Web standards for CELL projects
BACK: CELL requirements
All CELL projects are required to comply with CELL's policy regarding the release and management of online outputs, the structure and creation of web pages, and the provision of appropriate documentation. The key points of CELL's policy are as follows; full details and recommendations are made available to all CELL projects.
Release and management of online outputs
- All content to be published on the CELL website must be approved by CELL's Web Editor and will only be incorporated following full testing and formal acceptace.
- Any server-side applications will additionally required the approval of the Deputy Director.
- Subsequent changes to any CELL project will be at the discretion of CELL's Web Editor and must be formally agreed and documented.
- The Web Editor reserves the right to remove non-conformant pages and inappropriate links from the CELL website.
Structure and creation of web pages
- CELL webpages must take account of web standards and accessibility issues in accordance with the recommendations of the Web Standards Project [new window] and Section 508 [new window].
- CELL webpages must be written in XHTML (version 1.0 or later) and presentational issues must be managed using CSS.
- Documents must be readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
- CSS stylesheets must contain only those definitions required by the project's documents.
- Heavily nested tables shall be avoided. For data tables row and column headers are required.
- Frames should be used only where no reasonable alternative can be found and must be titled to facilitate frame navigation and identification.
- Standard character entities must be used in line with W3C [new window] and Unicode [new window] guidelines. The Web Editor must be consulted about unavailable characters.
- Only web-safe colours shall be used.
- Pages should not use flashing or blinking text, objects, or other elements which cause the screen to flicker with a frequency of greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
- Pages must not be wholly dependent upon client-side scripting for navigatioin.
- Images must be optimised for the web as JPEG or GIF images as approparite. The homepage shall not include large images. If large images are required, the user must be warned of their size before choosing to download.
- Textual content must comply with MHRA style guidelines.
- Links to external pages must open in a separate window with an appropriate disclaimer.
- CELL web pages should use ECMAScript for client-side scripting and PHP for server-side programs. All scripts will be formally reviewed by the Deputy Director.
- PDF files may be included within a project but the content must also be provided in a non-proprietary format.
Documentation
- Metadata for the whole project and for individual components must be provided and should comply either with Dublin Core or the CIDOC CRM.
- Projects are responsible for ensuring that their web content does not breach copyright and for any costs involved in clearance of copyright. The project must provide appropriate documentation in its Rights Management Report, which must be approved by the Web Editor and incorporated into the project's outputs.
BACK: CELL requirements
