Checklist of Standards and Recommendations

This page lists all of the recommendation and standards found within this site.

• Recommendation from the Guide; there is some leniency here.

• Standard as set out by the Guide; this should not be broken.

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Semantic structure

• All Queen's University web pages must use semantic HTML.

Document length

• Excessive page scrolling should be avoided on Queen's University web pages.

Hyperlinks

• Avoid language that requires spatial or visual references.

• All hyperlinks should avoid vague link text such as "Click here"

• All hyperlinks should include a description and/or title of the linked document as part of the screen text.

• Hyperlinks on Queen's University web pages should not open in a new browser window.

Foreign languages

• All foreign language content must use language declarations.

Contact information

• All Queen's web pages must include contact information for the department or group that is posting the information.

Acronyms and abbreviations

• All acronyms and abbreviations must be clearly defined on each web document they are used on.

Punctuation and grammar

• All documents that are to be placed on any University web site should be spell-checked and proofread for punctuation and grammar, as well as for accuracy in the information.

Colour

• Colour must not be the only means of conveying information.

• Colours must be declared in the style sheet and done so in pairs to ensure that a foreground color always has an accompanying background color.

• Foreground and background colour pairs must have sufficient contrast so as to be clearly distinct.

Font style and size

• Font sizes will only be declared using relative measurement values.

• Font sizes will only be declared via a page's Cascading Style Sheet(s).

• For maximum legibility and cross-platform compatability, the default screen font for all Queen's web pages will be the sans-serif collection: "Lucida Grande", Arial, sans-serif.

Navigation

• Links within the body of Queen's University web pages must be underlined and a different colour than the surrounding text.

• Links used for navigation should be links in an unordered list. They must be distinguishable from the other text on the page.

Photos, images, and icons

• All photos used on Queen's University web pages must be optimized for web use.

• 

 High-resolution photos intended for printing should be linked to from a page, and not "embedded" directly into the page.

• Icons should be carefully chosen and deployed to avoid confusion.

• The use of third party icons on Queen's hosted web pages must be pre-approved by Queen's Department of Marketing and Communications

PDF

• PDF files should not be the primary method of web delivery.

Flash, streaming media

• Flash and Streaming Media must not be used as the sole content delivery format.

• Streaming Media (including audio or other music files) should not "autostart".

• Streaming Media must include accessible controls allowing for start, stop and when required audio adjustment.

Powerpoint

• Proprietary formats must not be used as the sole document delivery format. They may be included as supplements, but an HTML version must be the primary format.

Downloads

• Links to downloadable documents or digital files should indicate format and file size in the link text.

• Documents that required a helper or stand-alone application or plug-in must display a link to a site where the application or plug-in may be downloaded.

Code validation

• All Queen's University web documents must be valid XHTML 1.0 (transitional) or greater.

Cascading style sheets

• All Queen's University web documents must use Cascading Style Sheets for display and formatting purposes.

• All Queen's University Style declarations should be in separately referenced files.

• All Queen's University Cascading Style Sheets must be validated.

Frames

• HTML Frames will not be used on any Queen's University Web documents

Forms

• All important information related to a form, such as form instructions, must be presented before the form itself. The submit button must be the last form element contained within a form.

• All form fields must be associated with their labels using the < label> HTML tag. If a form cannot be labeled, it must include a title that explains in brief what the form field is.

ALT text

• All images must include an ALT attribute.

• The use of square brackets around ALT text is recommended, especially if/when the alternative text may lead to confusion when read in conjunction with surrounding text.

• All images that are being used to display text information must include the same text information in the ALT text.

• Images that are used for strictly for decorative purposes must use Alt=""

JavaScript and other client-side scripting

• All Queen's University web pages that employ client-side scripting must be done with JavaScript (ECMAScript). VBScript must not be used.

• All Queen's University web pages must be fully functional without the use of JavaScript.

• All Queen's University web pages that use forms should use server-side validation and be able to be submitted without using JavaScript. The forms can be further enhanced by JavaScript-based form validation but must not rely on it.

• All Queen's University web pages that use dynamic fly-out or dropdown menus must not rely on JavaScript to create or navigate to the top level menu items.

• All Queen's University web pages should not spawn pop-up windows. Though the practice is discouraged, full new windows (including menus, toolbars etc) may be opened for linking to external sites if the link indicates that the page will open in a new window.

• Queen's University web pages must not employ "browser sniffing." Web pages that utilize scripting must utilize DOM-compatible capability-testing instead of testing for specific browsers.

Server-side scripting

• Any server-side scripting that is used on Queen's University web pages must ensure that they produce valid HTML code.

TabIndex, Accesskeys

• Accesskeys must not to be used on any Queen's University web pages.

• Tabindex attributes should not be used on Queen's University web pages.

Syndicated news feeds

• Any news feeds produced by Queen's University or its departments must use proper syntax (i.e. they must be valid).

E-newsletters

• All Queen's e-newsletters must provide choice of HTML or plain text format for the users.