Style Guide

Style Guide

Web Site Evaluation Criteria

The following criteria should be used to determine how well each
part of the KCC website complies with the guidelines and standards
created by the KCC Website Committee.

Appropriate use of Web technologies

  • Leading-edge technologies are not employed for their own sake, but in order to accomplish the mission and vision of KCC.
  • Frames should not be used because they confuse the users' mental model of the site.
  • Graphics should be kept to a minimum and used only for providing necessary information.
  • When used, graphics file sizes should be minimized, and color depth
    should be reduced to the minimum needed to convey the information.
  • Animated graphics should be used sparingly, if at all, because they distract users' attention from the information on the page.
  • Sound and video should not be used unless they directly serve the
    KCC mission and vision such as providing teachings or meet an
    information need that cannot be addressed with simpler technology.
  • Accommodation must be made for visitors who turn off graphic
    information displays in their browser: absence of graphics should not
    dilute the value of the information.

Non-confusing links and URLs

  • Links and URLs should be unambiguous, clear, and specific, and they should be from 1 -6 words.
  • URLs should contain human-readable directory and file names that reflect the nature of the information space.
  • URLs should be all in lower case with no special characters so as
    to reduce the possibilities of typos or problems if the website is
    moved to a different type of web server.
  • Visitors should know by reading the text of a link where they will go if they click on it.

Logical and appropriate site organization and navigation

  • The site's first or home page should provide information of value
    to a large number of visitors. Do not use this page to announce the
    name of the site.
  • The organization of the site should be easy for vistors to understand.
  • Multiple navigation methods should be used, including hyperlinks, buttons, and search engines.
  • Do not use graphic links unless the graphic meets a business,
    learning, or information need; if they are used, provide redundant text
    links.
  • For pages of information consisting of several screens, provide
    intra-page links to subsections of the page from both top and bottom.
  • Use page titles that indicate the web site to which they belong in
    order to provide clues for visitors who arrive there from other sites
    or leave there to go to other sites.

Appropriate chunking of information and level of detail

  • Organize information in such a way that it occupies at least most of a screen.
  • If a page requires several screens, provide intra-page links at top and bottom of the page to subsections of the page.
  • Avoid horizontal scrolling of pages at all times, and vertical
    scrolling whenever possible in keeping with good information design.

Information kept up to date

  • Remove pages whose information is out of date.
  • For pages that have not changed in a significant amount of time
    (which varies according to the nature of the information), consider
    whether the page needs to be revised, replaced, or eliminated.
  • At the top of each page, specify the last revision date for the
    page or other pertinent information (such as version number or
    publication date for paper documents) that will help visitors determine
    whether the information is current. Use Year 2000-compliant formats.
  • In situations where the revision date of page components is more
    important that that of the page itself, the page revision date may be
    omitted, providing that each component of the page has a revision date
    displayed at its beginning.

Support of de facto standards

  • Use de facto standard colors of links and visited links.
  • Display pages in such a way that those who choose to change their
    default display to accommodate visual impairments or preferences may do
    so.

Appropriate download times

  • Page download times for a 56kb modem should not exceed 10 seconds.

Wide-ranging platform support

  • Displays should be viewable on screens with 800X600 resolution.
  • All major site changes should be tested in a test area on the
    production server before being integrated with the production website.
    Testing should be conducted with Netscape Navigator and Microsoft
    Internet Explorer browsers version 5 and above; and Macintosh and
    Windows 95, Windows 98 and XP operating systems. A list of sangha
    memebers using these configurations will be developed and added later
    to facilitate this testing.

Accurate and usable printing of pages

  • Each page should be printable.
  • When any page is printed, it must be completely legible and contain
    all information displayed on the screen, with the possible exception of
    graphics or other elements that do not convey important information.

Clean, professional visual appeal

  • Screens should take advantage of white space to guide the viewer’s eye through the display of information on the page.
  • Excessive graphics, a variety of font families, sizes, and styles,
    or overly bright colors are not to be used without a compelling reason.
  • Each page should be identifiable as belonging to a specific area of
    the KCC site in order to assist visitors in their navigation of the
    site.
  • Navigation mechanisms should be easy to find and use and positioned consistently across the site.
  • Backgrounds should be white or pale pastel colors.
  • Textured and patterned backgrounds should be used only if they do
    not interfere with the legibility and visual display of other
    information.
  • Restrict fonts to two or, at most, three families per page.
  • Fonts should be easy to read.
  • Line length should not require left or right scrolling.

top of page