RCPS Web Site Development and Maintenance Guidelines The purpose of this document is to establish guidelines for developing, implementing, securing, and maintaining Roanoke City Public Schools web sites. Development and implementation of RCPS web sites must also be consistent with the standards set forth in RCPS Acceptable Use Policy, which governs access to, implementation, and use of all aspects of the RCPS network infrastructure, and Division web sites. I. Management of the RCPS Web Site A. Web Site Development Roles of Responsibility: 1. RCPS Web Master - The RCPS Web Master shall manage and maintain the primary RCPS Web site and component Web sections, and coordinate access to RCPS sponsored Web sites. The RCPS Web Master shall ensure accessibility of RCPS Web sites; produce Web site content when assigned; implement interactive features of Web sites; and recommend, plan, and implement the growth of the Web site program. 2. School Principal or Central Office Manager (i.e., director, department or supervisor) - The School Principal and Central Office Manager shall provide general oversight of Web content and format for the school/departments assigned web presence maintaining a theme consistent with the District site. 3. Web Managers - Web Managers shall be designated staff members who develop and implement Web pages and Web sections for central office departments or schools with the permission of the Principals or Central Office Managers. 4. Web Authors/Editors - Web authors/editors shall be staff members who utilize tools/technology to produce and edit RCPS Web pages. B. Web Site Planning, Implementation, and Oversight Responsibilities: 1. Each school and central office department shall have responsibility for, and oversight of, the planning, development, and implementation of Web page components for their school or department Web Site. Ultimate responsibility 5/18/10 rev. 1 Page 1
for compliance with the standards and copyright rests with the Principal or Central Office Manager responsible for the school or central office department. The Principal or Central Office Manager is also responsible for the security and protection of all sensitive and confidential data, including data pertaining to individual students and employees, and for compliance with all standards protecting such data. 2. The Web Manager of a central office department or a school site shall produce, maintain, review, and upload (publish) Web page components and ensure that standards are followed for the department or school Web section. All Web pages created by staff shall be previously reviewed and approved by the Web Manager and the School Principal or Assistant Principal, or if not a school, the Central Office Manager. SchoolFusion only offers this feature with CMS pages. This does not include the teacher FusionPages. All links to external Web sites from any school Web site or page, must be approved by the School Principal or, if not a school, by the Central Office Manager. 3. The RCPS Web Master may assist Web authors/editors with initial Web page development by request, in advance of the anticipated posting date. 4. The Web Master may provide training in Web development techniques to Web Managers in schools and departments on an as needed basis. 5. Web site visitor traffic shall be monitored and documented by the Web Master, as measured by number of visits ( hits ) per day. II. Content Standards for Web Site Development A. All Web pages and all linkages to sites outside the RCPS network shall be consistent with the RCPS Mission Statement and appropriate for the intended audience. Content that is plainly offensive, lewd, vulgar, sexually explicit or obscene is prohibited and shall be immediately removed. Content that results in (or it is reasonably foreseeable that it will result in) disruption to the operations of the school or the Division may also be prohibited or removed. Since the RCPS network infrastructure and all RCPS Web sites are school-sponsored venues, the Division limits content to subject matters that are consistent with the curricula and educational mission of RCPS. B. Web Managers shall report, by email, the following web-development activity to the RCPS Web Master: 1. Additions or changes in navigational topics on the RCPS Web site; 2. Changes in personnel that need to be reflected in the RCPS Web site; 3. Web problems or errors encountered by developers or users; 4. Suggestions for improving or enhancing Web pages; and 5/18/10 rev. 1 Page 2
