Web Content Guide:
College Standards & Best Practices

Purpose of This Guide

The purpose of this Web Content Guide is to establish a standard in the writing and appearance of content published on the Delta College public website. The website, with its thousands of pages, is a collaboration of many individuals, but is viewed as one publication. Implementing the elements within this guide will create a professional and cohesive Web presence for Delta College, while communicating its information consistently and clearly.

Understanding the Web Content Guide

Before you author pages or edit content in Sitebuilder, you should have a good understanding of the Web Content Guide. Please read each section, which covers Accessibility and Maintenance, Images and Files, Page Content, and Writing For the Web. Make sure to refer back to this guide often as it will be reviewed and updated as needed.

Have Questions or Need Help?

If you have any questions about information in this guide or would like some help improving your website, you can contact Andrea Techlin, Web Content Marketing Manager, at andreatechlin@delta.edu or x9194. Any Sitebuilder system issues should be reported to OIT at help@delta.edu or x9575.

Can Website Visitors Find What They Need?

The website is a marketing tool aimed at:

1. prospective students and their parents
2. current students
3. the community

The primary objective of the public Delta College website is as a marketing tool for the college to provide information to customers seeking to do business with the college. We want to satisfy their reason for visiting in a clear and concise manner and promote future interaction as steps in the process to becoming their first choice to learn, work and grow. Website content is to be written and organized with emphasis placed on prospective students, parents and others seeking to do business with the college. The Marketing Office uses the website as a platform to promote and highlight programs, courses, services, events, organizations, and other features of Delta College. All components of the public site will be constructed in such a way that content, flow of content, and placement of content will support the primary objective.

The secondary objective of the website is to provide users who need to interact with Delta College, information and tools which allows them to do so. This information is geared towards current students. The information should be organized in a logical fashion which allows current students quick access to information, content, forms, and other online tools.

The scope of information on the website should be limited to data which is directly supporting one of the objectives of the website. Information on the website should be current, relevant and reviewed on a regular basis to ensure accuracy. Information, content and online tools need to directly support the first and/or second objectives of the Delta College website. Care needs to be taken to ensure that the information supporting the second objective does not detract from the primary goal of providing marketing content to users of the public website.

Think of Your Audience Needs

It is important that your content supports these objectives. Always remember your audience and think about how they use the website. "What are they looking for?" is more important than "What do I want to say?". Make your webpage informative and easy to use to create a positive user experience on the Delta College website.