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Web Publishing Guide

These guidelines can also be found on CSU, Chico's website at "CSU, Chico Web Guidelines and Review Process."

  • Observe all university policies.
  • To ensure a consistent look and feel for CSU, Chico's website, official university units are asked to use the University's standard web template (Cascade) pages as guidelines for page construction. The template pages can be viewed at University Web Templates. Contact Web Services if you wish to have your site moved into a template.
  • Include the University's personal disclaimer statement or a link to the disclaimer on all personal home pages.
  • Use the Writing Style Guide as a writer's guideline for text material.
  • Use of the university logo must be approved by the University's creative director, Alan Rellaford, and conform to guidelines set forth in the Publication Guide and Web Logo Guidelines governing its use. You do not need to obtain permission for logos contained in standard CSU, Chico Web page templates.
  • All college, department, course, faculty, or other web pages that provide specific university academic program information (requirements for majors, options, patterns, minors, or certificates) are required to use the official text of the academic program, as described in the current University Catalog. This will prevent the confusion that results from various published versions of academic information. Linking directly to the specific program as presented in the current catalog on the web is recommended as the most convenient means of accomplishing this. Any format variations or descriptions of new academic programs that have been approved but not yet printed in the catalog require review from the vice provost for academic affairs before being published on the web—or in any publication format.
  • In the construction of your pages, avoid
    • sexist and racist material
    • offensive language
    • defamatory, abusive, or harassing material
    • pornographic material
    • advertising (It is acceptable to name a corporate partner or event sponsor, or to include a small logo for partners and sponsors, but it is not acceptable to include a direct ad for off-campus businesses. Partner and sponsor logos must be displayed smaller than the university logo on the site.)
  • The Academic Senate at CSU, Chico supports the proposals on academic fair use developed by the Conference on Fair Use in May 1997 and published in Fair Use of Copyrighted Works, Consortium for Educational Technology for University Systems, 1995.
  • Ensure that your pages meet Americans with Disabilities Act requirements as described in State Senate bill SB-105.
    Tools and resources to assist you in accomplishing this include
  • Use caution in making links to other sites. It should not be assumed that all material on the Internet is acceptable to the Chico web's audience. If you have any doubts about the suitability of a link, e-mail Public Affairs and Publications.
  • Do nothing that might lead users of CSU, Chico's website to make improper use of our computing facilities, such as providing links to archives that may contain pornographic material sites that distribute illegal software bulletin boards that contain dubious material.
  • Do not use the CSU, Chico website to reproduce or distribute copyrighted material without the author's or publisher's permission.
  • Do not use another person's personal data on a website unless you have the consent of the person concerned.
  • Always provide the name and contact details for the person responsible for a page.
  • Questions about these guidelines may be directed to the Public Affairs and Publications or the university web manager.

Writing for the Web

Copy written for the web is most effective if it follows the following general guidelines:

  • Visitors to your site should know exactly whose site it is and what its purpose is when they view your home page.
  • Use links to take readers into deeper levels of a topic. Web readers tend to skip from one page to another, and from one link to another, rather than reading sequential pages.
  • When creating links, use descriptive text to make navigation more efficient. Readers are most likely to notice the first words in the link text, so choose words that are meaningful to your readers (e.g., "Create effective links." is better than "To learn how to create effective links, click here.").
  • Use subheads when your copy runs more than one screen in length.
  • Use short paragraphs and short sentences. Web readers skim to look for key information, and several short paragraphs are easier to skim than one long paragraph.
  • Spell out abbreviations and acronyms the first time you use them on each page; think of each page as being self-contained.

University Web Page Review Process

University administration has given the Web Content Committee the charge of reviewing all official university Web pages (not those of individual faculty and students). The purpose of this review is to assist departments in developing effective websites for browsers of the CSU, Chico web. The review process involves a check for compliance with the guidelines and simple copyediting for typos and consistency with the University Writing Style Guide. Failure to comply with the Web Guidelines may result in your department website being removed from the University website.

When developing new sites or additional pages for your existing site, please submit your page address (URL) to the web review editor.

Include the department web manager's name and zip. Review usually takes only a few days, at which point you will be notified of any corrections that should be made before your pages can be linked. For more information on the review process please see the Content Committee website.

Web Development Service

The CSU, Chico Web Services Team provides both self-service and chargeback services to assist faculty, staff, departments, and programs in updating and creating university websites. For more information about these services, see the Graphic Design & Web Services website.