Web Content Management

Name Your Page

Do not leave pages with generic names such as, “index” or “story template,” but give each page you create a clear and concise name, such as “Student Clubs and Organizations.”

Employ Headers

Visitors to your page will quickly scan to understand if their desired information is included. Headers help readers quickly digest contents and make decisions about which actions to take next. Use the <h1> tag for the first heading of the page. Subheadings should follow as needed: <h2>, <h3>, <h4>, etc. Do not link your heading text; rather, link the appropriate body copy text below the heading. Your headings should be short and to the point, with the related text immediately following.

Contextualize Links

You should link words and phrases from your content. Using phrases such as “click here” or “follow this link” confuse HGSE visitors who are scanning the page and are difficult for screen readers to understand. Title lists of links to best describe the content, such as “Other Student Resources.” If your link directs to a non-HTML file, such as a PDF or Word document, indicate that to the visitor by including (PDF) or (.doc) immediately after the link.

Generate Attention

You may want to emphasize a point, a date, or an action item for visitors. Rather than using capitalization, we recommend employing WYSIWYG styles, such as italics, bold, and call-out quotes appropriately and only as needed. Underlining should not be used, as this traditionally signals a hyperlink and will confuse visitors. A style used to generate attention should only be used once or twice on a page of content, otherwise its importance is diluted.

Use the Styles Available in the WYSIWYG

We selected styles available in WYSIWYG to match our brand and identity. Please do not use HTML/CSS to change the font, font size, font color, or text alignment. If you wish to create a table or display data, use the table or accordion styles available to you in the WYSIWYG. Do not create your own styles for data displays.

HGSE Sites are Responsive to Visitors’ Browsers and Devices

This means the text and images will adjust to different viewpoints automatically. Adding extra spaces or paragraphs to hack or force a visual layout may cause a page to look broken or corrupt for some users.

Images

Always include alt tags with your uploaded images. These alt tags should succinctly describe the image. These will help visitors using screen readers to navigate the page. Information should be displayed in HTML/CSS (in a webpage format) as often as possible. Avoid using PDFs, as they create another task layer for visitors. When PDFs are necessary, they should be produced and reviewed in official PDF software to ensure they are accessible to screen readers. Accessible PDFs have searchable text, interactive form fields, no time limits, headings to indicate reading order, and alt text for non-text artifacts.

Multimedia

Content such as video and audio should be accessible to those who cannot hear, those who cannot see, and perhaps, those who do not use English as their primary language. Videos on the website should include captions that appear in-line with the video and that are equivalent to the content in the video. Transcripts that describe what was said and what was shown are also important for those that cannot access web audio or video content. Finally, audio descriptions help those with visual disabilities understand the actions on the screen.