Intranet Standards and Publishing Guidelines

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Intranet Standards and Publishing Guidelines

Objectives / Business Purpose

  • All intranet sites should have a clear business purpose.
  • The business objectives and target audience should be defined and approved by management.

Content Standards

  • Keep text tight, not wordy
  • Develop a content management process to keep all content current.
  • Place most important content at the top of the page hierarchy.
  • Test and verify the function of all HTML.
  • Ask for user feedback.

More Content Standards

  • All content should be published in accordance with the all existing corporate policies regarding use of electronic communication.
  • Use plain English when creating site names, headings and link titles. Avoid trending words like "Solution Center" or "Knowledge Connection.  Use simple task and function language like "HR Benefit Enrollment", "Order a computer".
  • Use approved authoring and publishing tools (ex., Frontpage).
  • Publish draft content to development servers and establish a production server publishing process that includes quality controls and testing.

More Content Standards

  • All content should have a review / editing process to check for spelling, grammar, accuracy and quality.
  • Content should be designed for all browsers currently in use (Internet Explorer 5 and 6).
  • Content should display well on the minimum standard PC resolution (example: 800x600).

More Content Standards

  • All intranet directory pages or home pages should have a link back to the Corporate Home Page.
  • The Intranet Home Page should be the default home page for all corporate web browser installations.
  • Departmental level web sites should not try to duplicate a corporate-wide directory page, but should direct their users to the corporate home page.
  • Test how pages print from the browser.
  • Do not design web pages that disable the "back" and "forward" buttons or change the browser interface.

More Content Standards

  • All intranet sites that use Java, Javascript and ActiveX should be tested on development servers and tested on all browsers currently deployed.
  • High bandwidth multi-media intranet applications should be tested for any adverse impact on the LAN / WAN.
  • All new sites should be user-tested with 5 users that are given basic tasks to perform on the site. 

Graphics

  • Limit the size of large images used for visual appeal only.
  • Total size of graphics should not exceed 250kb per page unless required to meet business objectives of site.
  • Follow standards for use of the company logo on your site
  • Use all design techniques to limit size of graphics.
  • Use the corporate brand color palette and test that the colors display correctly on the standard PC setup.

More Graphics Standards

  • Start a new site with a simple design (no frames) and consider using one of the corporate design templates. Some design integration with the corporate home page is recommended.
  • Ensure good contrast between text and background colors or textures.
  • Avoid large image maps.
  • Limit the size and number of navigation graphics.
  • Use standard links

Animation Graphics / Special Effects

  • Use of animation graphics is discouraged and should be used to meet essential design objectives only and no more than one animation per page is allowed.
  • Don’t use gimmicky special effects such as pop-up windows or complicated mouse-over effects.

Navigation Standards

  • Use consistent navigation
  • High-level navigation should be included on all pages and would typically include links to the home page, search and site index.
  • Don’t use links that spawn a new browser window unless essential for certain advanced interactive applications. These should spawn a baby window tested on lower-resolution screens.
  • For large sites, consider adding a search engine or index page.
  • Links to departmental level home pages should be referred to by name (do not use just "Home") and links to the corporate home page should be "Corporate Home".

Legal and Accountability Standards

  • Follow all copyright and trademark laws.
  • All content should have the name of the content author and date of last revision on the page or in the HTML.
  • Review and follow all requirements in the corporate policies regarding communications.
  • Keep in mind that intranet content can be accessed by anyone with a web browser connected to the WAN. Any information that is not suitable for a corporate -wide audience should not be published to internal web servers without proper access restrictions in place.

Security Guidelines

  • Use the following security standards for site access control
  • Content suitable for all employees
    • No access restrictions, standard LAN login provides full access
  • Non-sensitive content but intended for specific department only
    • Simple userid / password access and basic (NT) authentication
  • Sensitive content intended for specific people in a department
    • Strong security including encryption, digital certificates, and admin of unique logins and passwords

More Legal and Accountability

  • Use appropriate disclaimers in headers to highlight content usage restrictions (ex., for internal use only) and consult with the Legal Department if you have any questions on this.
  • Follow all other technology standards including use of the corporate LAN / WAN and the Employee Code of Conduct regarding use of company resources for business purposes only.

 

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