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Background
NSM Web Statistics
University of
Houston Standards
NSM Web
Recommendations
Recommendations
and Guidelines for Web Accessibility
References
Background
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
has a long-range advancement plan targeting the
local and global community. We are actively recruiting
well-qualified undergraduates in Texas and in targeted
locations within the U.S. Departments continue to
recruit graduate students from the U.S. and elsewhere.
Web technology is essential, and presenting ourselves
in the most positive and consistent fashion on the
web is important. UH is in the midst of a $31 million
fund-raising campaign for the new science and engineering
building. Visitors to our websites will include
potential donors as a result of this campaign and
other initiatives of the College and its Departments.
The Office of College Advancement and the College
IT team have developed website guidelines and recommendations
that we hope all NSM units will adopt as quickly
as possible. This document laysout current recommendations
and guidelines, and provides helpful resources and
will be revised periodically. Input to these guidelines
is encouraged and invited. Please send comments
to support@nsm.uh.edu.
University
of Houston Standards
The College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
has revised its website to comply with the UH web
and graphic standards. Now, all subunits of the
College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (departments,
institutes, centers, research groups, and individuals)
are asked to make every effort to comply with the
University of Houston’s online graphic and
publications standards. These are reprinted below
and may be found at the following url: http://www.uh.edu/ia/GSM/GSM-Online_Standards.html.
Go to http://uh.edu/templates/ for a complete directory of links to resources and
information about preparing webpages at UH.
UH
Web Standards
“The Internet is a powerful, global communications
forum. Almost any kind of information can be accessed
immediately from virtually anywhere in the world.
As the University of Houston's online presence has
grown, it has become increasingly important to establish
guidelines for extending our visual identity to
include online publishing.
We believe adherence to UH's graphic standards is
even more critical in online documents than in printed
documents. Printed pieces across campus can generally
stand alone, and visual differences between them
are less apparent. However, all of UH's online information
is essentially grouped into one place, readily available
for immediate access. Here visual differences between
pages can be shockingly apparent.
Therefore, when creating web pages, we ask that
you not only follow the graphic standards, but also
that you pay attention to what others on campus
are doing. This way we can achieve a universal online
image for the University of Houston.
WORLD WIDE WEB PAGES
When designing a page for the World Wide Web, all
the rules regarding the logo, logotype, signature
configurations and color, typography, editorial
style and statements apply. Many computers on campus
are not licensed for official logotype fonts. We
have prepared several images for use in the event
you do not have these fonts. Other images, including
the interlocking UH logo and the cougar paw are
also available.
Above all things, consider your audience, and remember
that you represent the University of Houston. The
Office of Publications and Marketing Communications
at 743-8170 is available to consult on web design
issues.
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SPECIAL CONSIDERATIONS
Content Security
Bear in mind that visitors to your site can easily
copy text, graphics, photos and virtually any other
element
that you include in your page and use it for themselves.
Therefore, exercise caution in including copyrighted,
trademarked or proprietary information or images.
Backgrounds
Some web designers prefer to use background colors
and textures instead of the default background.
When using backgrounds, consider your audience.
Some web browsers will not support backgrounds to
your specifications if they support them at all.
NOTE: Prior to publishing student financial and
billing information, contact the Office of Finance
and Accounting, 743-5880, to ensure that the information
is accurate and updated. The Division of Information
Technology (IT) is currently drafting related policies
governing World Wide Web access. IT and the Office
of Publications and Marketing Communications work
together to ensure an online image pursuant to this
manual and consistent with the mission of the university.”
(End of quote)
NSM
Web Recommendations
Most of the following College of NSM web
recommendations are based on the UH policy and pertain
to issues College of NSM-based webpage developers
may expect to encounter in the course of their design
work. Topics not specifically addressed by the UH
policy but that require standardization or special
consideration are also discussed.
Links
Please be sure all links are active. Broken links
suggest neglect.
Page
backgrounds
When designing pages, consider accessibility and
readability when selecting colors for backgrounds
and fonts. For example, red type on a black background
provides insufficient contrast for comfortable reading.
White is strongly recommended for page backgrounds
that require extensive reading.
Logo
use guidelines
Current UH and College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
logos should be used on webpages. Official logo
files may be accessed at: nsmit.nsm.uh.edu. Additional
UH logos may be found at http://uh.edu/infotech/www/templates/graphics.html and http://uh.edu/images/cougar-4-1.jpg.
