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My Colby-Sawyer Experience
"I am really impressed with faculty here, who are dedicated teachers and scholars. I like the atmosphere. I could not imagine a friendlier welcome." - Ewa Chrusciel, Assistant Professor, Humanities
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web site guidelines
Temporary Style Notes for the Web Relaunch (11.07.06)
(Note: This is a temporary alphabetical list of web style issues for use while we develop a more complete Web Style Guide for the revised website. If you find issues that are not covered in this style sheet, please let the Communications Office know. The previous "Website General Guidlines" follow these temporary notes below. All these guidelines are subject to change as we further refine the web design. These guidelines assume a basic training in Pivot and markdown.)
General
Always use markdown (not html) in creating, editing, or revising pages. Because the Colby-Sawyer website uses Cascading Style Sheets (CSS), the most up-to-date method of coding websites, web pages written in html will have to be dismantled and reconstructed time the site design is revised or up-dated.
If you must code in html for a specific reason, contact the Communications Department for a specially coded patch. The use of the Pivot database and CSS coding means that, even if the html coding looks fine on your own computer, it may not appear properly on off-campus computers or after subsequent revisions to the page. See also the section on "Photos" below.
Strive for consistency in all pages. This will be difficult at first as page formats in the old web design were not consistent. Part of the audit process will be designed to bring more consistency to the website as a whole and within departmental pages.
In composing pages, always keep in mind that many people, especially prospective students and their parents, will be accessing the site who are not familiar with Colby-Sawyer. Many people will also access individual pages of the website via search engines without going through the site's home page. Please be sure that headings, subheadings, captions, links, telephone numbers, and the like will be understandable for off-campus audiences.
Because the web is primarily a visual medium, the new website design emphasizes images and visual methods of communication. Keep in mind that long passages of unbroken text are tiring to read on a computer screen. Break up text with headings and interesting photographs and avoid pages that require a lot of scrolling. Use pdf's for long, text heavy guides and manuals so they can easily be printed out.
Bold (see also “Emphasis” and “Headings,” and “Links”)
Use bold for emphasis in the text. Never use bold in headings or in place of headings (see “Headings”).
Captions
Contact the Communications Department for specific coding for your needs.
Edit Link
The edit link for the new site is an invisible spot located just below the area code for the college telephone number that is superimposed on the logo, in the lower left corner of the web page. Click on this spot to put the page in edit mode.
Emphasis
Never use all caps or underlines for emphasis. Use bold for emphasis (in markdown, place the bolded phrase between two sets of double asterisks) and italics (single asterisks) for titles of newspapers, books or other publications.
Headings
Use headings to structure each page. The H2 heading (two number signs in markdown) is always the first heading to appear at the top of the page. It may be immediately followed by an h3 heading (three number signs) as a subhead. Section headings within a page should by h4 (four number signs) and headings within a section should be h6 (six number signs).
The H2 (two number signs) heading should concisely describe the content of the page for someone not familiar with the department or Colby-Sawyer. Keep in short--- two to four words is best, never more than one line. Do not use the H2 heading to ask a question ("Where do you want your career to lead you?"). to give a greeting (“Welcome to the Esoterica Department!”) or a command (“Check out all our great activities this month!”). Use an H3 heading immediately below the H2 heading for those purposes, when necessary. H2 and H3 headings should not be used as links.
Do not use bold face or italics to create headings. Do not bold face the headings themselves. Italicized headings may be used in limited situations, for example, a signature on a letter page or when a title appears within a heading. Otherwise, use the hierarchy of headings built into the web design as described above.
You may link to any heading except for an H2 or H3 heading. Those headings will appear yellow on the page and not blue as in a non-linking heading.
Do not start a heading with "welcome" unless the page is designed for a specific group or event, e.g., "welcome parents," "welcome international students," "welcome to our fall open house."
There is no H1 heading.
Do not use ampersands in headings. Spell out the word "and." Exceptions: headings containing a long title or name.
H2 headings should be all lower case. All other headings should be capitalized as is normal for titles (see "composition titles," AP Stylebook, p. 55)
An H2 child will be H4.
An H4 child will be H6.
Do not use yellow headings except for links. In general, headings will be blue, links will be yellow. A linked heading counts as a link.
Letters
Use a standard H2 heading at the top with no separate greeting
The closing block should be flush left
The closing should always be in plain text
The signature line should be an italicized H6 on separate line.
Phone number and email address (with "mail to") should appear under the signature with each given a separate line.
Links
Do not bold face links.
Links include text and images only, not punctuation or bullets.
Avoid links that say "click here."
Main nav and suprise links appear only in side columns (left nav and right nav).
Internal section links appear at top of center column immediately under H2.
In linking to a page jump, use the note "[ read more ]" at the end of the last sentence of the linked page. Only the words "read more" should be linked.
In a list of links without descriptions or additional text, use bullet style lists, not numbers or letters.
