Discussion: The Need for Web Standards

The Ala Moana shopping center in Honolulu is one of the largest in the United States, with more than 100 stores. It has a distinctive look to each of its stores, though each store is different. When you are in the mall, you can find your way around by looking for maps, following the hallways, and looking for common signs. 

Imagine if the stores at Ala Moana didn't follow some standard rules. Some stores might have only a back door, so you couldn't get to any of the other stores. Some stores might want to build storefronts that look completely out of place with the rest of the mall. Other stores might move around all the time, making it hard for shoppers to find them. Without common rules--and a general professional appearance--the shopping center wouldn't be as successful as it is.

Similarly, the BYU-Hawaii Web site is like a large shopping center. Each section can have its own unique flavor (to a certain point), but without general rules and consistency, visitors get frustrated and might not return.

The following standards are general rules for University Web pages. They typically deal with file and directory structures, and site-wide issues. Adhering to these general rules will help you develop Web pages that are technically acceptable to the vast majority of BYU-Hawaii's international audience, and maintain some consistency with the rest of BYU-Hawaii's Web site. 

Rationale

This set of general rules has been developed after taking into consideration the basic demographics of the international audience of BYU-Hawaii. These rules appeal to the "lowest common denominator," meaning that users with older technologies will be able to experience the BYUH Web site just as well as others. 

These rules have also been developed to maintain some consistency within the BYUH Web site, and also meet some federal accessibility guidelines.

Principles

Review this list of principles. You'll want to read them carefully to see what you think they mean. Try to think of a specific example for each rule as you view the list. The next section gives you reasons for the principles and some specific examples.

•   All pages have a <title> tag
•   All pages work on a variety of operating systems
•   All files/directories are properly named (no symbols or spaces, and proper capitalization)
•   Pages adhere to University Style rules
•   Pages should not use frames