- For UH logos not on the site,
contact NSM-IT at nsmit@uh.edu and we will try to obtain the desired logo for
you.
- The old “shield” logo
used for the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics
until 2001 should not be used; it has been replaced.
- The UH System seal should not
be used on College of NSM webpages; it is for
use by UH System entities only (for example, the
Board of Regents pages and the UH Chancellor’s
pages).
Terminology
conventions
To be consistent, please use the preferred:
- UH, instead
of U of H
- NSM, instead
of NS&M
Web
address conventions
The University of Houston
prefers that urls begin with uh.edu for university
units. This is logical to those outside the university
who may be searching the web for information. Many
departments, as well as the College, house their
websites on their own servers instead of the UH
server, necessitating that the name of the subunit
precede uh.edu in the url. The College of NSM has
addressed this by using uh.edu/nsm as its official
web address, with an immediate rollover to nsm.uh.edu.
Department
website headers, colors, organization, and essential
elements
Include UH-NSM headers and
footers (available at http://nsmit.nsm.uh.edu) on
all webpages maintained by any unit of the University
of Houston. It is important that visitors to any
page on a department site know that it is a unit
of the University of Houston and a department of
the College of NSM. Using the header accomplishes
that and facilitates navigation. Using the UH footer
puts the department in compliance with State of
Texas regulations for state-sponsored websites.
Official University
of Houston colors are Cougar Red, Cougar Tan, White,
and Black. Using these colors is
highly desirable to promote a unified appearance.
- Black (Hex: #000000) (RGB: R: 0
G: 0 B: 0)
- Cougar Red (Hex: #CC0000) (RGB:
R: 204 G: 0 B: 0)
- Cougar Tan (Hex: #CC9966) (RGB:
R: 204 G: 153 B: 102)
| White
(Hex: #FFFFFF) (RGB: R: 255 G: 255 B:
255) |
- Include a text-only option. This
is to comply with accessibility guidelines.
- Incorporate a link to the College
homepage. If you use the UH-NSM header, you will
have all required links.
- At a minimum, departments should
include the following elements in planning websites:
- Description of undergraduate degrees/programs;
- Description of graduate degrees/programs;
- Page for departmental advising,
including relevant phone numbers, addresses, and
hours of operation;
- Faculty research section;
- Faculty webpages that are up-to-date;
- Location of the main departmental
office and services.
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Recommendations
and Guidelines for Web Accessibility
The State of Texas requires its institutions with
websites to provide equal access to information.
Web access may be limited by line speed, computer
equipment, browser choice or disabilities. The requirements
also include having a text-only option.
How
do we provide accessibility?
The short answer is that all graphics and
non-text based information should have a textual
equivalent.
- The use of "alt" and
"longdesc" within image tags.
- Text links for image maps. Client-side
maps are ok.
- Information indicated by color
should be available without.
- Audio and video should have text
descriptions.
- Graphical symbols should be described.
- Use of <noframes>, <noscript>
and <object> tags.
Images
These are perhaps the easiest to deal with. For
example:
<img
src="uhholder.gif" alt="UH Homepage">
If more information
needs to be conveyed, use "longdesc" and
make an html document with the description:
<img
src="lee.jpg" alt="Dr. Lee"
longdesc="Lee.html">
Other
HTML Features
Providing text for other web page features is more
difficult.
The <noscript> and <noframes> tags can
be used to point to another accessible page or show
information, but require extra effort to make since
it may require a new page. The <object> tag
is a solution for a wide variety of applets and
other multimedia. It takes the form of:
<object data="sr-1.jpg"
type="image/jpg"> This is a picture
of the SR-1 building. </ object >
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Tips
to improve accessibility
- The more simple a page design,
the more likely it will be close to meeting accessibility
standards.
- Name images something meaningful.
Use "alt" for short descriptions if
this is not possible.
- Avoid frames, scripts and applets.
These are great for graphics, but problematic
for providing alternative access.
- Consider accessibility while making
your overall design. It is much easier to incorporate
than fix after the fact.
- View your pages using multiple
browser types and platforms, including Lynx* or
other text-only browsers.
REFERENCES
Web Accessibility
University of Houston web accessibility: http://www.uh.edu/ada/
Good examples:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/wcag-curric/sam1-0.htm
More in-depth information:
http://www.w3.org/WAI/wcag-curric/overint.htm
Object tags:
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/objects.html
Webpage Resources
and Guidelines
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