GSAP-online: Information
__-Off site Links and Resources
__-GSAP Admissions Information
__-Facilities Information and
___reporting computer problems
__-Instructions and software
Publishing in the GSAP-online
__-How to Publish in the GSAP-online
__-HTML Guide
__-HTML Resources
__-Frequently Asked Questions
__-HTML file and folder template
___for projects online
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HTML Guidelines
Index.html
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You must name the primary file of your web site "index.html". When a directory is referenced, the server software we use defaults to looking for a file called "index.html." If an index does not exist, the server temporarily creates one, showing a listing of the contents of your directory in lieu of a web site.
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It is recommended that you name all folders in your site with a capital letter at the beginning of the name and all files in all lowercase letters. This naming convention clarifies directory listings by making it easier to differentiate between folders and files. It is also recommended protocol to use file extensions to differentiate the file types in your web site, the recommended extensions are as follows:
FILE TYPE EXTENSIONSProvide information about owner of Data and Contact if different from web administrator.
JPEG .jpg GIF .gif AIFF .aiff MPEG3 .mp3 WAV .wav Quicktime Movie .mov Quicktime VR .mov HTML .html TEXT .txt VRML .wrl
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The GSAP-online asks that each sub-site (studio, degree program, course and administrative sites) supply an "about" page in their portion of the web site, this file should contain contact information about the administrator of the web pages. The GSAP asks that one person be responsible for the data of each sub-site, ensuring that the data adheres to GSAP policy, University policy and federal law such as copyright and other restrictions on data transmissions.
Notify the GSAP-on-line editor of any changes. Any major changes in your web site may effect the overall site references and links, if you make any major changes in you site or its file structure please notify the GSAP-online editor at editor@www.arch.columbia.edu.
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Within your portion of the website please include a hyperlink back to the GSAP online main page (http://www.arch.columbia.edu/). This provides a means for users that have arrived at the site indirectly or from search engines to view the rest of the work on the site.
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Include at date on each page as to when it was last updated, old data can be deceptive and confusing. Since web documents are constantly changing publications, it is critical to note how current the information is.
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Titles (ie. <title>Title of Document</title>) and meta-tags (ie. <META NAME="description" CONTENT="architecture projects"> are very important in the navigation and indexing of sites. The title is critical in navigating the web because it is the name your site is given when bookmarked. Titles are also valuable because they allow your work to be found, web search engines search documents by their titles and a titleless document
cannot be found. The meta tag is also critical in the indexing of sites, it allows the author to embed keywords about the document it the documents head, enabling search engines for index your site based on content.
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Most information and data falls under federal copyright laws, and almost all data falls under institution or individual "intellectual property". It is necessary to get approval before using others work in an online publication and it is the responsibility of the site's web administrator to ensure that these laws are not in violation.
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While creating a web page it is often that case that portions are put in place with the intention of being implemented fully at a later time. It is best to cut off these links, making them inaccessible till that time at which they are ready for release, the "file not found" message makes a site appear sloppy and mis-managed.
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The web is in a constant state of flux and often sites that are there one day are gone the next, check your off-site links periodically to verify they still exist.
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Large images, animation and sound files take a long time to load. Most people still browse the web over a modem and it is easy to forget that the connection on the machines at school is remarkably faster than a modem connection. Web designers should be wary of files that take an extremely long time to load and should place the memory size and expected load time next to large files. The standard convention is to assume 30k worth of data takes 30 seconds to upload on a 14.4 modem. This translates to approximately 15 minutes of load time per megabyte.
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Many people still browse the web with non-graphic based browsers, if your web site relies primarily on graphic based navigation be sure to include alternate text for the images. Alternate text <ie. IMG ALT="click here for Columbia" SRC="columbia.jpg"> is text that shows up in lieu of an image that does not load. Alternate text allows for your site to still be navigated with a non-graphic based browser or if some of your images do not load properly.