U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |1 DocumentVersion–2.0
Embassy Website Modernization Publishing Standards
U.S. Mission Website Platform Program
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:11/18/2015 P a g e |2 DocumentVersion–2.0
Table of Contents RevisionHistory.......................................................................................................................................................6
Introduction................................................................................................................................................................7
AbouttheU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatform................................................................................................7
AboutWordPress.................................................................................................................................................7
AboutthePublishingStandards....................................................................................................................8
InformationArchitecture......................................................................................................................................9
Overview..................................................................................................................................................................9
Visas.....................................................................................................................................................................10
U.S.CitizenServices......................................................................................................................................13
OurRelationship.............................................................................................................................................16
Business.............................................................................................................................................................18
Education&Culture......................................................................................................................................20
Embassy&Consulate(s).............................................................................................................................21
News&Events.................................................................................................................................................23
SystemPages....................................................................................................................................................24
DesignStandards....................................................................................................................................................25
Header.....................................................................................................................................................................25
Footer&Disclaimer..........................................................................................................................................26
PrivacyNotice&Disclaimer..........................................................................................................................27
ExternalLinkDisclaimer............................................................................................................................27
PrivacyNotice..................................................................................................................................................27
Typography...........................................................................................................................................................27
PreferredFonts...............................................................................................................................................27
AlternateFonts................................................................................................................................................27
ColorPalette.........................................................................................................................................................28
BrandColors.....................................................................................................................................................28
OtherColorsofNote.....................................................................................................................................28
SocialMedia......................................................................................................................................................28
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |3 DocumentVersion–2.0
PageTemplates...................................................................................................................................................29
PageTemplatesAvailabletoUsers........................................................................................................29
AdministratorTemplates...........................................................................................................................30
Navigation.............................................................................................................................................................31
GlobalNavigation...........................................................................................................................................31
LandingPages..................................................................................................................................................31
HomePageElements........................................................................................................................................32
AbovetheFold.................................................................................................................................................32
BelowtheFold.................................................................................................................................................34
InternalPageElements....................................................................................................................................35
BlogPostElements............................................................................................................................................36
MainBodyFeaturesandFunctions............................................................................................................38
Pagination.........................................................................................................................................................38
SocialMediaNavigation..............................................................................................................................39
EventCalendar................................................................................................................................................39
Accordion...........................................................................................................................................................40
HomePageSlider...........................................................................................................................................41
CustomSidebars.................................................................................................................................................42
GoogleMaps.....................................................................................................................................................42
LinkLists............................................................................................................................................................42
RelatedPosts....................................................................................................................................................43
RSSFeed.............................................................................................................................................................43
AdobeReader..................................................................................................................................................44
SocialLinks.......................................................................................................................................................44
Textbox...............................................................................................................................................................44
TextboxImage.................................................................................................................................................45
TextboxImageFull........................................................................................................................................45
TwitterFeed.....................................................................................................................................................46
FacebookFeed.................................................................................................................................................46
InstagramFeed...............................................................................................................................................47
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |4 DocumentVersion–2.0
FlickrFeed.........................................................................................................................................................47
SecretaryFeed.................................................................................................................................................48
POTUSFeed......................................................................................................................................................48
VPOTUSFeed...................................................................................................................................................49
Video....................................................................................................................................................................49
