Web Policy and Guidelines

UND Website Policy

All UND websites must adhere to University brand and identity guidelines as set by the policy. Academic, support and affiliate website must be constructed in the approved content management system (CMS). All entities hosed on UND servers must adhere to all requirements in this policy.

View Web Policy

Service Level Change Request

UND websites have fully-managed, standard or independent service levels. To request a service level change, please complete the form below.

SERVICE LEVEL CHANGE REQUEST FORM

Community Server

UND provides community server space for faculty, research, or other websites that are exempt from using UND templates (UND template, Centers template, Third Party template). Exemptions must requested and approved in accordance with the UND Website Policy.

Sites using community server space are independently managed and the Web Team will not provide services or support.

To request community server space, email marketing@UND.edu.

Student Organization Sites

Student Organizations are not official entities of the University and may not represent themselves as such. Student Organization are encouraged to use the Involvement student organization directory provided by the University as their official website. Student Organizations are not permitted to use UND website templates and must follow logo/brand guidelines.

If the Involvement website does not meet your Student Organization’s needs, you may create your own website and host it on a UND or external server. The site must be independently managed and the Web Team will not provide any services or support.

Student Portfolios and Web Pages

UND does not host or provide support for student portfolio or other personal web needs. It is recommended to use third-party services like Wix or Squarespace.

Accessibility Best Practices

Content editors should follow these guidelines when updating content:

All web pages must have unique page titles (40-60 characters).
Image alternate text should be meaningful and descriptive (keep below 53 characters).
There is only one <h1> per page. After an <h1>, pages should have a proper hierarchy of heading tags with <h2> tags appearing below a single <h1>, <h3> appearing below an <h2>, and an <h4> appearing below an <h3>.
Avoid using images with text. Including text as part of images presents issues not only for the visually impaired, but those using screen magnifiers as well as those who are dyslexic or have other cognitive disabilities.
Avoid using nondescriptive link prompts like "click here," "read more" or "learn more". These links are not descriptive enough since all links are read aloud by screen readers without context.
Avoid posting URLs as text since these URL links are read aloud by screen readers. For example, instead of saying, "Visit Admission at www.UND.edu/admission to request more information," you should link the descriptive words or phrases, e.g., "Visit Admissions to request more information."
Tables are used for the display of tabular data only. Content in data cells is associated with headers and rows.
Avoid ALL CAPS, bolding random words and underlining anything that isn’t a link.
Use lists where appropriate to accurately convey structure and relationships of text or a list of items. This may be done using unordered lists (bullets) or ordered lists (1., 2., 3.).

Naming and Resizing Images for Web

When placing images on the web, it’s important to be thoughtful about the size and file name given to the photo used. The image guidelines created by the UND Web Team ensures the user experience is optimized for both desktop and mobile devices, and that organization is maintained within OmniUpdate by using straightforward naming conventions.

To get started, refer to the template guide and determine the size of photo you need and for suggested naming structures. Image sizing requirements have been listed for all image types on the Universal, College, and Landing Page templates.

OmniUpdate does not have a good photo editor; therefore, you’ll need to use your own photo editing program. There are many photo editing programs, including the most popular: Adobe Photoshop. But you can also use any image editor already on your computer, or you could try a free web-based resizer like PicResize.

How to Size Photos in Photoshop

Using Photoshop, crop the image to the desired size:

Using the crop tool, select W x H x Resolution in the dropdown toolbar, then enter your photo size in pixels (px), drag the cropping bars to include the desired image and a resolution of 72 dpi. Press ‘Enter.’ The image is now cropped.
Once cropped, save for web (File > Export > Save for Web). Saving for web compresses the photo so that it will display clearly, but will load quickly on the page.
- Rename the file using the proper naming convention: Keep the original file name and add the size to the end. For example, if we size a photo for a billboard, name the file 151014-squires-hall-billboard. If the size is just a random size, we would name it 151014-squires-hall-1920x1200.
Click ‘Save’ after naming the file.
Photos should then be saved in the “_files” folder in OmniUpdate to help with long-term site maintenance.

Image Tips

Photos for the UND website should not be larger than 300 kilobytes. Large image sizes impact page load time. This leads to a frustrating experience for end users and negatively impacts how the page will rank in search engines.
Always save images to 72 dpi. This is the lowest resolution recommended.
Images with text are not allowed, in order to meet federal accessibility standards. If images with words are required information, please consult with the Web Team to determine if the image can be used and still meet accessibility standards.

Resources

Faculty and staff unfamiliar with Adobe Photoshop are encouraged to attend TTADA’s Photoshop course that provides hands-on learning of basic tools and concepts. If Photoshop is unavailable to you, please reach out to your department to learn about obtaining a license.
Looking for images? The UND Photo Gallery is available for general use with a UND login, and additional archived photography can be requested by emailing marketing@UND.edu.