Web Design Guidelines
Communications & Marketing (C&M)
Formerly known as "Communications & Public Affairs (C&PA)"
These guidelines provide information to campus web designers and developers and external agencies involved in the creation of official University of Guelph web pages. Web sites developed for colleges, departments or other units of the university are considered official web sites. Web publishers are responsible for the content of the pages they publish and are expected to abide by the highest standards of quality, consistency and responsibility.
Accessibility
The University of Guelph is committed to ensuring that our website is accessible for all users, regardless of any disability they may have or the technology they use. Official University of Guelph websites must conform with the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR) under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA).
Under Section 14 of the IASR, all University of Guelph internet websites and web content are expected to conform with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0), initially at Level A by January 1, 2014 and increasing to Level AA by January 1, 2021. This standard applies to all websites and web content created or edited after January 1, 2012.
The University has developed guidelines for procedures and practices for website developers and web content creators that will ensure that they meet our AODA obligations.
Approval
New websites bearing the University of Guelph logo should be approved in principle before design work begins. Please contact the Web Strategy Manager with proposals.
Copyright
Audio, images, text or video footage may only be used after confirmation of permission-to-use from the medium's copyright holder. Official webpages should identify that materials are © University of Guelph
Contact Information
Each page should include either a contact email, or a link to a contact information page for the person maintaining the website or the person responsible for the site's information. Providing both contacts may be necessary depending on the nature of the website. A contact phone number should be included on all main pages.
Sponsor & Donor Recognition
Any web based sponsor or donor recognition must receive written approval from the relevant department and Communications and Marketing and include no links to the sponsor or donor's website.
Domain Names & URLs
Requests for new domain names or web server addresses are submitted to the Web Strategy Manager who, after reviewing our domain name policy will forward approved domain names to Computing and Communications Services for implementation.