Shortcodes.........................................................................................................................................................49
Forms...........................................................................................................................................................................50
PDFForms.............................................................................................................................................................50
OnlineForms........................................................................................................................................................50
Photos..........................................................................................................................................................................51
GeneralGuidelinesforImages......................................................................................................................51
PhotoSizes............................................................................................................................................................52
Pages....................................................................................................................................................................52
Posts.....................................................................................................................................................................52
Miscellaneous..................................................................................................................................................52
Captions..................................................................................................................................................................53
CaptionTextLimits.......................................................................................................................................53
ALTTags................................................................................................................................................................53
PhotoCredits........................................................................................................................................................54
PhotoTips.............................................................................................................................................................54
UsefulInformation........................................................................................................................................55
Tables..........................................................................................................................................................................55
ScopeAttribute...................................................................................................................................................55
TableSummaries................................................................................................................................................56
SampleCodedTable......................................................................................................................................57
UserFriendlyPages...............................................................................................................................................58
CreatingUserFriendlyPages........................................................................................................................58
FileandURLNamingConventions.............................................................................................................58
ExternalLinks......................................................................................................................................................58
DomainNames....................................................................................................................................................58
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |5 DocumentVersion–2.0
LanguageContentDisplay..................................................................................................................................59
ContentandMaintenance...................................................................................................................................60
AccessibilityStandards........................................................................................................................................61
WhatisSection508?.........................................................................................................................................61
WebAccessibilityInitiative(WAI).............................................................................................................61
BarriertoAccess............................................................................................................................................61
WebContentAccessibilityGuidelines(WCAG).....................................................................................62
AccessibleDesign...............................................................................................................................................62
UniquePageTitle...............................................................................................................................................62
HeadingTags–ProperUse............................................................................................................................62
AccessibleVideo.................................................................................................................................................63
CaptioningandTranscripts.......................................................................................................................63
CaptioningAdvantages................................................................................................................................63
TipsforCaptioning........................................................................................................................................64
AccessiblePDFDocuments............................................................................................................................64
Appendices................................................................................................................................................................65
AppendixA–Glossary.....................................................................................................................................65
AppendixB–AdditionalServicesandInformation............................................................................71
CustomerSupportServices.......................................................................................................................71
TrainingServices............................................................................................................................................71
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |6 DocumentVersion–2.0
Revision History
Revision Description Author PeerReview ReleaseDateDraft Re-writeandre-formatoforiginalMWP
PublishingStandardsRhondaUrbanczyk RebeccaJenkins,
ClaraHall,LauraLynch,NikiDeanda
05/12/2016
DraftRevisions MakeupdatesandeditsonfeedbackprovidedfromPeerReview
RhondaUrbanczyk RebeccaJenkins,ClaraHall,LauraLynch,NikiDeanda
06/01/2016
v2.0 Minortexttweaks,IncludedLanguageoptions,updatedimagesizes,published
RhondaUrbanczyk RebeccaJenkins,ClaraHall,LauraLynch,NikiDeanda
06/03/2016
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |7 DocumentVersion–2.0
Introduction About the U.S. Missions Website Platform TheprimarypurposeoftheU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatform(MWP)istoprovidecontentmanagement,webhosting,search,andwebreportingtoolsforU.S.Missionsworldwide.ThisprojectisthevehiclebywhichIIP’scoremissionisdelivered:“Togettherightinformation,totherightpeople,attherighttime.”TheOfficeofDigitalprovidesthedeliveryplatformandinfrastructurethatfacilitatesthedevelopment,maintenance,andhostingofacentralizedmultilingualcontentmanagementsystemtostreamlinethecreationanddeliveryofhighqualityinformationforbothprintandwebcontentforEmbassyandIIPinternationalaudiences.About WordPress WordPressisafreeandopensourcebloggingtoolandaContentManagementSystem(CMS)basedonPHPHypertextPreprocessor(PHP)andMySQL.WordPress:
Ø Usesatemplatesystemconsistingofthemesthatallowsuserstochangethelook,feel,andfunctionalityoftheirwebsitewithoutalteringthesite’sinformationcontentorstructure.TherearethousandsofWordPressthemesavailable,viaopensourceorcommercialdevelopers.Usersmayalsocreateanddeveloptheirowncustomthemes,iftheyhavetheexpertisetodoso.
Ø UsespluginarchitecturethatallowsuserstoextendWordPressfunctionalities.Therearecurrentlyover35,000pluginsavailableforWordPress,offeringcustomizablefunctionsandfeaturesthatenabletheusertoenhancetheirsitestotheirspecificneeds.
Ø Supportstheuseofwidgets-smallblocksofcodethatperformaspecificfunctionfromwithinaWordPresssidebar.
Ø SupportsmobilenativeapplicationsforWebOS,Android,iOS(iPhone,iPodTouch,andiPad),WindowsPhone,andBlackBerry.LearnmoreatWordPress.org
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |8 DocumentVersion–2.0
About the Publishing Standards ThePublishingStandardsaredesignedtoprovideguidancetoallModernizedWebsiteparticipantsinanefforttopresentaunifiedandapprovedstyleforallpublicwebsites.Thispublication,createdandimplementedbytheBureauofInternationalInformationPrograms(IIP)oftheDepartmentofState(DoS),servesasareferencetowebmanagersandcontentprovidersparticipatingintheprogram.ThePublishingStandardsareintendedtobeinformativeandeasytouse,andthereforemaynotcoverthebreadthofstylequestionsthatusersmayhave.ForanyquestionnotreferencedinthePublishingStandards,pleasereachouttothe24/7/365helpdeskat:[email protected],andoneofoursupportrepresentativeswillbehappytoassist.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |9 DocumentVersion–2.0
Information Architecture Overview TheMissionWebsitePlatforminformationarchitectureconsistsofseven(7)sections,whichrepresentthetopicsthatareofprimaryinteresttositevisitors.Thesesectionsarebrokendownintosubcategories,whichcanbetterassistvisitorsinfindingspecificinformation.
