This document outlines the conventions that must be followed when composing and publishing HTML documents on the Santa Rosa District Schools World Wide Web server. In most cases, these conventions also apply to school-based web servers. Questions, comments, or suggestions may be directed to the District Web Administrator. General Policy It is required that schools publish their Web pages through the District Web server, on an approved school Web server, or on those sites listed in the Approved Alternate Web Host list (Addendum 07c - http://www.santarosa.k12.fl.us/pdc/docs/). The content on unapproved, third-party servers may conflict with district standards and may pose legal as well as ethical issues. Documents may be composed using any HTML editor or WYSIWYG Editor. Please note that at present Microsoft web design products are the preferred software for composing and publishing Web pages on the Santa Rosa County District Web server and are the only web page development software currently supported by the District. Graphics may be composed in any program but must be converted to the GIF, JPEG, or PNG formats prior to inclusion on a web page. Although many Web browsers can view other graphic formats, these formats are considered standards. Site Structure Each school or department will be given a directory/folder on the District server. The name of each directory will be an abbreviation of a specific school s name. Only official, trained Web Managers will be given access to the school s website. The root level of the directory should include the school s home page (e.g., default.htm) along with subdirectories/folders for subjects, classes, projects, calendars, images, and other appropriate areas. 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications. (a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). (b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation. (c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup. (d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet. (e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map. (f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape. (g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables. (h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers. 1
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation. (j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz. (k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a website comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes. (l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology. (m) (m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with 1194.21(a) through (l). (n) (n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues. (o) (o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links. (p) (p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required. Document Structure Single documents should contain one well-defined concept. The total size (text and images) of a document should be kept under 60 kilobytes so that it can be downloaded and rendered over a standard modem connection in a reasonable amount of time. If a document is larger than 60 kilobytes, dividing it into smaller documents or eliminating some of the graphics is strongly recommended. Remember, smaller is better. Style and Context The style of documents will help users to find the information they are looking for. All documents on the same subject/site should have a consistent style and navigation. Consistency makes it easier for readers to understand any particular information and jump to related information. This will also give each site its own unique look and feel. Use the same skeleton or template to create your documents. In the end, this will also help in maintaining your documents. While some textbooks are still teaching two spaces as the standard for end of the sentence punctuation, the District required standard is one space as is now the accepted industry standard. When creating documents, be mindful of the nonlinear nature of the Web. A reader can enter at any point in a site. For this reason, always provide a way to navigate to an index or an overview document (e.g., the District footer). A link taking the reader Back makes no sense. The browser already has a Back button that takes the reader back to the previous document he or she was viewing, but that document may not be the previous document in your structure. Links should help the reader navigate through the Web structure and should be usable out of context. For example, Up to a table of contents, Previous/Next to documents in a logical sequence, or More to a document with supplemental information about the topic in the current document. 2
All documents must have a title that is understandable out of context in order to help the user bookmark a particular page. The user should be able to identify the site from the title which appears in his Favorites list. For example, Home makes no sense, but Professional Development Center Home Page is very specific. This title will also appear in the browser s title bar. For that reason try to keep the length fewer than 64 characters so that it will not be truncated. Most search engines on the Web also use titles when listing the results. To make documents even more search engine friendly, it is recommended that developers use the <META> tag in the head of the document to give it a description: <META NAME= description CONTENT= Description goes here. > Keep the description to less than 1024 characters. This description will be displayed in the results list of a search. Keywords can also be inserted for search engines to use: <META NAME= keywords CONTENT= Keyword list here. > Images Images and graphics can do a lot to enhance the presentation of a page; images should add to the main idea or concept of the document or aid in navigation. Images used as navigational aids should have an obvious meaning. There are many standard icons for this purpose, such as a magnifying glass for a search engine. Use only essential images and keep them as small as possible. A maximum of 15 kilobytes for most images should be the goal. Reuse images wherever possible, not only within a single document, but also between documents, so that the browser will download the image once into cache and render it many