Organization

Begin with a sustainable, platform-independent organizational structure for your site:

  • PLAN your site's information architecture (IA) before building the site. Establish directories, subdirectories, and navigational paths. If you require assistance with developing a logical site architecture, contact Integrated Content.
  • Make sure that the default file in each directory and subdirectory is titled "index.html", all lowercase.
  • Use lowercase titles for all your file names.
  • Make sure that file names have proper extensions, such as .html or .htm, .jpg, .gif, .swf, etc.
  • Do not use spaces or punctuation in file names, other than the underscore "_" convention.
  • Use intuitive naming for your files and directories--keep file names as short and descriptive as possible (less than 15 characters where possible).
  • Place all your images and graphics in a subdirectory called "images." This subdirectory should be located within your site's top-level directory.
  • Use relative pathnames for links and images, where possible.
  • Use the University's name in the top (title) bar of the browser window for every page on your site--even those in the lower tiers. You may abbreviate to EMU, but it is important to identify all official EMU web pages as such.