University Web Services
Best Practices
Naming Conventions
Naming Web Sites
Any department, program, center, or administrative unit may have its own virtual domain name glossary. These requests must be made to the OIT Network Services group, but the names are reviewed by the University Webmaster. In some cases, a name may be reserved for university-wide use (example: schedule.boisestate.edu could not be used for a department-level schedule). Never assume you will get the name you have requested.
Use of www is Restricted
All site names must end with boisestate.edu and no new site names may have www in front of them. Example: you can have newdept.boisestate.edu but you cannot have www.newdept.boisestate.edu. Be sure you have your site name formally approved before you start advertising that name in print, email, or other formal communications.
Naming Files and Folders
Naming folders and files in a logical and consistent manner is an important element in making your site more easily navigated. This includes choosing names wisely, avoiding certain common mistakes, and considering your naming choice in context of the rest of the university.
Don't Link to Index
Link to the home page (at any directory level) should be constructed without a file name.
| Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
/department/ |
/department/index.html |
Use Trailing Slash
Always add the trailing slash when linking to the index page of a directory. why
| Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
/department/ |
/department |
Avoid Spaces
Do not use blank spaces file names or directory names. why
Avoid punctuation symbols as much as possible in file and directory names. If you must use a symbol, use a single dash.why
| Do this | Not this |
|---|---|
/ourdepartment/-or- /our-department/ |
/ourspacedepartment/-or- /our_department/ |
Avoid Punctuation
This is basically the same as the above, but with regard to punctuation (actually, a blank space is a form of punctuation). Not all character sets for different countries use the same symbols, and symbols don't mean the same thing across languages. The safest and most robust approach is to run names together.
Mixed Case
Mixed case is technically allowed but discouraged. If you use capital letters—for example, FY2012FinancialReport.html then any link to that file must match upper and lower case exactly. While you can ensure that your own links do so, you cannot be sure others will do so. Why invite error? Better would be: fy2012financialreport.html.
Directory Structure
Be consistent in directory structure and naming. Use the following as standard directory names:
| /inc | includes |
| /styles | stylesheets |
| /images | jpg, gif, png |
| /ppt | Powerpoint |
| /doc | MS Word |
| and similarly for other non-html formats | |
Standard File Names
The main stylesheet should be called main.css
The printer stylesheet should be called print.css
Use .html as a file extension; avoid .htm.
SHTML
For files that use server-side includes, .shtml is the required extension, unless server-side scripting (ASP or PHP) is being used. why