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IV. Best Practices
To assist in your Web development the CSU Web Team has included a section listing
some of the current best practices used on the Web. Best practices are widely-accepted
techniques, processes and methods that have been shown to be among the most
effective and/or efficient ways of producing the optimum results. These best practices
are strongly recommended.

Incomplete Sites
Do not link to or publish incomplete or “under construction” sites.

Consider Your Audience
Consider your target audience when developing your site’s pages. If your site is mainly
accessed by students, it needs to be youthful, vibrant and engaging. If your site is for a
more distinguished audience such as faculty or for outside business persons, the site
should be more formal and detailed. Use terminology with which your audience is
familiar.

Web Pages
Create pages in FrontPage or other HTML editors such Dreamweaver. Do not create
pages in Microsoft Word or other MS Office products.

Home pages must be named default.asp. Total home page size must not exceed 40K.
Put the most important information in the top half of your pages.

Secondary page download times must not exceed 30 seconds on a 56k connection.

Avoid using frames as they can be problematic for users, especially those trying to
bookmark or print a page.

Graphics
Avoid using large graphics. Keep individual graphic file sizes between 1kb and 20kb in
order to keep page load time low. Avoid animations, scrolling text and repetitive
graphics

GIF (.gif) is the best file format for text and line graphics.

JPEG (.jpg) is the best file format for photographs and image-only graphics.

Provide descriptive text in image alt tags.
Example: <img src=“image.jpg” alt=“description of image,
woman in front of tree”>
Resize graphics using graphics software such as Fireworks or Photoshop. Do not resize
graphics using FrontPage, Microsoft Word or in HTML code.

Browsers
Avoid using browser-specific design and code.

Design your Web pages for viewing at 800 x 600 resolution without horizontal
scrolling.

Design your Web pages for Internet Explorer, Netscape, and AOL versions 4.0 and
higher. Optional browser testing includes Mozilla, Safari, Opera, Firefox, and
Konqueror.

Content

Text
The new CSU image intends to show a campus that takes students out of the classroom
and gives them real world experience. When talking about your college, department or
office, highlight activities that show/describe students outside of the normal classroom
when possible.

Internet users today spend very little time reading the content of Web pages. To convey
information on your site it is best to present text that is:

• Short

• Active/Engaging

• In list format when applicable.

Example – Not Good for the Web:
The Department of Better Understanding offers a comprehensive, uniquely
tailored and nationally recognized curriculum to dozens of students at Columbus
State University who are able to meet the rigid requirements that are standards for
our department. We can prepare students to enter a wide variety of careers in the
professional world including high-ranking corporate executives, Chief Executive
Officers and many other careers for which our curriculum is explicitly suited. A
minimum of 35 credits hours at the undergraduate level are required before an
application for admission can be submitted to the department for consideration by
the faculty. Courses in the department include DBU 3001, DBU 3002, DBU 3200,
DBU 3300, DBU 3433, DBU 3436, DBU 3500 (DBU 3436 is a prerequisite)….

Example – Better for the Web:
The Department of Better Understanding can help you reach the business world.
Graduates go on to become CEOs, business leaders and department heads. Our
curriculum is:

• Comprehensive

• Nationally recognized

• Tailored for each student

• Augmented by real-world experiences, including

  • Mentoring opportunities

  • Study Abroad classes

  • Lessons in local corporate boardrooms.
    Students need 35 credits at the undergraduate level for admission. See the
    university catalog online for a complete listing of classes in this department.

Text Formatting

Cascading Style Sheet
Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) to ensure format consistency across all of your
pages.

Typeface
Use Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, or sans-serif for the body text of Web pages. These
sans-serif fonts are more desirable for Web use because they are easier to read on the
computer. In CSU Web templates type styles and presentation have been preset by CSS
style sheets.

Bold, Italics, Blinking and Underline
Use bold, italics sparingly; NEVER use blinking text.
Use underlined text only to designate an active link.

Copying text from MS Word
Copying text from Microsoft Word directly into an HTML editor, such as FrontPage,
creates unique and undesirable tags. These tags make editing your Web page content
extremely difficult. There are a few extra steps you can take to correctly copy text from
Word into FrontPage.

For detailed instructions on copying from MS Word see Appendix G.

Linking

Provide active links to sites or documents mentioned in your site. Avoid links that say,
“click here.” Tell the user where they are going.

Good linking: For more information, please see our catalog.
(with “Catalog” as the link)

Bad linking: Click here for more info! (with “here” as the link)

Links to commercial sites must be approved by the CSU Webmaster.

Do not create links that open in a new browser window, unless linking to an outside
site. Small pop-up windows are acceptable when displaying relative information, such
as glossary terms or instructions.

Advertising

Advertising of non-CSU entities on CSU sites is prohibited.

Movies, Music, and Sound Effects

Do not include music or sounds on university pages unless identified as necessary. If
music or sounds are necessary on your site, provide controls for the user such as: Play,
Stop and Mute.

Movies, music, and sound must be compressed for Web delivery targeting dial-up (56k)
and/or high speed internet connections (equal to or greater than 100k). Most media
software packages, such as QuickTime and Windows Media Player, have the capability
of creating compressed files.

By default, all CSU Web sites are capable of supporting QuickTime, RealPlayer, and
Windows Media Player for most movie, music, and sound formats. Downloadable
media files are sufficient for use on most campus Web sites. Web sites that provide
time-sensitive information delivery functions, support high user traffic, or require use
of streaming media technologies may request support for alternative media types.
Alternative media types may be embedded in existing Web sites or may be placed in a
separate media site, if requested.

We support Windows Media Player for streaming movies, music, or sound. Streaming
music and videos must be approved by your department and the Web Development
Team.