Web

All of the editorial standards within this section apply to web text. The following guidelines deal with specific internet references as used in text.

Accessibility

All of Illinois State University’s websites adhere to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as referenced by the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act. Those with further questions on the guidelines expressed in Section 508 can visit www.section508.gov.

Some of the most important aspects of the 508 guidelines that govern the creation of Illinois State websites are:

• Pages must include screen reader accessible tables and PDF files. Scanning a print document may render it unreadable to screen reading programs. It is preferable to make a source document accessible and either save as or print as an accessible PDF. Refer to the source document’s instructions on how to make an accessible document.
• Images and graphics (e.g., charts and diagrams) that contain important information relevant to the page must have <Alt> tags.
• Any audio and video appearing on the web must be either captioned or accompanied by a written transcript.
• Visual accessibility standards are outlined in the Graphic Standards manual available at UniversityMarketing.IllinoisState.edu/Identity.

Any questions or requests for assistance on accessibility issues should be directed to Web and Interactive Communications by emailing Accessibility@IllinoisState.edu.

HTML emails

The visual and style standards outlined at UniversityMarketing.IllinoisState.edu/Identity should also be followed for any official HTML emails produced and distributed by the University. The following should be included in an HTML email:

• A graphic header using Illinois State University branding and appropriate <Alt> text.

Issues of branding should fall to what is outlined within the Visual Web Standards manual, the University’s official visual standards document for websites.

Headings

Headings should be used on pages to provide increased readability for the site visitor.

• Every page should begin with a Heading 1 <h1> tag. The first subheading should be a Heading 2 <h2> tag and subheadings below that should use a Heading 3 <h3> tag.
• If a page needs headings below a Heading 3, it may be a sign that the page is too long and could be better served by breaking it into multiple pages.
• Headings should appear on pages in title case.

iGuide

To create a sense of unity across Illinois State websites, all Illinois State University webpages should feature the iGuide at the top of each page. Refer to the Visual Web Standards manual for additional information regarding the iGuide.

Links

Documents

Documents should be converted to an accessible PDF format before linking within the site.

In-text links

Links within the body of text should always be red and underlined.

Avoid using all caps to draw attention to a link. This will create a distinction between links and regular text.

Avoid using links such as “ Click here ” or “ Visit this webpage .” These links are also meaningless to users with screen readers. Text in links helps to determine search keywords and ranking and should be purposeful.

• Avoid: To download the University Catalog, CLICK HERE .
• Ideal: Download the University Catalog to learn more about our course offerings.

Navigation

Navigation links should be kept concise.

• Avoid: About the Office for Enrollment Management and Academic Services
• Ideal: About, About us, or About the office

Acronyms should still be avoided if possible but may be used if facing space limitations.

Navigation links should be in title case. Names of departments should be capitalized.

Terminology

• Lowercase “online” and write as one word.
• Lowercase “internet.”
• Lowercase “web” when used alone (e.g., web browser) or as part of a compound (e.g., website). An exception is World Wide Web.
• Avoid using phrases like “webpage” and “homepage.” Direct users to a specific website instead.

Titles

Page titles appear at the top of the browser window and are used to identify a given page in a bookmark. They also assist in search rankings. Ideally page titles should be formatted as shown below:

• Homepage: Name of Site/Department/Unit—Illinois State University
• Interior pages: Name of the page—Name of site/department/ unit—Illinois State University

The page title and heading 1 <h1> of a page should match. Providing a meaningful page title helps ensure that users will be able to search for the page.

Underlining

Underlining plain text on a website should be avoided. However, all in-text links should be underlined. This is controlled from a site’s CSS (Cascading Style Sheets).

Underlining is used on the web to denote something being linked. If text must be emphasized, please use bold (<strong> tags) instead.

Web writing tips

• Use simple sentence structures.
• Web text information should be presented in short “chunks” with one main point. Chunks are small, manageable units of informa- tion (one to seven pieces of relevant and related information) that fill the screen with 100 words or less in two or three paragraphs.
• Start with the conclusion first, as well as a short summary of the remaining contents, instead of leading up to the main point.
• Don’t use a promotional writing style with subjective claims (“hottest ever”). This type of writing imposes a cognitive burden on visitors who don’t want to spend their time filtering out promotional language to get to the information.
• Use meaningful headers to label short chunks of information and to convey to the visitor the main point of the information presented in the chunk. Headers that are emphasized in some way (bold, larger font, etc.) make it easier for the visitor to scan the website.
  • Bold and italic type, used sparingly, is the best format for textual emphasis on the web.
  • Emphasize only key information-carrying words and avoid highlighting entire sentences or long phrases because visitors can only pick up two or three words.
  • Avoid capitalizing entire words for emphasis because this increases reading time and puts excessive strain on the eyes.
  • Do not underline text for emphasis. Underlining should be reserved for links.
  • Emphasize minor textual points to make them stand out, and make sure they are useful even without the surrounding text.

• Consider presenting minor points in a list format (bullets or numerical) to further chunk this extra information. Lists draw in the scanning eye.

• • Use numbered lists when the order of entries is important and unnumbered lists when the sequence of the entries is not important.
  • Limit lists to two levels: primary and secondary.

• Some, but not most, web visitors will want to read extra information on a topic, and the web is the perfect place for delivering detailed information, but only on a third- or fourth-level page.