Web developers beginning official Web projects at AAES/ACES/COAG should contact their communications department to discuss the scope and plans for their Web site development. This discussion will facilitate a smooth process for site development and implementation. Before you meet with us, please complete and bring with you an application for Web site development, Form W.

The elements below are required on all official AAES/ACES/COAG Web sites. Please contact your communications department if you have questions about any of the following elements.

Required Site Elements
(THIS WILL PROBABLY BE EXPANDED AS THE TEMPLATES ARE DEVELOPED.
WE MAY HAVE SEPARATE SECTIONS FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, ACADEMIC AND AUXILLARY SITES.)
On all pages of your site, the title bar (the very top of the browser window, above the Web page itself) must include your organization’s name, either the Alabama Agricultural Experiment Station, The Alabama Cooperative Extension System or the College of Agriculture at Auburn University.

On all pages of your site, there must be a link to your site's home page (designed or labeled so it is distinguishable from the front-page link to the AAES/ACES/COAG home page).

On your site's home page, a link to Auburn University must be present. This can be included as part of the footer / masthead. You should also include links to the home pages of the AAES/ACES/COAG, Site Map, Calendar, and Search.

On your site's home page only, there must be a link to an e-mail address for your current site administrator.
We recommend that you not use the person's name, but rather include a link such as this: Contact the site administrator, or something similar ("Webmaster" is acceptable). This information must be kept current and accurate.

All pages of your site should reflect basic accessibility standards.

Responsibility Of Site Developer
At present, most AAES/ACES/COAG Web sites are developed and maintained by faculty, staff or students with primary responsibilities other than Web development. As the development and maintenance of these Web sites becomes part of the assigned responsibilities of faculty or staff, these site developers will become personally responsible for the following:

Ensuring that their site complies with applicable AAES/ACES/COAG standards, policies and guidelines (located on and linked from this Web site).

Ensuring that the content (including text, graphics, all elements) of their site does not violate any copyright. (LINK TO COPYRIGHT INFO??)

Keeping written permission on file for any photos of people (LINK TO PERMISSION FORM).

Keeping written parental permission on file for any photos of children under age 16.

Gaining approval for their site's content from their dean, director or department head.

Gaining approval from their communications department before launching their newly designed / restructured site.

Protecting their pages that contain secure data, such as passwords, but using SSL.

Ensuring that their site remains current, accurate and a positive reflection of the AAES/ACES/COAG mission and strategic objectives. (When the responsibilities for site development are completed, the maintenance duties for the site must be turned over to the next person charged with this responsibility. If no such person has been given this responsibility, both the communications department and either the dean, the unit director or department head must be informed.)

Ensuring that their site, and all directories/subdirectories that comprise their site, remain free of any files or data of any kind that are not directly and currently a part of their official AAES/ACES/COAG Web site.

Elements NOT To Include
There are certain elements that detract from the user experience and from the professionalism of your site's presentation. Please do not include the following on your Web site:

Do not include: Individual dates or other specifically time-sensitive information on Web pages, unless you are thoroughly prepared to update them EVERY day, or unless you have an automated method for daily updates. It is important to maintain completely updated information.

Do not include: The site administrator's name on every page of your site. A reference to the site administrator (not recommended by name) is recommended on the front page only. At deeper site levels, it can be hard to maintain this information accurately, and it is also unnecessary.

Do not include: Distracting design elements, such as flashing .gifs, blinking text, background images, super-saturated (very bright) colors, huge or tiny text sizes, looped sound files, etc.

Do not include: any non-AAES/ACES/COAG advertising, promotions or commercial activity. These activities are prohibited in the ag.auburn.edu and aces.edu domains, because they are .edu domains. (For information about domain names, review the section on Official Web Sites or contact your communications department.

Do not include: any files or data of any kind that are not directly and currently a part of your official AAES/ACES/COAG Web site (even if they are not linked on the site).

Do not include: Frames, Flash-only navigation, etc. Further information is here.