Guidelines for UMHS
Web Publishing
Web Publishing
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Guidelines for UMHS Web Publishing |
The U-M Health System web site, managed by the Department of Public Relations and Marketing Communications (PRMC) , promotes our services and offers the community a valuable health resource. There is an internal site for our U-M Health System employees only, and an external site for employees and the rest of the community.
PRMC and MCIT have gone to great lengths to come up with a versatile design that serves as the signature of the site. As such, Health System web designers are required to incorporate the key elements in those pages that are available to and intended for external audiences.
The www.med.umich.edu server should be used only for publishing UMHS departmental or project-related materials only. The U-M Information Technology Central Services (ITCS) provides instructions on how to publish your personal homepage on their web servers.
Departmental or program web designers who want a link to a newly-created site listed on the external home page must use the form Add A Link to the UMHS Site. The request will be forwarded to PRMC web coordinators, who will determine where the link should be listed. Before linking to a page, PRMC will ensure that the content of the page is suitable for external audiences and that it adheres to the design and content requirements spelled out in these guidelines.
Direct any comments or questions about logo or terminology usage to PRMC at ask-umhs@med.umich.edu.
The appropriate logo. Logos for the Health System, Hospitals and Health Centers, and Medical School are available. The UMHS logo should always link to http://www.med.umich.edu, the UMHHC logo should link to http://www.med.umich.edu/healthcenters, and the UMMS logo should always link to http://www.med.umich.edu/medschool.Prominently identify the department, unit or project being promoted by the Web page. In addition, vital departmental information should be easily accessible, either on or via a link off the main page. This should include:
- department description, phone number(s), complete address, including e-mail address, if possible; and
- departmental contact for further information with a phone number, address, and e-mail address, if possible.
Identify the website's sponsoring department, as listed on the official authorized signers list (available here soon).
Provide an e-mail address for inquiries/comments about the page. Make sure someone is monitoring the e-mail address you publish.
All pages within a U-M Health System web site must:Include a link to the standard UMHS Privacy Statement and display the Disclaimer.
Present a critical mass of information. Pages that have nothing on them besides a generic footer or "under construction" graphics will not be linked. If there is no useful information on a page, wait until there is before requesting a link to the Health System site.
Comply with all legal regulations.
- When using people's photos on a home page, you must have a signed release granting permission to use their image on the Internet from all people who appear identifiably. Direct questions about this form to the Department of Public Relations, 764-2220, or at ask-umhs@umich.edu.
- Observe copyright laws. Assume material is copyrighted unless otherwise indicated, and obtain permission before using it. More information regarding copyright laws is available at The Copyright Website and the WWW Multimedia Law page.
Contain only links that work, or label any links that don't. If a link doesn't go anywhere, it shouldn't be a link. If a link is temporarily disabled, or use is restricted by password or location, it should be indicated so the reader doesn't have to try it before finding out it doesn't work.
Be updated regularly if the material dictates, and indicate when the web site information was last updated. Our attorney's office has indicated that we are at legal risk if we have health or medical information on our site that is below the standard of care. The U-M Health System is a national resource for expert health and medical information -- our web site should reflect this through up-to-date, reliable information. It's difficult for readers to trust the information on a page when they can't tell if it's been maintained regularly. This can be done by including a "last updated" line at the bottom of the page (on the MCIT server, this can be automatically generated ), or by providing a "What's New" selection.
Have appropriate document titles. The title of the page should be specified using <TITLE></TITLE> tags, so that the file name isn't used as the title when the page is displayed or by search engines.
Update regularly as the material dictates. Especially make sure that your pages don't contain information that is clearly out of date. It will make readers question other material on your pages. All pages should be reviewed at least annually.
Indicate what's new or changed on your pages. Here's a standard
icon, and here's how you can use it if you're publishing from the MCIT web server:
<IMG ALT="*new*" height="12" width ="31" SRC="/1images/new.jpg>Design pages with a "standard" width of less than 750 pixels whenever possible. With some information or graphics, it's hard to avoid using a wider-than-standard page. But don't, for example, make readers resize their browser windows just to see your departmental logo in its entirety if it could easily be made smaller. Remember, not everyone wants to devote their entire screen to their web browser.
