UniSA web style guide
Use this web style guide in conjunction with the University's copy standards.
General editorial styles
Minimal punctuation is recommended when writing for the web, as this distracts from the information. This applies to the layout of dot points.
- Capitalisation: Only capitalise at the beginning of a heading or sentence, unless a proper name.
- Underlining: Don’t underline as it looks ugly, is an outmoded style and can be confused with hyperlinks. Use bold or italics instead.
- Quotation marks: use single quotes
Hyperlinks
Some best practice rules apply
- generally avoid 'click here' terminology. Where you must use an instruction like this, use ‘select’ instead of click (accessibility issue)
- use the exact name of the page/form/document you are linking to in the hyperlink so users can choose whether to go there
- avoid using 'naked' urls - this looks ugly, ie don't link http://www.unisa.edu.au/wag/, put the link behind the words Web Authoring Guide
Technical information about hyperlinks.
Left hand menu
Only use level 1 (name of site), 2 and 3 headings in your left menu, or the text will become unreadable.
'&': Use instead of ‘and’ as it takes up less room and is a commonly understood symbol.
Heading length should be two lines maximum (unless unavoidable due to a name).
Order of links
- always link to the division homepage or other relational site at the bottom of menu
- 'Contact [name of section]' is commonly put near the bottom of the menu, although some sites like to put it near the top.
Page layout
Navigation
The left hand menu is the navigating tool - don’t use right hand page to navigate to left hand links unless they are under another menu heading.
Headings
See Inputting text and other style features for information on heading layout.
Contents list
Use at the top of the page if the information on the page will be lengthy (stops users having to scroll)
- use FrontPage dot point style
- no full stop at the end of the list in keeping with minimal punctuation
- use horizontal line below dot points, leaving one space between last dot point and horizontal line
- preferably use an introductory sentence or two above the dot points, but not more than about three paragraphs as the contents list should be visible on the page without having to scroll
Horizontal rule
- use below a contents list (usually dot points) in the right hand contents page, or to separate a list of items of information that would otherwise be confusing
- if using after a contents list, put a single or double space between the last dot point/contents list item and the horizontal rule
- Heading 2 appears directly below horizontal line
Dot points in text
- no colon to introduce dot points (minimal punctuation) unless it is not obvious that what follows is related
- use FrontPage dot point style
- no full stop after last dot point
‘top’ link
Have a space above and below the top link (after the last line of text and before the next heading). See Inserting a 'top' link
Bottom of page
Leave one or two spaces between the last line and the words ‘Comment: Please do not delete this statement or add any content below this line’.
Text
'and': use instead of ‘&’, including in page titles that appear at the top of the screen
Normal paragraphs with one space between, unless using a ‘break’ (Shift/Enter).
Smalltext: use for top button and ‘footnote’ type text (it is hard to read so use minimally). See Changing text size
Alert: use for newsflashes and other important information you want to catch the user’s eye. See Changing text colour
Files
When linking to files (PDF, RTF etc) specify in brackets after the link what type of file it is and what size the file is. Use caps for PDF, RTF and include a download option when relevant. See an example
Images
General specifications
- either 260px wide (landscape) or 180px wide (portrait)
- must have alt text even if there is a caption
Refer to Inserting images for more details.
Caption: refer to Adding a caption style