Web Guidelines for Content Editors & Creators LibGuides

Instructions: http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/widget

  • To display lists of links use the Links Boxes box types not the Rich Text box type.
    Links Boxes:

    • are checked for broken links
    • can be globally edited when a URL needs to be updated
    • allow you to re-use existing links which means less long term maintenance
    • provide statistics on how often each link is clicked
  • When copying/pasting text from Word/Outlook etc. into the LibGuides Rich Text Editor use the “Paste from Word” icon.
  • Re-use links and content. If a link or box already exists on the site (e.g., Databases, A-Z) re-use it. Link to shared widgets and boxes from other guides where practical in order to reduce long-term maintenance.  Shared widgets can be found in the “#LibGuides at The University of Iowa Libraries” LibGuide (http://guides.lib.uiowa.edu/widget)
  • If you don’t re-use links and content (above) use PURL links for databases (when possible) to reduce the need for URL updating.
  • Do not submit technical support requests directly to Springshare. Contact lib-it-help@list.uiowa.edu for assistance.
  • Enable a right-hand column profile for each page and include a picture or other image. Use the default user profile if at all possible – do not edit profiles on a page-by-page basis. If the default profile is edited, changes will not propagate to edited profiles.
  • Create a “Friendly URL” for each guide (e.g., guide.lib.uiowa.edu/music instead of guides.lib.uiowa.edu/content.php?hs=a&pid=4222). This can be done when publishing the guide.
  • Restrict LibGuides (public face) to Subject Guides/Course Guides/How-to Guides – Not traditional lib pages
  • Apply at least one (but no more than 3*) subject category to each resource (e.g., Political Science, History, Medicine). This allows the system to automatically organize and group guides by subject/department.  Contact lib-it-help@list.uiowa.edu if you would like a new category created . *Contact the librarian(s) responsible for a particular subject before applying category.
  • Course Guide – Add the course number to the Guide Title and apply the “Course Guides” category when publishing.
  • Brand Hardin Library and Branch Library pages with a logo, image, or name in a center or side box.
  • Do not change box colors.
  • Guides should have no more than 1 row of tabs. If a guide has many tabs or submenus, consider dividing it into multiple guides.
  • Use library defaults for styling, font, and colors. Do not change fonts.
  • Use the Table of Contents box type to display tabs [recommended]
  • Pages without an individual author should be linked to a departmental profile.
  • Disable comments for each page and box [recommended]
  • Enter a description for each page [recommended]
  • Tag your guide with relevant keywords. To reduce confusion and make similar guides easier to find, try to reuse tags from other guides rather than creating multiple similar tags.