To reach the widest possible audience, try to make sure your pages are readable with a variety of browsers. It's true that most people today use Internet Explorer, but the number using other browsers is not insignificant. Why unnecessarily limit who can see your pages?
Use <alt=*> tags with images. While most web browsers are capable of displaying graphics, ALT tags also allow people with visual difficulties to use your web site. The content of ALT tags is also displayed by most browsers when the cursor hovers over the image, which can make your page easier to understand for all users:
<IMG ALT="Image: Important instructions for disarming nuclear devices" SRC="important.gif">Indicate when linking to a site outside of the UMHS Web. If you're linking to something like "Top 10 Health Tips" maintained by another site, you should indicate as such, for example, by collecting such links under a heading like "Other Internet Resources." Otherwise, it's very easy for people to assume that the information on such pages originates at the U-M Health System.
Links to commercial (.com) websites. Such links can imply U-M endorsement of any products or services sold on the site.
Dead ends and dead links. Dead ends are pages that have no links; dead links are links that don't work. Neither should be part of your web site.
Inappropriate material or links. In planning your Web site, particular attention should be paid to your intended audience. Not all material is suitable for worldwide distribution. Internal policies and procedures, meeting minutes, beeper numbers, home phone numbers, product costs, license agreements and contracts are examples of information that either must not, or should not, be published publicly. These are the current options for restricting access to your website on MCIT webservers.
Publishing personal/sensitive materials. When in doubt, apply the "Ann Arbor News Test": Would you be concerned if you saw the material in the Ann Arbor News? If so, don't publish it on your Web site.
Typos and grammatical errors. Information published on the Web has a far larger potential audience than any printed material, so be sure to review, spellcheck and proofread your pages.
Extensive advertising. If an outside contractor designs pages for the U-M Health System, the contractor should limit "this page designed by" type advertising to a single line, that can link to more extensive information if necessary.
Excessive number of pages under construction, or use of an "under construction" graphic. Most dynamic web pages are assumed to be constantly under construction, so the effectiveness of "under construction" graphics is debatable. If you feel you must use one, try to be specific about what is under construction and how long it's expected to take. Don't just leave the graphic on a page indefinitely.
Using graphics or esoteric/cutting edge HTML to publish essential information. Some examples:
- Don't make a graphic the only place your department's name appears. Remember that search engines can't "read" graphics.
- Don't make a java applet or Flash the only way someone can navigate your site.
- Don't make a javascript effect an essential component of your site.
Using annoying text effects. Blinking text, if it is used at all, should be reserved for occasions when it's urgent to call attention to an item. It should not be used on pages that people will need to return to repeatedly. Also, consider the effect of such things as colored text on colored backgrounds, and italicizing large quantities of text.
Over-using special effects. Before using special effects such as fades, title animation or backgrounds, carefully consider why you are doing it. What effect will it have on the reader? All of these effects slow the time it takes your page to display to some extent - is it worth it? Don't use special effects just to show you can.
Using huge graphics that take a long time to load. Remember that not every user has a fast connection. In general, reduce the size of any graphic to the smallest it can be while still conveying the information necessary. This is especially important on main or directory-type pages, to which readers will need to return repeatedly.
The following is a list of local web designers recommended by the Department of Public Relations and Marketing Communications. These groups have designed existing Health System sites and so are familiar with our publishing environment, and are known for their creativity, efficiency and reasonable prices.
- Peterson, Williams & Bizer is the Ann Arbor marketing and communications firm that designed the Health System site and the graphics referred to in these guidelines. Other sites designed by PWB include those for the Cancer Center, Cardiovascular Center, University of Michigan Office of Development and Ronald McDonald House.
- BMC Media is the University's in-house multimedia design group that created the Medical School website, as well as sites for Internal Medicine, Medical Development & Alumni Relations, and Life Sciences Recruiting. .