For long lists of links on a single page, use double column style with bullets.
In a list of headings with headlines and a description under, use headlines as links (e.g., landing pages). Do not use bullets or "more" links. Always use H3 headings and single column format.
Heads followed by descriptions that lead to full text articles will not link headline but will have a "more" link.
PDF documents in a list of links should be written "Document Name pdf"
Pages linked in series should use the form [Next: Next in Sequence] at the bottom of the page. Only the text links.
Logos
Use logos sparingly as they will not necessarily communicate well to off-campus audiences. Instead, use photographs to show visitors what the program does and to add visual interest.
Pages
Each page should have a clear, consistent structure that reflects the rest of the site and other pages developed by your program or department.
When building a page, structure the page first, using headings correctly. Then add content and photographs.
Try to keep pages to a consistent length. Avoid very short pages or very long pages requiring a lot of scrolling.
The basic sections of a web page in the new design are these:
Fly-out nav The navigation bar at the very top of each page. These are managed by the Communications Department.
Banner the large type reading “Colby-Sawyer College.” The banner identifies each page as belonging to the Colby-Sawyer website. It also serves as a link to the college home page.
Banner photo the large photograph that runs across the entire page. The selection changes each time the site is accessed and each time a new page is accessed or refreshed. The Communications Department manages the selection of photos, which are regularly changed and updated.
Banner nav the navigation and search links immediately above and below the banner photo. These are managed by the Communications Department.
Left nav navigation links and other material in the lefthand column of the page. Navigation links specific to a departmental page are often contained at the top of the column under a departmental heading. These links are managed by the Communications Department in conjunction with the individual departments.
Right nav navigation links and other material in the righthand column of the page. These are mostly web-wide links and are managed by the Communication Department.
Center column the center of the page, in which the main content of each page appears. Managed by page editors in conjunction with the Web Management Team.
Photos (see also Captions):
Do not use photos wider than 200 pixels without contacting the Communications Department. Larger photos will cause the pages to appear in unpredictable fashion.
Keep photos current and up-to-date but feel free to add clearly historical material where it can add interest and meaning.
The design uses photos to tell a story but not necessarily to tell the whole story. It tries to draw in visitors by using photos that are intriguing and that make the visitor want to learn more about them.
Default is for photos left. To place right, use the coding "img src="moniker" class="right"".
No "post card" views in photo band
Photos should be formatted flush right when placed immediately under an H2. Use the coding "img src=""moniker" class="right""
Staff Lists
Order alphabetically or by rank (we may standardize later) Place staff lists on the bottom of the departmental landing page, or on a separate page if the staff list is especially long
form:
Name in plain text, not in bold, on a separate line Title in italics, on a separate line Office location, on a separate number Email address should always be a link to email form Full telephone number with area code on a separate line
Website General Guidelines
The Colby-Sawyer College Web site supports the college's teaching, research and outreach as an open, accessible and interactive communications and marketing medium. Colby-Sawyer's goal is to encourage faculty, staff, students, campus departments and administrative units to make broad use of the college Web site and other online services as tools for learning, communication and scholarship.
Colby-Sawyer's president and senior staff determine the policies and direction for the college's Web site. The Web Administrator Group, made up of staff members from the College Communications Office and Information Resources Department, along with Mike Yacavone, the college's Web consultant, provide oversight and administration for the technical and editorial aspects of the site and advise the college administration on the site's growth and development.
The Colby-Sawyer Web Advisory Council, a group of faculty, staff and students, has formed to represent their areas and constituencies. The Web Advisory Council meets each year on an as-needed basis. Individuals or groups should contact their council members with concerns about the content or development or their areas of the Web site.
The Web Administrators, with assistance from the Web Advisory Council, developed the following guidelines for the college Web site. These guidelines recognize:
- the importance of the Web for promoting open communication and scholarly activity;
- that members of the campus community have a responsibility to use these resources in an appropriate, ethical and legal manner; and
- that in addition to serving the campus community, our Web site acts as a communications vehicle for prospective students and parents; alumni; trustees, friends and donors; visitors from local, regional, national and international communities; and representatives of the media.
General Guidelines
- Colby-Sawyer College maintains a Web site with a content management system that enables members of the college community to create and maintain Web pages for departments, offices, clubs and organizations. With more than 2,500 pages on our Web site, the college's philosophy is to require that each individual department, office and organization take responsibility for the accuracy, timeliness and maintenance of its areas of the Web. The college provides technical support through Information Resources and editorial support through the College Communications Office.
For technical support, contact Ed Germar. For editorial support, contact Kimberly Slover.
Each department, office and organization with a presence on the college Web site should update its own Web pages a minimum of once each year to ensure its accuracy and timeliness. Each area should appoint a minimum of one person to undergo training through Information Resources as a Web editor and assume responsibility for updating the area's Web site information.
