数码风格指南

The University of Idaho website is maintained by the 大学传播与市场营销 (UCM) web team, 在资讯科技署的支援下.

UCM uses the Sitecore content management system to maintain and organize the university website. If you need assistance with creating or maintaining your university website, your Web团队成员 可以帮助您.

为网络写作

Writing online content requires shifting your thinking a little from writing traditional print copy. The content needs to offer links to additional resources and references, 明确的行动号召, and include appropriate keywords so that it appears in search engine results, 即搜索引擎优化(SEO). Below are best practices and tips for creating effective digital content.

Digital copy should be simple, concise and easy to scan. Users may be on your site from mobile, tablet or desktop devices. The U of I website utilizes responsive web design to give a good visual experience to all users, 但是你的内容越长, 移动用户滚动的次数越多, 这会使扫描变得困难.

副标题, bullet points and breakouts can make your content easy to use and help site visitors find what they need.

使用标题和副标题

Search engines give more weight to pages that have search terms in header tags. Long feature articles should be broken up with subheads that use keywords to describe the next section of text. 关于专题文章, 每200-300字应包括副标题, 因为它在拷贝的流程中是有意义的.

Digital copy is often consumed through scanning, rather than reading top-to-bottom. 副标题 can help users find the content they are looking for quickly.

Using headings and subheadings frequently is also important for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Screen readers used by people with visual impairments detect the HTML code that indicates headers (h1, h2, h3) and pay more attention to them than they do to ordinary paragraph copy — even if paragraph copy is set in bold or italic.

The importance of a heading descends as its number ascends, 例如, information used as a Heading 2 should be more important than that of a Heading 3.

添加链接和关键字

If you mention a page or document in your copy, link to that page or document. Important links should be added in the content itself, as well as in the “额外的资源” right-hand objects.

Hyperlinks should be embedded on keywords, rather than passive words like “click here.例如:, “Find more information about the bachelor’s program” is a stronger call to action than “Click here to find more information about the bachelor’s program.”

Both internal links (to other U of I webpages) and external links (to sites outside the university) can improve the university’s SEO results.

When creating your content, think about the words that a person might use to search for that page. Be sure to include those common search terms somewhere in your copy. Search terms should be written naturally as part of the content. Don’t try to “trick” the search engine by adding a paragraph of search terms at the end.

在所有图像上使用Alt标签

An important part of maintaining ADA compliance is the inclusion of “alternate text” or alt tags on photographs or images. This is the text that will display when an image isn’t downloaded, and is available for screen readers for the visually impaired. Alt标签应该给出图像的描述, 例如 “A portrait of U of I President Scott Green,而不仅仅是一个标签, “斯科特绿色.”

It is also important to remember that graphics or photographs that display text can be difficult to read and reduce ADA compliance. If a photo file must contain text, be sure it has an adequate alt tag. Avoid creating tables or charts with complex information as images only. Email should also never contain photographs with important text on it.

使用描述性元数据

Metadata is the behind-the-scenes text that is scanned by search engines to generate search results. While it is rated lower than headers, it is important to include to maximize your page effectiveness. When creating new content in Sitecore, metadata includes:

• Meta headline: Less than 70 characters, this is the headline that shows up in a search result. 它应该包含易于搜索的关键字. It is OK to use “UIdaho” in the meta headline for search results.
• Meta description: This is the secondary text that shows up under your headline in a search result. It should give the user a clear description of the page content, 所以他们知道它是否能满足他们的需求. It should contain strong keywords and be less than 150 characters.
• Keywords: Additional keywords that are contained on your page. 这是一个用逗号分隔的关键字列表. 关键词应包括院校名称, 项目, 教师, 学生或学位类型, 以及常见的缩写. For example, all content should include the keywords “University of Idaho” “U of I” and “UIdaho.”