IHS Web Development Glossary
Account Manager- The
account manager is a member of the IHS Web Team assigned to help a Content Manager
bring a web site through development to production. The account manager will
assist you to whatever degree of need is worked out during meetings.
Active Server Pages- Active
Server Pages (or ASP) are web pages that utilize scripts embedded in HTML pages
to create dynamic web sites.
Americans with Disabilities
Act- The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 built off the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 and was meant “to establish a clear and comprehensive prohibition
of discrimination on the basis of disability.” Section 508 of the ADA deals
with Federal IT procurement and thus with regulations for website development.
Content Area- This part
of the template is marked off by two comment tags visible only in the HTML code
view of a web page editor. Between these two tags the Content Manager is free
to create the content of their web site pages. Content should not be put anywhere
else in the template besides between these two tags. Be careful, if you make
an error with a table within the Content Area, it could throw off the remaining
table tags throughout the rest of the template.
Content Conversion- The
process of taking content that exists in forms other than HTML (Excel spreadsheet,
MS Word document) and turning them into web pages coded with proper, accessible
HTML. The IHS Web Team will help with this process to some degree, but it is
the sole responsibility of the Content Manager to convert the content for their
web site.
Content Manager- A department
or group requesting a web site will assign from their group a Content Manager
who will be in charge of their web site and assisted by the IHS Web Team Account
Manager. It is suggested that the Content Manager be familiar with HTML.
508 Coordinator- The IHS 508 Coordinator is a member of the IHS Web Team who gives web sites their final review to see if they meet or exceed the requirements of Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The approval of the 508 Coordinator must be given before a web site will be allowed to go live.
Flash- A program from
Macromedia that allows for the creation of multimedia content that can then
be viewed on a web page if a user has downloaded the Flash Player plug-in for
their Web Browser. Flash content is generally not considered to be accessible
under Section 508 guidelines.
FrontPage- Microsoft’s
HTML editing program. FrontPage uses automated features to build web pages
and manage the website structure. These automated features are not accessible
to screen readers and other assistive technologies used by people with disabilities.
Hexadecimal Color- Colors
on a web site are defined by a combination of six numbers and letters. The
Hexadecimal Color starts with a pound sign and is followed by the series of
letters and numbers. For example, the Hexadecimal Color code for white is #FFFFFF
and the code for black is #000000. When choosing your colors pay close attention
as some color combinations may not be easy for someone with colorblindness to
see.
HTML- Hypertext Markup
Language is the coding language used to create web pages that will display through
Web Browsers on the World Wide Web.
IHS Development Server- Server
space for developing and testing sites before they go “live.” Sites on the
Development Server cannot be seen by everyone on the Internet.
IHS Footer- The IHS
Footer is a collection of links that must appear at the bottom of all IHS web
pages. It is automatically included in the new IHS Web Template.
IHS Header- The IHS
Header is a collection of navigational links that must appear at the top of
all IHS web pages. It is automatically included in the new IHS Web Template.
IHS Internet- The web
pages accessible through the main IHS index page at http://www.ihs.gov. These
pages are available to the public and accessible to anyone with an Internet
connection.
IHS Intranet- The web
pages accessible through the main IHS index page at http://home.ihs.gov. These
pages are not available to the general public, only to IHS employees on the
IHS network.
IHS Sub-Section Include- The
Sub-Section Include denotes what Sub-section the current site falls under and
provides a link back to that Sub-Section. It is located above the menu and
appears as a “bump down” from the IHS Header.
IHS Web Template- The
IHS Web Template consists of three files. The file “program_template.asp” is
to be replicated for each page of the web site. That file automatically includes
the file “program_menu.asp,” which must be coded to link to each replicated
page of the web site. The last file, “program_stylesheet.css,” is a style sheet
that controls the look of the menu (but can be altered for use on the rest of
the site as well). The IHS Web Template meets or exceeds the requirements of
Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Internet Explorer- Microsoft’s
answer to Netscape, IE has come from behind to supplant Netscape as the dominant
Web Browser in the marketplace. Most computers come with IE pre-installed as
part of Microsoft’s Windows package of programs. IHS HQE supports IE.
Meta Tags- Meta Tags
are primarily used by search engines to properly categorize and index your web
site. IHS requires a number of Meta Tags that are used to verify the timeliness
of the content presented on the web page as well as whether or not the page
has been screened for Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Netscape- A Web Browser
that first debuted in 1994, Netscape grew out of the work done on the NCSA Mosaic
browser. Now owned by AOL, this browser featured a user-friendly graphical
interface to the World Wide Web and helped move the WWW into the mainstream.
Preliminary Web Site Review- This review is conducted by the Account Manager who will perform a cursory assessment of the web site pages and all associated files to check for adherence to IHS guidelines and Section 508. If the web site looks fine, the Account Manager will email the 508 Coordinator to review the web site.
Program Web Site- A
Program Web Site is a full site that is requested by a department or other group
within IHS to exist on the IHS Internet or Intranet. A Program Site is developed
by an appointed Content Manager who is assisted by an Account Manager from the
IHS Web Team.
Program Template- An IHS Web
Template customized for a specific IHS Program Web Site.
Program Menu- A menu include, part of the IHS Web Template, that has been customized through a style sheet for a specific IHS Program Web
Site.
Section 508- “Section 508 requires
that when Federal agencies develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and
information technology, Federal employees with disabilities have access to and
use of information and data that is comparable to the access and use by Federal
employees who are not individuals with disabilities, unless an undue burden
would be imposed on the agency.” The Federal Access Board has outlined 16 rules
that must be followed by web sites if they are to meet or exceed the requirements
of Section 508. They are:
(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content).
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each
active region of a server-side image map.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead
of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an
available geometric shape.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data
tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and
header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or
column headers.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that
facilitates frame identification and navigation.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing
the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or
functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions
of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content
of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages
to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided
by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive
technology.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other
application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page
must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through
(l).
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed
on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the
information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission
of the form, including all directions and cues.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to
skip repetitive navigation links.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall
be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
Share Folder- This folder
will appear in a Content Manager’s My Computer directory after their Account
Manager has set up their access to the development server and mapped a drive
for them on their desktop.
Style Sheet- Style Sheets,
or Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), are documents with prescribed “styles” for
a web document. These “styles” can define color, font, and other attributes.
These “styles” are then referenced on a web document to control the look and
feel of specified parts of that document.
Tables- Useful HTML
tags that are used to display data, organize information, and control the layout
of a web document.
Web Browser- A software
program that is designed to read HTML and display web pages to a user.
Windows Explorer- A
program (part of Microsoft Windows) that visually displays your local and network
directory structures and is a useful tool in managing files.
|
Acrobat
