The University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) Web site is a major vehicle for presenting our campus to the world. It is part marketing tool, part information source, and it is accessible to anyone in the world, anytime, anyplace. As such, official University Web sites should present professional, consistently-designed content that is easily navigable.
Following the guidelines presented here will
- build a strong, unified image for the University.
- ensure that the content found on University Web sites is relevant and appropriate.
- make the user experience positive.
- help campus Web sites communicate more effectively with their audiences.
Web Policy
The Web Policy applies to all UMKC Web sites/pages and includes legal and security policies. Read this policy before proceeding.
Requirements
The following elements are required on all official UMKC Web sites/pages. Choose a topic below to read more about the requirement.
-
Branding
In order to clearly brand the university to all audiences, the header and footer must appear on all official UMKC Web sites/pages and cannot be modified.
-
Contact information
All official UMKC Web sites/pages must have easily accessible contact information.
-
Images
Alt, height and width attributes must be defined for every image to increase the speed of page loading and provide necessary information for screen readers and text browsers.
-
Meta tags*
Including keyword and description tags on every page will help to improve search functionality on the entire UMKC Web site.
-
Page title
Creating page titles that are representative and relevant to the content will help improve the overall UMKC search results.
-
Server requirements
UMKC Central Systems has developed a list of requirements for all university servers to assist Web developers in creating applications and content for use on the Web site.
*If these tags are not put in place, the UMKC Web Advisory Group will create these tags for free.
Recommendations
If you are building a new Web site or wanting to improve your existing site, the following items are strongly recommended. Choose a recommendation below to learn more about it.
-
Audio and Video
Audio and video guidelines
-
Compatibility
Validation, cross-browser testing and accessibility
-
Content
Writing for the Web
-
CSS
Advantages of Cascading Style Sheets, commenting, example style sheets
-
Layout
Target resolution, color palette
-
Navigation
Consistency, breadcrumbs, dropdown menus
Search Engine Optimization
File naming, sitemaps, submission
-
Security
CAPTCHA, databases, applications
-
Social media
Facebook, Myspace
-
Updates
Frequency of updates, revisions