Tips for Web Pages

The purpose of this tip sheet is to provide clear and consistent instructions for the development and updating of IS web pages. Keep in mind that any new publications, projects, logos, or other new content will need to be forwarded through your IS Executive Committee liaison for approval.The IS Publication Policies and Procedures Manual outlines general guidelines for Type 1 documents, including web pages.

Table of Contents:

• General Tips
• Modifying Web Pages
• Creating New Web Pages for a Project or Publication
• Creating a Committee Web Page
• Guidelines and Requirements

General Tips    

• DO NOT use Microsoft Word, as the ALA Content Management System (CMS) has difficulty reading Word-generated code.
  • The IS web site administrators will return Word-generated web pages and request a non-Word generated file be sent.
• If you are creating a site which requires folders and subdirectories, please contact the IS web site administrator(s), who will help you develop the directory structure.
• Make your changes using a plain text editor like Notepad (not Wordpad) or an HTML editor.
• Examine the pages using the most recent versions of IE and Firefox and if possible, at least one other standards-compliant browser, such as Opera or Safari.
• Send new web pages and major changes through your IS Executive Committee liaison for approval.
• Email any HTML code to the IS Web site Administrators as a .txt (preferred) or .html file.
• Once published web pages will be .cfm files
• Files that need to be in pdf format should be converted prior to sending to the web administrators.
• For links that need to be created on multiple pages, provide the filename and the specific wording that should be the hyperlink.

Modifying Web Pages    

1. Minor updates:
   • Minor changes are considered to be changes such as adding/deleting a link, correcting typos, or adding/deleting a sentence or two (even a paragraph).
   • E-mail the IS web site administrators specifying the page URL and the changes needed.
   • You do not need to send a .txt or .html file
2. Major changes
   • Major changes are considered to be changes that require significant modifications such as a complete revision of one or more pages.
   • If your committee does not already have the HTML code, the file's code can be copied directly from the IS web site
     • You may copy from the Source View or do a Save Page As... html only
     • Copy and modify the code that is between <div id="mainColumn" class="clearfix"> and </div> <!-- /mainContent -->
     • DO NOT make changes in MS Word
   • Major changes should be sent through your committee liaison to the Executive Committee for approval.
   • E-mail the approved, updated code as a .txt or .html file to the IS web site administrators
     • DO NOT send a Word document
   • When a web page is no longer needed, please inform the web administrators which page should be deleted.
     • Committee chairs are responsible for archiving web pages related to that committee's work; for more information consult the Archiving web site.

Creating New Web Pages for a Project or Publication    

1. Create the main content of the page(s) using a plain text editor like Notepad (not Wordpad) or an HTML editor.
2. Instruction Section Logo
   • Web Site Administrators will insert the logo via the CMS
   • The logo will be placed at the top of the page and aligned to the left.
3. You may include a project logo approved by the IS Executive Committee.
4. The introductory text on the page should identify the Instruction Section and the specific committee(s) responsible for the page.
5. Send accompanying images to the web site administrator(s) for uploading.
6. Publications and projects will reside in the Publications & Projects directory of the IS web site with links from the authoring committee's page and other appropriate IS web pages.
7. The published page will be named according to the filenaming protocol established by the IS Executive Committee. The web administrators will rename this page if needed. 

Creating a Committee Web Page    

1. Create the main content of the page using a plain text editor like Notepad (not Wordpad) or an HTML editor.
2. Instruction Section Logo
   • Web Site Administrators will insert the logo via the CMS
   • The logo will be placed at the top of the page and aligned to the left.
3. The published committee home page will be named according to the filenaming protocol established by the IS Executive Committee. The web administrators will rename this page if needed.
4. Other Headings, Sections, and Links
   • Most committee home pages include the following sections:
     Charge, Annual Planning, Meetings, Committee Minutes, Roster, and Projects/Publications.
   • For committee minutes, please include the sentence: "View minutes from committee meetings, by choosing a conference date and then the committee name." Make "minutes from committee meetings" a link to: /acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/is/iswebsite/committees/minutes
   • For annual planning documents, please include the sentence: "View planning documents such as annual goals, measuring success reports, or annual reports by selecting the appropriate report from the Planning Documents Archive page." make "Planning Documents Archive" a link to: /acrl/aboutacrl/directoryofleadership/sections/is/iswebsite/about/planning/archive
   • Rosters are generated by ACRL and member names are pulled from the ALA membership database. Roster URLs can be obtained from the ACRL Section Committee Rosters web page.

Guidelines and Standards    

To ensure consistent display and access to content, the IS Web Site Administrators reserve the right to modify the HTML code of submitted files. Content will not be modified without approval from the appropriate committee chair(s) and Executive Committee liaison.Web administrators will ensure that html code and filenames follow ALA/ACRL standards & guidelines.

1. IS logo
   All web pages will have the IS logo at the top of the page.
2. Left Hand Navigation
   This is generated via the ACRL template. Addition of a menu item needs to approved by the IS Executive Committee.
3. Filenames
   • Published pages
     • All web pages will have .cfm file extensions
     • Homepages will be named "index.cfm"
     • Secondary pages will be named "[filename].cfm"
   • Naming conventions will...
     • Follow the filenaming protocol established by the IS Executive Committee
     • Adhere to the "stop word list" generated by the ALA Web Group
     • Use only lowercase letters
     • Be limited to 30 characters for .cfm files and 20 characters for all other files (like pdfs)
     • Not use special characters other than an underline or a dash
4. Images
   • Send accompanying images for a web page to the Web Site Administrator(s) who will upload to the CMS
   • Add ALT attributes (text describing an image for ADA compliance) for all images to the appropriate HTML code
5. XHTML Tags
   • In general, pages should use only basic tags and elements such as P, TABLE, List (UL; OL), and ALIGN elements
   • All paragraphs must be enclosed within paragraph <P> </P> tags
   • Use heading level (H1 thru H6) tags for section headings only
   • SPAN and STYLE elements or attributes are typically not necessary
   • Do not use heading level tags to control the size of text within a paragraph instead use <FONT SIZE=" "> tags
6. Metatags
   • IS Web Site Administrators will add metatags using the following protocol
     • Page title: IS | [page title]
     • Page keywords: ACRL, IS, [other keywords as appropriate and recommended by the committee or Executive Committee]
     • Page description: includes a reference to the Instruction Section & ACRL; reflects substance of the page (recommendations from the submitting committee are encouraged); is limited to 255 characters.
7. Approval
   Each committee's IS Executive Committee liaison approves new pages and forwards them on to Executive for final review and approval.