Standard: Breadcrumbs
Brief description
(see the full document below for details)
Breadcrumbs indicate where a page sits within EPA's Web site. They link to the EPA home page and to levels above the current page.
Note: This is a "legacy" standard, written before the Web Council was created. It has been in force since the effective date. Since the creation of the Web Council, it has been rewritten to follow the normal layout for standards. "Date approved" refers to when the Web Council approved this rewritten version.
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Definitions
Breadcrumbs are the links immediately below the search box line that indicate where a page sits within EPA's Web site..
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Content requirements
- The breadcrumbs for each page begin with a link to the
EPA home page and ends with the page's name (or a short form of the
page's name):
EPA Home > (overarching areas if appropriate) > Area Name > Part
Name > (part divisions if appropriate) > page name
- In some cases, there will be large, overarching areas between the
EPA home page and the relevant area; local webmasters determine what
to include in the breadcrumbs. Similarly, if a part of an area is split into smaller
divisions, they should appear as well.
- Each level of the breadcrumbs, other than the last, links to
the home page or equivalent for that level of the hierarchy. The text
used for each level of the breadcrumbs must match or closely correspond
to the <title> tag and the page name for those pages. However,
since breadcrumbs are intended to be short, abbreviations or alternate
forms will often be appropriate.
- The last breadcrumb indicates the current page and is not a link.
It must match or closely correspond to the <title> tag and page
name for the current page.
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Style requirements
- Breadcrumbs appear in a location and style determined by the master
template. Do not change the style or location.
- If long enough, breadcrumbs will wrap to more than one line, but there
is no special coding required or appropriate to make this happen.
- Capitalize only the first letter of major words; do not use all capital letters.
- Breadcrumbs are separated by standard characters; see the "How To" section for details. Do not change the separators.
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How to
- For template 2.1.1., insert one space between each entry and surrounding ">" characters.
- For template 3, the template provides the opening text and separators within the <div> with the id "header.". Simply put each item in its own list element within the <ul> designated for breadcrumbs. The first breadrcrumb "EPA Home" has its own style to prevent the separator character from appearing before it.
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Examples
- Template 2.1.1: text 1 > text 2.
- Template 3:
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Rationale
Breadcrumbs provide context about where a page lies within the EPA
site, helping readers understand the site's structure. Links upward
help people find related information.
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Exemptions
None.
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See Also
Breadcrumb instructions for template 3
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Related governance documents
EPA
Related Policies
Related Procedures
Related Standards
Related Guidance
Non-EPA
None
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Full Metadata about this standard
Name Breadcrumbs
Tracking number NT00000000
Type Standard
Required or Recommended Required
Effective date 03/22/2002
Date approved 03/13/2006
Category Links and Navigation, Page Elements
Web Council review by 10/18/2008 (or earlier if deemed necessary by the Web Council)
Governing Policy Web Governance and Management (PDF) (4 pp, 339K, About PDF)
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