Website planning
Site architecture
As you begin developing a website, consider these factors:
- Identify the primary audience for your site.
- Identify a user’s major tasks.
- Organize information by audience, task, or both.
- Match link labels to the title of the page that the link leads to.
- Label items logically, and if a term or name of an office isn’t intuitive or clear, provide details.
- Avoid using icons or graphics as the only source of labeling information.
Site navigation
- Use a similar navigation and aesthetic scheme as the university home page as much as possible to make it easier for users shifting between the UW–Madison home page and other university sites.
- Don’t link pages back to themselves.
- Include the organization name on all pages, either as part of the title or header of the page.
- Make it clear to users where they are in the information hierarchy of your site. Present the structure in a clear and consistent manner and indicate the location within the hierarchy.
Web coding standards
The Division of Information Technology (DoIT) offers professional technical education, including courses and tutorials related to coding and other aspects of the web.
Web accessibility
All university web pages must be accessible to users with disabilities. Please familiarize yourself with the university’s World Wide Web Accessibility Policy before designing your site. For additional information, see DoIT’s Web Accessibility Resources page.
