Guidelines for Web Site Development
Office of Public Affairs
August 2005

This document is intended to serve Public Affairs staff members as a reference for developing and evaluating Web sites.

The World Wide Web is a technological and cultural phenomenon, reshaping the way we think and live. It is omnipresent—facilitating information transfer, education, commerce, public relations, marketing, entertainment, and more.

Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton stated, “The Web has increasing importance, both in the presentation of the University to the world and in the performance of our day-to-day activities.”

The Web’s growing role as a vehicle for student recruitment is one example. Sixty-four percent of all Americans aged 12 and over have used the Internet in the past year, according to a survey by ACNielsen. The National Center for Educational Statistics notes Internet access in public schools is now over 95%. These statistics help explain why the Office of Undergraduate Admissions now receives many Part I applications electronically.

The Web now fosters teaching, learning, research, and patient care; use of the library’s information resources; alumni relations and development; and the distribution of news and information. It is an important tool for enhancing the University’s global mission in the 21st century.

The Washington University Web can demonstrate that this is among the very finest universities in the world. The Web pages can serve to amplify and encourage the University’s commitments to teaching, learning, research, and service to society, as well as to faculty, students, and staff.

The goal is to develop Web sites that meet these objectives.

The content should serve the needs of the intended audience, and the information that users are most interested in should be easy to access.

The look and feel of each page should reflect the guiding mission of Washington University, and the unique character of each school, department, office, or program. Pages should emphatically communicate the University’s vitality through a mix of content that incites, interests, informs, and inspires. Words and pictures should reflect the strength of our convictions and the breadth of our diversity. Key University messages include quality, vitality, academic character, distinction, consistency, service, friendliness, and dedication, to name a few. Pages should instill a sense of our people and places, our ideas and aspirations. All Web sites should feature the University logo prominently.

The following recommendations are from the Guide to Web Content and Design:

1. Edit to the bone. This helps readers assimilate the information quickly.
2. Chunk the content. Break up the message into numerous short elements, each introduced with a subhead.
3. Avoid setting words and sentences exclusively in uppercase. Use italics sparingly.

A small palette of complementary and muted colors should be chosen to convey the character of individual schools or departments while maintaining the distinguished image of the University.

The following “browser-safe” approximations of University colors are recommended:

The “browser-safe” tan listed above does not perfectly match the official University tan. However, the following trick offers another option. Using image editing software, combine Light yellow: #ffffcc (RGB: 255, 255, 204) and Light brown: #ffcc66 (RGB: 255, 204, 102) in a one-pixel checkerboard pattern. Viewed on the average monitor, these colors optically mix, simulating the official color. A GIF file created in this way serves as the background graphic of this page.

1. Photos should be carefully chosen with an eye to their appearance on the Web.

2. Crop tightly. This concentrates on essential information and results in a smaller physical size.

3. Smaller images download faster.

4. Photos should be saved in the JPEG file format, with the maximum amount of compression without compromising the appearance to ensure the smallest possible file size and the fastest possible download time.

5. Adjust the image’s gamma setting so it displays acceptably on either a Windows or Mac operating system.

Text is harder to read on a computer monitor than it is on a printed page. It is best to opt for maximum legibility. Many rules of good print typography apply to the Web. Some particular issues to consider include:

1. The font choices are limited to serif or sans serif. When specifying the font, be sure to include choices available on either platform.

Sans serif: Arial, Helvetica, Geneva, Verdana
Serif: Times New Roman, Georgia, Times, Berkeley

2. Allow adequate contrast between the type color and the background color.

3. Large areas of light-colored type on a dark background are harder to read than dark type on a light background.