Web Style Guide

The MCC websites (www.mchenry.edu and mccscots.com) are considered official College publications. As such, the websites adhere to the same standards established for other forms of published information. Design, graphics, and content must be aesthetically pleasing, well-written, well-organized, and comply with appropriate legal and college guidelines.

Online Documents and the MCC Website

Official MCC webpages provide information relating to an office, department, official service, or functional unit of the College. Webpage content should be consistent with MCC's mission and goals and comply with the Illinois Information Technology Accessibility Act (IITAA 2.0) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1/2.2 Level AA.

MCC owns the copyright to content created for the MCC website, including reader-created content. Reader-created content includes mailing lists, discussion boards, forums, online chats, etc. As part of Marketing and Creative Services, the MCC web team reserves the right to regulate access to links, other servers, and the content of its website. The web team also reserves the right to remove from its server(s) any materials that are outdated, not properly maintained, or not in compliance with established policies and technical standards. The web team may also remove materials deemed erroneous, misleading, potentially illegal, or detrimental to the mission or operations of the College.

Planning Web Content

Identify your target readers. How many types of readers is your information relevant to? Who are they? Prioritize them.

Identify a publication schedule for the information on your web pages. How long will this information be relevant? How often will this information need to be updated or replaced?

Whenever possible, provide the web team with a monthly/annual calendar of events for your area to track the content that needs to be created for important events. Include the event name, a brief description of what content is required, the number of words required, the writer/contact person responsible, extra material required (images), and the due date for copy.

To Ensure the Readability of Webpage Content

Write for your reader—the reader wants to know “What’s in it for me?” as soon as possible
Design content for easy scanning. Use descriptive headers, bulleted lists, and accordion menus to break up long text. Aim for short paragraphs (2–4 sentences) to prevent walls of text, and place the most critical information in the first two paragraphs.
Use a mobile-first approach. Prioritize information by importance.
Write short, clear summaries that answer the where, when, what, and why
If you can’t avoid writing a long document, provide a table of contents including headings and subheadings
Don’t present your reader with a long list of links—show the reader only the very best links

The content author (not the web team) is responsible for obtaining and providing written proof of copyright permission from a third party to use and quote third-party content. This includes text, logos, and permission to link to other sites as needed.

When linking to third-party websites, review the site carefully before linking. Be sure the site has the content that your reader requires before advising your reader to spend time going to another site.
Don’t over-link to one website—creating a series of links to another website may be seen as copyright infringement.

Naming of Webpages

The web team, in conjunction with the Executive Director of Marketing and Public Relations, determines the appropriate name (alias URL) of a webpage. At all times, it is the goal to develop a name that is simple, appropriate, and memorable to the end user. When using web addresses in copy, they must always be lowercase, such as www.mchenry.edu/advising.

When writing out a URL in print publications or emails, do not use the following:

/index.html
https://
The end /

Best Practice