Pages on the College's public facing Web site must, with rare exceptions, use the College's standard Web template. The template includes a top graphic and links, a bottom bar with contact information and links, and usually a left-hand navigational menu. The template also sets page colors and fonts. Pages are managed with a content management system in which content editors may generate or alter content, but do not have the ability to change template features.
Occasionally, a department may wish to develop pages on which an entirely different look/feel is desired. It is strongly recommended that all College pages remain on the content management system, for both ease of management and consistency of presentation. The template can be modified and adapted in ways that are not immediately apparent. If you wish an alternate design, discuss it with the Webmaster first.
If an off-template area is truly warranted, it is set up in the following way:
- One faculty or staff member (hereafter referred to as Professor X) takes responsibility for the pages.
- Professor X contacts ITR, who will enable him/her to publish the pages on his/her personal site. An alternate name can be set up for the Web address for these pages: for example, the Prism could be "http://prism.web.lynchburg.edu" rather than "http://professor-x.web.lynchburg.edu".
- Professor X is then completely responsible for creating and maintaining the pages. ITR does not support personal pages other than to technically enable public access to a folder via Web browser. Do not take on this responsibility if you will not be able to create and maintain the pages.
- When the pages are finished, Professor X contacts the Webmaster and gives the following information:
The URL of the site to link to
The text that should be linked
The URL of the page on which the link should be placed
- The Webmaster will review the site. If it meets the criteria below, the Webmaster will then add the link to the College's site. No links will be added to the College's site until after the departmental site is complete.
The following criteria for the off-template pages must be met in order to be linked from the College's public facing site:
- Pages must include the following disclaimer in a prominent location on the entry page:
This web page and its content and opinions are the sole responsibility of [your name]. Lynchburg College is not responsible for the content or opinions found on this page.
- Pages must not include any broken images or links.
- Page content must be up to date.
- All pages must have content (for example, no "under construction" notices). If a page is not ready, simply do not publish it.
- Pages must be navigable without browser extensions (such as Java or Flash).
- Pages must be viewable and navigable in the following browser/OS combinations:
Windows 98, 2000, XP: Internet Explorer 5 and up, FireFox 1.0 and up, Netscape 7 and up
Macintosh OS 8, 10 and later: Internet Explorer 5 and up, Safari 1.0 and up
It is recommended that all sites follow the "Web Page Design Guidelines" at http://www.lynchburg.edu/x2747.xml and the "Tips on Working with Web Pages" at http://www.lynchburg.edu/x2748.xml
Links to departmental sites are added at the Webmaster's discretion. The Webmaster may, after reviewing the departmental site, require other changes that are not listed here. Usually these will reference significant violations of other basic usability principles. For example, an embedded 2 MB image in a page will need to be replaced with an optimized image. The Webmaster does not have access to personal sites, so Professor X is responsible for making any requested changes.
Links from the College site may be removed at any time at the Webmaster's discretion. In most circumstances, the Webmaster will contact Professor X and give a reasonable amount of time to correct any issues before removing the link. However, if the link to the departmental area does not resolve at all (e.g., gives a "Page Not Found" error or a server error), the link will be removed immediately.