5. Comments from the public that will be helpful in evaluating the effectiveness of or improving the Web site. C. Web Managers shall ensure that all text is proofread and error free on all Web pages. All text must be checked with an automated spell checker prior to submission. D. Web pages shall be updated on a regular basis and time-sensitive information shall be updated promptly. Web Managers should email Principals or the Central Office Manager the first week of each month indicating a site review has been performed and that information is current. E. Graphics/images shall be as small in file size as possible (100 kilobytes is optimal) to ensure efficient downloading. Graphics should be resized to the smallest size possible in a graphic editor prior to inserting on a Web page. F. Photos and names of staff are allowed on RCPS web sites for the purpose of publicizing school activities/achievement but Web Managers are cautioned to use them with discretion. G. Photos and names of students are allowed on RPCS web sites but are limited to first name only with the consent of the Media Release form. Students that do not have a signed Media Release on file at the home school will not be published to the RCPS web site. III. Technical Specifications for Web Pages A. File Name Specifications These specifications take into consideration that Authors and Publishers may be working on different platforms. The specifications help insure that there are no problems with differing platforms during the publishing process. File names: 1. Cannot contain spaces or punctuation, except period (.), hyphen (-) or underscore (_); 2. Should be lower case, unique and descriptive. Examples: africa.htm or elephant.gif or cbcalendar.htm; 3. Should end with 3 letter extensions, such as.htm,.gif or.jpg B. Web Sites and Pages 1. Web sites should be a collection of smaller pages accessed from a top-level page (versus one long page). 2. Web pages should contain links to appropriate parent "home pages" (that is, pages "above" them). 3. Longer Web pages should contain a hypertext index and internal links throughout the document to facilitate navigation. 4. Web pages should use backgrounds and fonts that are consistent throughout the site. Avoid using high contrast color combinations. 5. Web pages should target the 800 X 600 screen resolution and 256-color palette as the minimum standard. 5/18/10 rev. 1 Page 3
C. Graphics 6. Web links can be verified at http://validator.w3.org/checklink 7. HTML code can be verified at http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/ 1. All image tags must have the alternate text attribute. (Handicap accessible) 2. Images should have a resolution of approximately 72 DPI (dots per inch). 3. For quickness in loading, images should be a maximum size of about 35 KB. 4. If images larger than 35 KB are used, thumbnail sketches should be provided. 5. Images used for Web page backgrounds should be a maximum of 5 KB. 6. Use the GIF graphics format for clip art or line graphics. Use the JPG format for photographs. This will allow compression of graphics to be optimal. IV. Content Specifications for Web Pages A. Each Web page must contain the following information: 1. Webmaster's e-mail address (webmaster@your District.k12.wi.us). 2. A title that appropriately describes the content of the page. 3. Well-edited text including correct spelling and grammar. 4. Factually correct information. 5. References if the Web page is a research document. B. No Web page may contain: 1. Inappropriate material or links to inappropriate material. 2. Links to resources that do not exist (dead links). 3. E-mail addresses of students. 4. Identifiable pictures of students, unless permission has been granted by the student's parent or guardian. 5. Full names of students, unless the student s parent or guardian has granted permission. 6. Any graphics or information that is in violation of copyright laws. 7. Any commercial or advertising material. 8. Page frames should not be used. 5/18/10 rev. 1 Page 4
RCPS Web Site Guidelines Strongly Recommended Elements Home FAQ Meet the Administration Classrooms Staff Profiles Menu Calendar (School) Bell Schedule (Secondary) Bus Routes Extracurricular activities Newsletters Forms (field trip form) PTA Parent Handbook SOL Test Tips Inclement Weather Guidelines Volunteer Strategic Plan (school and RCPS) Staff Only Intranet Athletic Events Body of Main Page Photo of School (if not in banner) Address Phone Number School Data Report Card (State Requirement) Directions to School Overview of School/Mission Statement Announcements District Level Announcements School Level Encouraged Elements Celebrations Educational Internet Sites Prohibited Elements Links to commercial websites (Food Lion, Kroger, Target), including staff sites Resumes Personal email links (except PTA/PTSA member contact) Floor plan or aerial view of the school Items in italics can be linked to the RCPS site. 5/18/10 rev. 1 Page 5