Web page checklist

 

Use the following checklist to develop your web pages and to keep them up-to-date.

Site Organization
  • Do you use the UD header and footer on your site pages?

  • Have you named your home page index.html?

  • Do you include a link to the UD home page on your site's home page? In addition, does every other page in your site include a link back to the site's home page?

Page coding
  • Does the first line of every web page include a DOCTYPE definition? Include the following at the top of the page before the "html" tag:

    <!DOC TYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">

    See http://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/Doctype for more information.

  • Do your pages contain a "title" tag that describes the page content?

  • Do your pages contain "meta" tags that describe the site's purpose and list keywords so that search engines can find your information?
    <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />

    For more information, see http://www.w3.org/International/O-charset.

  • Do your pages use CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) to control layout and presentation? All references to css should include the following:
    <link rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" href="http://your page URL" >

    See http://www.w3.org/Style/CSS/learning for more information.

  • Do all references to Javascript contain the following:
    <script type="text/javascript">
    or
    <script type="text/javascript" src="your page URL">

  • Do your color choices follow accessibility standards?

  • Does every image tag include an "alt" tag to meet accessibility standards?

  • Does every image tag include "height" and width tags to improve loading time and to meet accessibility standards?

  • Do your pages include a copyright statement?

Page features
  • Are all links up-to-date? Check for broken links on your UD web site by going to http://www.udel.edu/cgi-bin/linklint/lint, logging in with your UDelNet ID and password, and providing your UD site URL.

  • Have you removed links to pages that are out-of-date or no longer needed?

  • Do your links contain meaningful text? (Make sure there are no links that say "click here".)

  • Have you followed copyright rules?

  • Do you open linked pages in a new browser window only for a good reason (e.g., a help page)? When at all possible, use only one browser window for your site.

  • Are spelling and grammar correct?

  • Do you avoid the use of underlined and blinking text on your page? Also, remember that italics is difficult to read on a computer monitor.

  • Is there a link to a contact person on your page for questions or comments readers may have? Note: To reduce SPAM, do not include the person's actual name or email address on the page.

Testing
  • Is your HTML valid? Use an HTML validation tool like the one at http://validator.w3.org to check your pages.

  • Have you tested your pages on all common browsers (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Safari) and platforms (Windows, Macintosh, UNIX)?

  • Have you tested your pages for usability and accessibility? See Jakob Nielsen's usability site at http://www.useit.com.