Web Content Guidelines

The university website must follow certain standards and guidelines for both web content and design. Some of these guidelines relate to web accessibility and are required by law. As you edit and update your site, please refer to this list. This list is not all encompassing and will be updated regularly.

Page Content

  • Every piece of content must have a purpose – this is one of the most important things to remember.
  • Reduce ROT – redundant, outdated, and trivial content
  • All pages must have descriptive page titles. The title should help someone understand what is on the page. For example, instead of simply “Courses,” consider titling the page “Art History Courses.”
  • Do not use excessive exclamation marks.
  • Do not use QR codes on a page – this is redundant.
  • Do not use “UALR.” The correct name is “University of Arkansas at Little Rock” or “UA Little Rock.”
  • Do not use ALL CAPS. This implies an emergency or screaming.
  • The university follows AP style.
  • Do not recreate the wheel. Instead of copying and pasting another site’s content onto your site, link to the original source of information. For example, you should link to Record’s page on how to register for classes, instead of copying and pasting that content onto your site. This reduces the likelihood of having outdated information on your site.
  • Headings: There is only one <h1> per page. This is your page title. After an <h1>, pages should have a proper hierarchy of headings with <h2> tags appearing below a single <h1>, <h3> appearing below an <h2>, and an <h4> appearing below an <h3>. Incorrect use of headings is an accessibility issue.

Links and URLs

  • Do not use nondescriptive link prompts such as “Click here.” This does not provide enough context for users and is an accessibility issue for screen readers. Instead, provide context for the link. For example, use “Visit Admissions to schedule a campus tour” with schedule a campus tour as the link.
  • Do not post the full URL as text, since these URLs will be read aloud by screen readers. Instead, you should link the descriptive words or phrases. For example, use “Learn more about our biology degree requirements” with biology degree requirements as the link.
  • When providing an email address, hyperlink it so it can be clicked on. For example, do not use ask@ualr.edu. Instead, use ask@ualr.edu.

Images and Videos

  • Use meaningful and descriptive alternative text (alt tex) on all images. This is required for accessibility.
  • Gifs are not allowed to be uploaded as they cause accessibility issues.
  • Featured images must be sized correctly. Wordmarks and logos are not necessary on featured images.
  • Do not upload images with excessive text on them. This is an accessibility issue.
  • Do not upload flyers. Flyers are for a bulletin board – not for your website.

Additional Tools and Features

  • Widgets are not for decoration and must include a link.
  • Tables are for tabular data only. Content in data cells is associated with headers and rows.
  • Gravity forms should live in the body of your page, not in a sidebar.