| The following standards should be met when creating new web
sites, redesigning old web sites, and for updates of current pages when practical. Points listed under “some
practical considerations” are examples only and are not a definitive list. Links to resources and
the references at the bottom of this page provide information supporting these standards.
I. Accessibility Standards
Web sites and individual site pages must conform to accessibility standards outlined in Appendix C of the
Bellingham Schools Technology Plan (pg 103-104). These standards are based on Section
508 and the World Wide Web Consortium Web Accessibility
Initiative.
Some practical considerations:
- Use the “alt” tag appropriately.
- Font size should be adjustable by the
user.
- When stripped of all formatting, web
pages should read easily.
- Web sites and pages should be accessible
using “screen
reader” software.
- Navigation must function independent
of graphics.
- Frames should not be used.
II. Markup Standards
BSD web sites will use current web technologies as specified by the World Wide
Web Consortium, the standards-making body for the World Wide Web. These include:
A. (X)HTML
Either HTML 4.01 (Strict or Transitional) or XHTML 1.0 Transitional should be used for markup. Earlier versions
of HTML have been superceded by these current markup standards.
Some practical considerations:
- All pages will include the appropriate
DOCTYPE declaration.
- All pages must pass the W3C’s
Markup Validation Service, http://validator.w3.org. (The DOCTYPE declaration is necessary to use this service.)
- Pages should be properly structured
using H1-H6, P, and other tags. Page headings and subheadings should use a logical hierarchy. Lists should
use appropriate attributes for the data (order, unordered, etc.).
- Deprecated tags should not be used,
e.g. <font>, <b>, <i>, etc.
B. Cascading Style Sheets
BSD web pages should separate content from presentation and structure with the use of Cascading Style Sheets
(CSS). CSS2 is the current standard.
Some practical considerations:
- All pages must pass the W3C’s
CSS validation service, http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/.
- Page layout should avoid the use of
tables for positioning; use CSS positioning methods instead. Tables should be used only for presenting
data that is appropriate to a table format.
- It is preferred that pages use a “liquid
format” which allows them to resize to the user’s screen resolution instead of being of fixed
size.
- For school sites and other sub-site
collections of significant size, an external style sheet be used.
III. Site and page Appearance
The following guidelines are not comprehensive. Exceptions to these guidelins are occasionally (but
rarely) warrented:
- File
type: Content should be presented in HTML format. Portable Document Format (PDF) is an alternative when
HTML is not practical. Proprietary formats, such as PowerPoint, Word, Excel, etc. are to be avoided
whenever possible. Word documents converted to HTML are strongly discouraged for technical reasons.
- Simplicity and consistency: Design elements
are parsimonious, unified and predictable. There is consistency of layout, color, text, image use and
other elements throughout the site.
- Display size: It
is preferred that pages use a “liquid format” which allows for resizing to the user’s
screen resolution rather than the page being of fixed size. If pages are of a fixed size, the pages should
be designed for a 800 x 600 format that does not result in a horizontal scroll bar.
- Color and contrast: Strong contrast between foreground
text and background color provides for easy readability. Patterned and picture backgrounds should not be
used.
- Menus: Menus describe the content with as few words
as possible. Menu content and placement are consistent throughout the site.
- Scrolling: Key items such as titles and menus
appear above the vertical scrollbar at 800 x 600 display resolution. The viewer can navigate through the
site without scrolling vertically or horizontally. Pages with
long text passages shuld use a “contents
of this page” menu at the top of the content area with links to content subheadings.
- User control: Automatic pop-up windows and refreshes
to linked pages are avoided. Sound and video include controllers and do not play automatically when a page
opens.
- Images: Images use the appropriate file format:
gif for graphic art, jpg for continuous tone images and photographs. All images display at their natural
size and are not resized using image properties. Images add value to the page content and are not distracting
or irrelevant. Animated gifs are generally avoided.
IV. Naming Conventions
- The home page and the primary page
within each directory should be named “index.htm”
- The page title appears in the blue "title
bar" of the browser window and is separate from a title appearing in the browser window. Every page must display an accurate
page title.
- Do not use spaces in directory or
file names.
V. Authoring and Publishing Software
BSD recommended applications for web design and maintenance:
- Dreamweaver MX2004 for web site authoring and template design.
- Macromedia Contribute 2 or 3 for content
maintenance.
- Web pages should be based on Dreamweaver
templates to ease maintenance and to reduce the time required for site modifications and redesigns.
VI. References & Resources:
The
resources listed below are starting points, there are many other excellent print and online resources
available.
Web Standards
Accessibility and Usability
Cascading Style Sheets
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