To schedule a one-hour training session to become a Web editor, please contact Information Resources at 526-3800 or techhelp@colby-sawyer.edu. Additionally, IR and Communications host Web Update Days several times each semester to assist Web editors in updating their sites and addressing editorial or technical issues. Contact Information Resources for more information.
An online resource has been created for Web editors on the CSC Web site. The Web section, contains documentation about the site's content management system (Pivot), its features and how to use them.
- Campus departments, offices or organizations are required to consult with Information Resources before entering into contractual agreements with outside vendors for technology hardware, software or Web services. These may include online directory or database services, packaged software products or any other product or service with a potential impact on the college's information systems or Web site.
Information Resources reserves the right to review the vendor's products or services and assess their utility, interoperability and affordability in relation to their potential impact on the college's information technology systems or network. For more information, contact IR Director Bill Bitzer or Dave Blaisdell.
- The design and content of our Web site help to constitute Colby-Sawyer's identity and image. College Web pages should undergo the same careful preparation and editorial scrutiny invested in other college publications.
Web content should be grammatically correct and free of spelling errors and style inconsistencies. The college provides editorial style guidelines in the Colby-Sawyer College Style Guide and recommends that writers and editors follow The Associated Press Stylebook, in writing and editing online materials.
These manuals offer guidelines for formatting, punctuation, usage and other elements that go into creating professional-looking documents. Please apply these guidelines to ensure that your pages meet college standards.
- Web editors are strongly encouraged to create Web pages that use the content management system's Text format, rather than designing pages with HTML (hypertext mark-up language). The Text format allows users with varying Web-editing abilities to easily maintain Web pages.
Over the years, there have been numerous upgrades to the content management system. These upgrades allow Web editors to carry out many functions – such as different font sizes, bulleted lists, bold typeface – by using the Text format.
All faculty, staff and students are asked to abide by Colby-Sawyer's Computer Network Usage Policy when using the computer network. Appropriate use of campus resources is also outlined in the Student Handbook.
Colby-Sawyer's Web pages must conform to U.S. copyright and libel laws. Web authors must employ reasonable judgment consistent with Colby-Sawyer College community standards when designing and publishing their pages. Administrative staff and faculty departments, as well as official college student organizations such as clubs, are responsible for preparing and maintaining their Web pages, as well as for providing accurate, current, useful and reader-friendly information. Each Web page must be titled by the Web editor who created it. Additionally, an owner - the person charged with editing and maintaining the page -- should be assigned to each page.
Departments/offices/organizations should include telephone numbers and/or e-mail addresses on their Web pages to make it easier for visitors to contact the authors or request information. The college's Webmasters have an e-mail address through which visitors can obtain general information.
Keep in mind that the Web is a highly public medium. If your information is sensitive or is unsuitable for some Web users, consider alternate transmittal methods, (such as a link to a secured site).
Specific student data are confidential in compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974, as amended, and should not be placed on the Web. Personal information about faculty and staff members is also confidential (i.e., home addresses, home phone numbers, age, etc.), and should be treated accordingly.
Photos of minors require written permission or a completed Colby-Sawyer release form signed by a parent/guardian. Use good judgment in mounting photos on the Web. When in doubt about whether to use a photo, contact Kimberly Slover.
Keep Web documents as concise as possible. Long paragraphs of text are tedious to read online.
The college Web site offers several different basic templates to use in creating Web pages. Use the appropriate template for your department or program. Please consult Ed Germar at x3798, if you have questions about templates.
Web pages should link to files rather than re-create data already available online, particularly if produced by another department. This applies, for example, to course descriptions, faculty listings, schedules, etc. Avoid including text of campus-specific information (i.e., tuition and fees, etc.) that is the responsibility of other areas of the college.
Graphic images or photographs placed on the Web should be adjusted to a low resolution (72 dpi), which suffices for Web usage. Crop photos to include only the portion you need and readjust the size of graphics to complement your text rather than being the main focus of a page. This not only produces a better site but also reduces download time. Avoid using poor-quality photos (i.e., those with “red eyes,” that are dark or overexposed, or those with poor contrast). Click here to review Guidelines for Posting Photographs on the Web.
The Colby-Sawyer Web site should not be used to advertise or sell any non-college products or services. In general, Web pages should avoid linking to external Web sites with commercial advertisements.
Web users should avoid any action that interferes with efficient operation of the network system or impedes flow of information necessary for academic or administrative operations. Information Resources and network managers reserve the right to disable pages that attract sufficient network notoriety as to interfere with system performance.
Colby-Sawyer Web Contacts
Technical Webmaster
For: Web Site Technical Assistance
Edward Germar, Communications Technologist, Caretakers Cottage, x3728, egermar@colby-sawyer.edu.
Strategic Webmaster
For: Macro Web development issues
Mike Yacavone, Xeniumgroup, myacavone@xeniumgroup.com.
Communications Director
For: Administrative Web oversight
Kimberly Swick Slover, Caretakers Cottage, x3647, kslover@colby-sawyer.edu.
