During the preparation of the U. S. Two-Year Colleges list and later the Community and Technical Colleges in Canada page, I had the opportunity to visit a large number of institutional home pages. In fact, I looked at every site listed. As I looked over these many pages, I quite naturally found myself making judgements about which pages were good, and which were not. Although I did make some suggestions directly to Web page authors (when there was an email address available), I eventually came to the conclusion that this page would be a more efficient method of providing feedback about what elements I think make up an above average home page.

I realize that it is somewhat presumptuous of me to appoint myself as the institutional web page expert. However, please keep in mind that this is simply a page of opinion ... mine. If you choose to look over my opinions and suggestions, you may find that some make sense to you, and that others do not. In either case, if you agree or not, I would appreciate feedback which details your opinions about what elements should be included in a good home page.

In this spirit ... please read on ...

Basic HTML Stuff	Meaningful Titles HTML pages should include a <TITLE> tag at the top of the source code (as part of the <HEADER> ). Since this title is displayed by the visitor's browser, and since it is referenced by many Web catalogs and indexing services, be certain to include a meaningful title. Titles such as "Introduction" do not have meaning out of context. It is more meaningful to use a title such as "Introduction to Greenburg Junior College Programs." Keep it Simple Avoid the "ransom note" look. Keep font effect changes (e.g., italics, bold, underline, size, blink) to a reasonable minimum. Establish a consistent style for your pages (e.g., all section headings in the same font). Visitors will catch on to this style and it will better communicate your content. Email Link Be certain to include an email address for the person responsible for your Web site. If you don't, visitors with questions and/or feedback will not be able to contact anyone at your institution. To make it easy for your visitors to provide you with feedback, use the HTML "mailto" feature (see the bottom of this page for an example). Some sites use an HTML form for this purpose, but I believe the "mailto" feature to be simpler to implement and easier for the visitor to use.
What to Include	Complete, Official Name of Your Institution Many of us refer to our institutions by a shortened form of the official name (e.g., CJT or City Tech). Once introduced as such, this is a reasonable practice and may even make your page easier to read. However, begin your page with the complete and official name. This will avoid confusion between similarly named institutions. Location of Institution Remember, your pages will be visited by people from all over the world. Don't just give the name of your institution. Also include the city and state where the institution is located. You may also want to indicate what part of the state (e.g., southwest corner), or some reference to a well known city in your state (e.g., just 25 miles west of Omaha).
Keys to Success	Logical Organization, Flow It is helpful if your page is organized in a manner so that it is easy for your visitors to follow. Develop your text from the general to the detailed, from the simple to the complex. Table of Contents, Image Map Your logical organization should be reflected in either a table of contents or an equivalent image map. Do keep in mind the fact that a large image map, although nice looking, does take a long time to load. If you use an image map it is helpful to also include text links for those visitors not loading graphics. As in a book, the guide to your site's contents should be near the beginning of your home/initial page. Small Pages, Linked Together Rather than a single large page (which takes a long time to load), create a series of linked smaller pages. This approach also makes it easier for you to maintain the site.
Graphics	Low Contrast Backgrounds/Textures A background texture with dark elements can make your text hard to read when using dark text. Alternatively, if you are using light colored text (e.g., white) and a dark background, light colored elements in the background can be distracting. Try Transparent Background GIFs Although not supported by all browsers, transparent background GIFs add an artistic touch to your pages. You can convert any GIF to one with a transparent background. Use Small Interlaced GIFs Photos of the campus add a lot to the page. However, keep them as small as possible and save them in the gif interlaced format. If you need a larger gif to accomplish your goal, include a small gif in the main page and allow the visitor to link to the larger gif rather than load it automatically. Use the "Alt=" Tag for Inline Graphics Your page may suffer if the visitor elects not to load the graphics, or if there is an error in their transmission. The use of the "Alt=" tag will allow you to get your information to the visitor in both cases. Limit the Number of Images Select your graphics carefully. Too many graphics slow the transfer of your page.
Hyperlinks	Link to Information Resources You Reference This is really what the Web is all about. If you reference the city in which your college is located, and it has a web page, link to it at that point in your text. If your institution is part of a district or system, and the district has a Web page, mention the district and link to its page. Make Hyperlink Anchors Meaningful Avoid the use of click "here" anchors in your hyperlinks. Create your links "in context." For example, replace "Click here to see the Business Technology Department's page." with "Look at the Business Technology Department's page." Explain Your Links Unless the contents of a link are self evident, provide your visitors with information about the links so that they can make a decision about whether or not to visit that link. Test Your Links, Retest Your Links The Web is dynamic, changing constantly. Nothing is more frustrating than selecting a series of links on a page that link to a "this page has moved" page, or worse, no longer work at all. There is a program that will help you with this task. Changing Your Site's URL If you move your site to another directory, another computer within your own institution, or even another service provider... make certain that the old URL doesn't result in a "Not Found" error message. Leave a trail to your new site so that visitors won't be frustrated. This is especially important if you have registered with one or more of the Internet cataloging services.
Some Optional Elements	Text Only Version Some would list this as a requirement, not an option. If you don't include this option, please inform your visitors that your page is best viewed with a graphic browser. Mailing Address, Phone Number If you have an email link, visitors will use it. However, there are some circumstances when the U.S. Mail or the telephone is a desirable alternative. Links to Local Servers If you are aware of other servers in your area (e.g., academic institutions, public schools, local government, and Internet service providers ... to name a few) it is often helpful to include links to their sites. Links to Web Indexes and Catalogs More people will use your page as a starting point if you include these useful links. AltaVista, Yahoo, Lycos, Webcrawler, Open Text, and Infoseek are just a few of the links you should consider for inclusion. Official Page or Not? If your page is endorsed by the institution, include a statement to that effect. If it isn't, include that statement. Server Information A few visitors will be interested in the details about your server. A link to a brief specifications page will satisfy their interest. Machine type, brand, speed, hard disk size, operating system, etc. are some of the specifications you might include.
Finishing Up	Proof Your Page(s) Ask someone you trust to give you an honest opinion to proof read your pages. Be certain to select someone who you know will do a thorough job. Test Your Page(s) After even the most simple change, test your page. Use a variety of browsers if they are available. You may be surprised how different your page can look. Print Your Page(s) Your visitors may elect to print your page(s) for their use. Try printing them yourself to see how they look. You may see that some changes are necessary once you see your work in print.
Tools for the Webmaster	HTML Editors Hyper-Text Markup Language (HTML) is the language used for creating web pages. It comprises a number of formatting tags that specify how a web browser displays your pages. These tags can be inserted into the text using any text editor or word processor. However, HTML Editors assist the web page author by providing buttons and icons that automatically insert the HTML tags. Many HTML Editors are available. See, for example, those listed by TUCOWS. Spelling Checker As one example, Doctor HTML retrieves a Web page and performs several tests (e.g., spelling checking, HTML format validation, and link verification) to see if your web page is in good form. Weblint Weblint is an HTML syntax and minimal style checker for web pages.

Other Sites With Web Page Style Suggestions

Eric Tilton's Composing Good HTML
Justin Hall's Style Your Sheet
Tim Berners-Lee's HTML Style Guide
Alan Richmond's CyberWeb's Top Tips for Web Authoring
Alan Richmond's Web Developer's Virtual Library: Style
Netscape's How to Create Web Services
Jim Hurley's Webspace Article Directory

Return to the U. S. Two-Year Colleges page.

Return to the Community and Technical Colleges in Canada page.