Committee Members:
Julie Bergman, Office of Public Affairss
Tim Darby, College of Arts & Letters
Linda Esposito, Undergraduate Admissions
Terri Hayes, Distance Learning
Sandra Kowalski, University Marketing
Larry Reynolds, Counseling and Testing
Ricky Roberts, ITS - Client Computing (Acting Chair)
Jay Thompson, Forestry
Recommended NAU Web Page Guidelines
These living guidelines have been written to provide NAU web page authors with:
A) Recommended "best" practices for web page design.
B) Available resources to assist in web page development tasks.
Note: An "NAU Web Page Author" is any person authoring web pages that wil be served from within the nau.edu name space.
Philosophy
NAU Web developers should consult two working documents as they build official home pages: the NAU Web Policy and these guidelines. These guidelines will be updated frequently. Developers ought to return to this page often to look for new suggestions.
Developers and reviewers should be concerned with the technical, legal, and visual aspects of web pages.
Recommended Best Practices:
General Guidelines
- Read and adhere to the NAU Web Policy -http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/policy.asp
- Follow a simple and consistent design.
- Review web pages frequently to check for outdated information and information that could be updated or revised.
- Do not use functionality simply because it exists.
- Consider using the University Content Management System (CMS) to build and maintain your department web pages.
Specific Guidelines
- Use only one NAU logo on any page.
- Every web page should have a short, descriptive title.
- Every folder should contain a default content page. Contact your web server administrator for appropriate default web page names.
- When using images on a page consider using the standard formats: JPGs, GIFs, or PNGs.
- Web pages should start to show content within a few seconds (keeping in mind that many users access the web via NAU Dialup).
- Label links that download a separate file (e.g. PDF, RTF, DOC, XLS) with file format and file size
- For commonly printed web pages, offer a printer friendly version.
- Usehttp://nau.edu/directory when referencing to the "NAU Directory" or "Directory".
- Test your pages on both PC and the Macintosh popular browsers, including NAU supported browsers.
- Generally, use external CSS files, rather than internal or inline styles.
- Use CSS for page layout and appearance rather than HTML.
- Use HTML tables to display tabular data.
- Use semantically correct HTML.
- Notify user when linking to non-"nau.edu" web pages (e.g. text with link, prompt upon leaving, launching new browser window, etc.).
- Pop-up windows are not recommended.
- Optimize web page design for screen resolution no larger than 1024X768.
Security Guidelines
NAU web developers should always keep foremost in mind the importance of security considerations when implementing and administering their web sites. In addition to adhering to the web policy and following these guidelines, utilize the resources listed here, ITS department expertise, and fellow IT professionals to insure that your department, NAU, or any of our students, faculty and staff do not suffer from inadvertent exposure of sensitive information. In the unfortunate event of a compromise, the result of negligence in this area can have serious legal ramifications.
- Whenever possible, use CAS for authenticating and authorizing NAU-known users/entities.
- Credentials created or stored by third-party applications should not use NAU usernames/passwords.
- Applications that require authentication should not display password as user enters it.
- Verify third-party code (e.g. java script) before using it.
- Limit access to web page only to the intended audience.
- For more information regarding security considerations on the NAU campus, see http://www5.nau.edu/its/security.
Available Resources:
General
Accessibility
- Accessify - http://www.accessify.com - Dedicated to furthering the cause of web accessibility by offering free tools, wizards, articles, and tutorials.
- JAWS Screen Reader - http://www.freedomscientific.com/fs_products/JAWS_HQ.asp - Powerful accessibility solution that reads information on your screen using synthesized speech.
- Section 508 - http://www.section508.gov/ - Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.
- WebAim section 508 validator - http://wave.webaim.org
- Quick Tips to Make Accessible Web Sites - http://www.w3.org/WAI/quicktips/Overview.php
- CSS Validator - http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
Design
- A List apart - http://www.alistapart.com - Explores the design, development, and meaning of web content, with a special focus on web standards and best practices.
- CSS Zen Garden - http://www.csszengarden.com - Demonstration of what can be accomplished visually through CSS-based design.
- CSS Vault - http://cssvault.com/ - Gallery and resources for using CSS for layout.
- Web Designer Wall - http://www.webdesignerwall.com/ - Web design ideas, trends, and tutorials.
- HTML Goodies - http://www.htmlgoodies.com - Thorough resource on HTML.
Standards
- Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) - http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT/
- Web Robots Pages - http://www.robotstxt.org - Learn more about how to utilize robot meta tags and files for allowing or disallowing search engines to include your web pages.
NAU-Specific
The following is a list of valuable information on web-related topics for NAU developers.
- CAS/NAUAuthZ - http://www4.nau.edu/its/sia/CAS_NAUauthZ/ - Login authentication and authorization services.
- Developer Tools - http://www4.nau.edu/its/mensa/services/Web/components/ - Licensed components for ASP and ASP.NET developers.
- EBusiness - http://www4.nau.edu/its/sia/ebiz/ - Online payment processing service.
- FERPA Tutorial - http://nau.edu/ferpa - Tutorial on student rights regarding their personal education records. Must be completed before gaining access to student information.
- Google Search - http://google.nau.edu - Adding search capabilities to web sites.
Documentation - http://code.google.com/enterprise/documentation/xml_reference.html - LDAP - http://www4.nau.edu/its/sia/metadir/ - Central repository for real-time, meta-directory services.
- MyNAU - http://my.nau.edu - Centralized portal for which developers may wish to design department-specific channels/content.Sharepoint - http://www4.nau.edu/its/mensa/spindex/ - Provides online document and information sharing.
- Streaming Media Services - http://www4.nau.edu/its/mensa/services/streaming/ - Hosting services for Windows Media and Flash.
- Technology Training - http://nau.edu/training - Instructor-led and self-paced training and tutorials that is free to NAU employees. (A web developer’s certificate is available to those who complete a designated series of NAU training courses).
University Identity
- Resources - http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/downloads.asp - Approved logos, templates, css files and standards for departments and colleges to use in their promotional materials and websites.
- Web Style Guide - http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/downloads/NAU_StyleGuide301.pdf - Guidelines to follow when creating web pages to adhere to the University Identity.
- Photo Gallery - http://nau.edu/photos - Royalty-free images for departments and colleges to use in their promotional materials and websites.
Content Management System (CMS) - http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/cms.asp - Tool for non-technical employees to manage web site content while adhering to the University Identity.
University Supported Browsers - >https://www4.nau.edu/its/pcsupport/policy/software.aspx
URL Redirects - To create easy to remember and publishable URLs, contact the Solution Center at 928/523-1511 or submit a request at http://www.nau.edu/its/sosgateway/
Web Stats - http://webstats.ucc.nau.edu - Web analysis reporting service.
Contact comments@nau.edu with any questions, comments, or suggestions.
Revised: December 12, 2007.
http://www4.nau.edu/marketing/policy_guidelines.asp