Webpages | Marketing Practices

This section can help you create accessible webpages and offers guidance for online student photography and student stories.

CONNECTION | For guidance on web forms, see Inclusive Forms.

DOs & DON’Ts | if nothing else, follow these guidelines

• DO receive student consent for photographs.
• DO acknowledge individual students where possible.

Accessibility

Observe the following guidelines.

• Include descriptive page titles.
  For example, a page describing merit-based financial aid for undergraduate biology students might read, “Biology Scholarships | Undergraduate.” It should not use generic language, like “Money” or “Look Here.”
• Use headings appropriately.
  Headings separate information on your page and make it easily navigable. Segment your page’s language into clear chunks and apply descriptive headings. For example, a checklist might have the heading “Tips for the Application Process.”
• Do not used fixed-width tables.
  This can prevent content from resizing and so may impede users with visual impairment from reading content.
• Use alternative text with images.
  Alternative text appears when you hover your mouse over an image. The alternative text is used by text-to-speech programs for people with low sight or dyslexia, for example.
• Provide captions or transcripts of videos.
• Use dark text on a light background.

NOTE | For help with these elements or for additional guidelines, contact webteam@pacificu.edu

Photography

When a student’s image is used on the main, top-level or landing page of your program’s webpages, the student may be perceived to represent your program. For that reason, you should ensure the student has consented to using their likeness in such a location or to representing your program prominently.

Otherwise, photography used on the website should follow the same guidelines as photography used in other mediums.

CONNECTION | For more on using student images, see Good & Bad Photography. For additional guidance on securing students’ permission, see Student Consent.

Interconnections

When you use students’ images or stories to explain your program and its activities, use hyperlinks to better communicate who those students are.

• Hyperlink between your webpage and student stories.
  For example, if your webpage references a program award, then hyperlink to a news story about a previous recipient’s achievements.
• Hyperlink between your images and student stories.
  For example, if your webpage used a banner image of a student practicing in a clinic, hyperlink to that student’s story about how they discovered pacific.
• Hyperlink between student stories.
  For example, if your webpage has a video of a student explaining why they chose their program, hyperlink to a news story about that student.

NOTE | Do not create additional webpages to list every student’s biography or to present every student’s portrait. These will hinder navigation of the website. You goal is to support student narratives, not to prevent website users from locating them.