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A Sample Web Style Guide
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How would you write this guide today?
Formal web sites should observe standards adopted to meet the needs of the target audience. Large organizations benefit from formal policies. The 2001 guide below is a thumbnail of a more detailed set of standards reflecting extensive research into the target audience, user practices at the time and the skills of page designers involved at Rider University. It was issued as online guidance by Jim Alexander who was then the University Web Content Manager. Some viewer practices have changed since 2001, and design standards must be tailored to the specific situation. (Note: Some parameters have been modified in the interim. The links in the white area below are not active.)
University Web Style Guide
(Presented as a Sample -- not currently in effect)
  How to create informative, user-friendly Rider University web pages. For expanded explanations and background, consult the full Web Style Guide.
Use Standard Materials, without distorting, to promote Rider identity: University page templates, as appropriate; Standard University logos and images, calling them from their central URLs rather than duplicating in your folder. For these and general advice on Rider web practices, consult www.rider.edu/newsite.
Compatibility. Design for Mozilla and Internet Explorer version whatever.
Design with audience’s needs in mind – not your internal organization.
Make navigation easy. Clear, visible links, no dead-end pages.
Simplicity works. Focus on the content of your message, not on glitz.
Total size of a page’s html file and its images – don’t exceed 60 K; smaller is better.
Page Title (not file name): “Rider University – Department or Function”
Page width must not exceed 760 pixels.
Page length no longer than three screens (xxxx pixels). Use “Back to Top” as needed.
Allow standard fonts through CSS style sheets, such as Arial, Helvetica, sans serif, and Times New Roman, Times, serif. Limit number of fonts to two per page. Never smaller than 8 pixels, nor larger than 22 pixels. Size xx for most text; most paragraph and section headlines at xx.
Avoid “screaming” italics, solid caps, and too many exclamation marks.
Black text against white background is easiest screen-read. Avoid (altogether if possible) wallpapers, font colors or color/image backgrounds that impair contrast.
Use tables to control page layout. Columns aid on-screen reading. Align lists for easy visual scanning, avoiding overuse of centering.
Key information. Place near top; all information should be succinct, user-relevant.
Images. Create, crop and size in an image editor before placement on page. Do not resize images in the page editor. Use sparingly. Wider than 275 pixels is seldom justified, smaller is often effective. Save images at no more than 72 DPI.
Avoid animated images unless essential to the message (seldom the case).
Avoid sounds that are not essential to the message. Provide visible user control.  
  Top of page.   See the original full document here (PDF).
Design for average/lagging user, not to use the latest cutting-edge skills you just learned.
Do not require plugins or helper software other than Acrobat Reader and xxx. Cite the URL to get free version.
Handicapped accessibility. Use Alternative Text Tags for images, clean design.
Frames. Don’t use them.
Proprietary features -- avoid them.
Horizontal bars (lines). Use only when clearly needed to separate sections.
META tag Keywords. Use only if you understand why and how. Don’t impair existing META tags in templates.
Cookies. Don’t use without Web Content Manager OK. Respect privacy!
Copyright notices on individual pages – don’t place them.
No commercial endorsements or functions. We are a nonprofit university.
Spell check and preview page in both browsers.
Observe general Rider Computer Network User Rights/Responsibilities.
Remember: there is great competition for surfers’ attention; viewers are often impatient; people don’t view web pages like they read paper documents. Your page is part of a total Rider University presentation and viewer impression of who we are.
How would you write this guide today for your circumstances?
Does your web designer think about such things?

The Web Style Guide from which the above was drawn was some seventeen pages
of detailed research and explanation and is available online in PDF format here.

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