy issues |
Consider the aims of the site and the needs of the website audience in determining suitable content for the website | Load all available content onto the website | Enhances users ability to find what they are looking for |
| Link to existing content presented elsewhere on the web | Duplicate content on your site | Minimises duplication and provides consistency of information; Avoids content becoming out of date when the original source updates the content |
File Naming
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Use lower case letters, and numbers, when naming files | Use capitals in filenames | Avoids broken links in links and filenames as the University web servers are case specific |
Use hyphens and underscores to separate words. Note that search engines treat words separated by hyphens as separate words for searching | Put spaces in filenames | Avoids problems in URLs when spaces are converted to code "%20" |
Use generic filenames for files that are updated regularly (version dates can be included in the body of the document if it is required). Rename superseded documents with a date in the file name and if no longer needed for reference, move to a backed up local drive | Include dates in filenames for files that are regularly superseded | Allows files to be replaced by uploading the new version without changing links, minimising broken links and unnecessary workload |
Formatting
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Emphasise text using bold; italics can be used sparingly i.e. to emphasise/stress a word | Italisise a whole sentence for emphasis | Avoids confusion as underlining text on the web indicates that it is hyperlinked |
Use tables to present tabular information only | Use tables to structure the layout of a page | Maximises accessibility by controlling layout with appropriate markup |
When copying text from another application, such as Word or a browser, use the paste as plain text icon on the editing toolbar to insert text on to the web page | Copy text from Word or other applications directly into webpages | Avoids bad formatting which causes problems in the HTML coding of the page |
Back up old files on a local drive and/or burn them to disk | Use the web servers as an archiving method for files that no longer need to appear online | Avoids old content being found by search engines leading to out of date or misleading information being available; |
Headings
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Use the built in heading styles | Capitalise headings | Maximises consistency; Structural markup aids search engine visibility; Minimises formatting effort so time can be spent on content |
| Use the heading styles in hierarchical order | Use heading styles out of order | Maximises accessibility, readability and consistency of structure |
| Use text after the heading to create links | Link headings | Avoids confusion with non-underlined headings not appearing as links |
| Apply the Heading 1 style to the title of the page only | Apply the Heading 1 style to more than one heading on a page | Maximises search engine ranking by identifying the as the first Heading 1 in a page is used to populate the page title |
Images
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Size images appropriately in an external editor before inserting them into a page | Use HTML to resize images | To avoid image distortion; minimise download |
Use images to provide additional information and clarification of the page content | Use images that don't enhance meaning | Provides additional meaning and value for the additional download overhead |
| Include an image description for all images used on your website | Leave the image description empty | Maximises accessibility by providing a text alternative for non-text content |
Linking
| Do | Don't | Reason |
|---|---|---|
Link between one and five words | Link whole sentences | Maximises readability |
Link meaningful words, such as the name of a document, or target content | Link phrases such as ‘click here’. | Maximises accessibility. The link text should make sense when read out of context |
Link on the name of a site or page | Link full URLs | Maximises readability |
| Link the titles of documents in the content area of a webpage | Include links to PDFs, Word files or Excel documents in the navigation menus | Avoids confusion by providing consistent behaviour of menus |
| Open all links in the current window, allowing you to navigate back using back button | Open links to external sites in a new window | Promotes consistency of the browsing experience; Maximises accessibility |