times without requiring further downloads of the same image. The ALT attribute MUST be used to add alternative text for all images (Section 508-required). This is particularly important for navigational images, icons, or buttons. Using a sensible ALT text will help clarify meaning if the image isn t loaded and will also provide access to those of limited vision. The alternative text cannot be longer than 1024 characters. It is recommended that the WIDTH and HEIGHT attributes be used on all images. The browser can use this information render the rest of the document and then load the image in the box later. This helps the browser download and render the overall document faster. Any navigational images should be less than 450 pixels wide. This is the maximum width of most browser windows, so if the image is wider, the reader has to scroll horizontally to view the rest. On a related note, if preformatted text is used, keep it to a maximum of 75 characters for the same reason. File Names File names should consist of a descriptive file name followed by a period (dot) followed by an appropriate extension (homepage.htm). Please follow these conventions when naming text files: 1. Never use spaces in file names or folders. 3
a. Incorrect: john doe.htm NOTE: Prior to importing spreadsheets, Word documents, etc., rename the files to remove spaces. 2. Use only letters and/or numbers in file names(not preferred but OK: hyphens or underscores). a. Incorrect: john/doe.htm, john~doe.htm, john&doe 3. Never use more than one period in file names. a. Incorrect: john.doe.htm, johns.page.htm Content Standards Schools should concentrate on submitting material that reflects school activities and schedules, student work, special projects, or aspects of the community they serve. Be careful to provide meaningful content. School sites that say essentially, "Here's our school. And Here's a picture of our principal," are common and do not contribute to the information available on the World Wide Web. All work published on the District's Web server must be free of any spelling or grammatical errors. The following district policy guidelines also apply to all student work published on the World Wide Web: Published documents may not include a child's phone number, street address or box number, or names of other family members - name only with parental permission (cf. Acceptable Use Policy for Students); Documents may not include any information which indicates the physical location of a student at a precise time other than attendance at a particular school or participation in school activities; Documents may not contain objectionable material or point to objectionable material as stated in the Santa Rosa County Acceptable Use Policies; School sites must provide an email link for the principal in a logical place in their web (e.g., principal s message page or the home page); It is recommended that all web pages note the date of the last revision (this should not be placed in a shared footer or included content); It is recommended that all web pages include the District footer, which will allow users to connect to other schools in the District, the District home page, Internet information, copyright information, and to contact the Webmaster; Documents must conform to school board policies, established school guidelines, and copyright laws. Additionally, documents submitted by faculty and staff must be edited and approved by a Web Manager or designee and the school principal or designated review team prior to publication (the exception to this are teacher webs on Florida Educator, which should be edited by the individual responsible for that web). Student Showcase Pages These pages allow teachers to showcase their students' accomplishments (i.e. their work, stories, awards, and artwork) 4
Student work may not be published on the World Wide Web without written permission from parents or guardians (Santa Rosa County Acceptable Use Policy for Students). Showcase pages must be screened by a faculty member before they can be published and comply with content standards. It is strongly recommended that a teacher consider using pen names for students and sharing those pen names with parents. A student s work can then be viewed by parents, grandparents, and designated others, with a reduced chance for negative consequences. PLEASE NOTE: It is the responsibility of the supervising teacher submitting material for publication to check students' work for content, spelling, grammatical and usage errors. Material published by students reflects directly on the submitting school. Please screen all work to be submitted. PLEASE NOTE: It is the responsibility of the Principal to ensure that the content of a school's website is appropriate and within the guidelines for student publications. Size Constraints The Santa Rosa District server houses most school Web pages. Schools are encouraged to be creative with their pages and include graphics and other information that present a good picture of "life" at their school. However, schools are discouraged from adding large multimedia files to their Web pages. These files can take several minutes to download and can disrupt use of the server by anyone else during the time it takes to download the files. If a page takes longer than about 10 seconds to download over a 56K modem connection, then the page is probably too long. The District recommends that the page be split into separate pages or that some of the graphics be eliminated. Please note that resizing graphics does not reduce file size; the image must be resampled after adjusting the size. It is the responsibility of the supervising teacher to ensure that student pages fit the guidelines set forth in this document. Submitting Materials As previously mentioned, FrontPage is the required tool for submitting materials to the District server. The functionality of FrontPage is enhanced by additional Server Extensions installed on the District server. One such enhancement is the ease with which an author can work on and transfer documents to the server. All school Web Managers will be given the opportunity to attend training on FrontPage at the Professional Development Center. Only district-designated Web Managers will have live access to their respective school or site webs. 5