University Design Standards

Below are minimum requirements that must be adhered to by all official university web sites.

Identify Affiliation to the University

Visitors to Official University Web Sites must be able to determine at all times that they are visiting a portion of the UTD site.

Minimum Design Standard: The university name must be placed on every page of each web site.

Recommended: A university nameplate or wordmark is the preferred means of identification. As an alternative, text may be used.

Post Contact Information

Visitors to official university web sites with a question concerning the web page must be able to contact the web developer and receive a response within a reasonable period of time.

Minimum Design Standard: A contact email address on each web page, which may be supplemented with a name and/or telephone number. See the footer below. In unusual cases, a contact name and telephone number may be substituted for a contact email address.

Keep Information Current

Visitors to official university web sites expect and deserve valid, up-to-date information on our web pages. A good site maintenance plan encourages return visits and increases the overall effectiveness of the web site.

Minimum Design Standard: Frequently review content to ensure that it is both current and accurate. When the page was last updated must also be included.

Ensure Correct Spelling and Grammar

The university requires that all web sites use editorial standards.

Ensure Web Page Printability

Some web pages, when printed, cut off blocks of text.

Minimum Design Standard: Make sure all pages on your web site can be printed without cutting off text.

Recommended: Use Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) on your web sites to format text. Areas that do not need to be printed (such as the navigation bar or photos) can be hidden using CSS. Print this page to see an example.

Keep Page Navigation Simple

Ensure that visitors can navigate through your site easily, without confusion.

Minimum Design Standard: There should be a link to the UTD home page and a link to your home page on all pages. The main navigation on the website should not change.

Recommended: Arrange the content on your website so that there 4-8 main navigation areas. More than eight main navigation areas can be confusing for users.