Web Style Guide
The following web style guide is intended as a "best practices" resource for content contributors.
If you are a content contributor and have any questions about your content, don't hesitate to reach out to the Office of Marketing and Communications.
Jump to: Headings | Links | Lists | Tables
Headings
Headings come in six sizes - H1, H2, H3, H4, H5, and H6. By default, the page title (generated by the text in the "Heading" field of the first piece of General Content on the page) is an H1 (and should be the only H1 on a page).
Think of headings as the table of contents for your page. The content on your page should be broken up into scannable chunks of content, with descriptive headings to make the scope of the information presented easy to grasp with a quick look.
After the page title, your main headings should be H2s. If the content that falls under an H2 needs additional subheadings, use H3s. If the content under an H3 needs additional subheadings, use H4s, and so on.
Links
A link is a promise. Link text should be clear; it should be obvious where a user will end up if they click the link.
General Tips for Links
- Avoid linking headings.
- Avoid generic links such as "click here" and "read more."
- Link text should make sense when taken out of context.
Document Links (pdf, doc, etc.)
Links to documents should always include the file extension in brackets (ex. [pdf], [doc], etc.). This tells the user they are about to download a file or open a pdf in their browser window.
Email Links
Email addresses should always be active links. This allows a user to click or tap the email address and have their email application open automatically.