Thesevensectionsareorganizedtoincludeinformationthatisspecifictovisas,U.S.citizenservices,thebilateralrelationshipbetweentheUnitedStatesandthehostcountry,business,education&culture,thephysicallocationofthemission(s),andnews&events.
Whendevelopingtheinformationarchitectureand,insomecases,thecontentofthesesections,IIPworkedverycloselywithConsularAffairs(CA),Education&Culture(ECA),andtheEconomicBureau.
Inadditiontoconsistentinformationarchitecture,thereareseveralsidebaritemsthroughoutthesitethatarerequired.Thesearelistedwiththeirrespectivesections.
Thereareguidelines–outlinedbelow–thatdeterminewhatpagesandlabelscanbemodified.TheseguidelinesarespecificfortheEnglishlanguagewebsites.Poststhatsupportalanguagewebsitemayeditlocallanguagelabelsandsectionsasappropriate.
Inordertoensurecompliancewiththeinformationarchitectureandthestandardizedcontentandnamingconventions,therearepagesinthesitethatarenoteditablebywebmanagers.Thesepagesarealsonoted.Ifanychangesarerequired,pleasecontactthe24/7/365helpdeskat:[email protected].
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |10 DocumentVersion–2.0
Visas TheVisassectionofthewebsiteisdeliveredintwoversions,GSSorNon-GSSlocations.Locationsthatusea3rdpartytoprovidevisaservicesareconsideredGSS,andthosethatprovideallvisaservicesattheEmbassyareNon-GSS.GSSInformationArchitecture
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?VISAS(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
NONIMMIGRANTVISAS NO YES NOIMMIGRANTVISAS NO YES NO
FAMILY-BASEDIMMIGRATION NO NO YES
FIANCÉ(E)VISA NO NO YESEMPLOYMENT-BASEDIMMIGRATION NO NO YES
DIVERSITYVISAPROGRAM NO NO YES
RETURNINGRESIDENTVISA NO NO YES
VISAWAIVERPROGRAM NO NO YESTRAVEL&TOURISMINTHEU.S. NO YES NO
GSSMegamenu
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |11 DocumentVersion–2.0
Non-GSSInformationArchitecture
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?VISAS(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
NONIMMIGRANTVISAS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOTOURISM&VISIT NO YES YESTEMPORARYEMPLOYMENT NO YES YES
STUDY&EXCHANGE NO YES YESOTHER YES NO YES
IMMIGRANTVISAS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOFAMILY-BASEDIMMIGRATION NO YES YES
FIANCÉ(E)VISA NO YES YESEMPLOYMENT-BASEDIMMIGRATION NO YES YES
DIVERSITYVISAPROGRAM NO YES YES
RETURNINGRESIDENTVISA NO NO YES
VISAWAIVERPROGRAM NO NO YESTRAVEL&TOURISMINTHEU.S. NO YES NO
Non-GSSMegamenu
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |12 DocumentVersion–2.0
RequiredSidebarItems–VisasLandingPage
AdditionalResources ContactUs GovernmentAgencyLinks
RequiredSidebarItems–NonimmigrantVisasPage(s)
AdditionalResources ContactUs GovernmentAgencyLinks
RequiredSidebarItems–ImmigrantVisasPage(s)
AdditionalResources ContactUs GovernmentAgencyLinks
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |13 DocumentVersion–2.0
U.S. Citizen Services
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?U.S.CITIZENSERVICES(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
EMERGENCYSERVICES NO ISNOTAPAGE NOCONTACTINFORMATION NO YES YESARRESTOFAU.S.CITIZEN NO YES YES
DEATHOFAU.S.CITIZEN NO YES YES
VICTIMSOFCRIME NO YESEMERGENCYFINANCIALASSISTANCE NO
SECURITYMESSAGES&LOCALRESOURCES NO ISNOTAPAGE NO
SAFETY&SECURITYMESSAGES NO YES NO
LOCALRESOURCESFORU.S.CITIZENS NO YES YES
EMERGENCYASSISTANCE NO YES YES
LEGALASSISTANCE NO YES YES
MEDICALASSISTANCE NO YES YES
PASSPORTS&CITIZENSHIP NO ISNOTAPAGE NOCITIZENSHIPSERVICES NO NO YESPASSPORTS NO YES YES
FEDERALBENEFITS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOINTERNALREVENUESERVICE NO YES YES
SELECTIVESERVICEREGISTRATION NO YES YES
SOCIALSECURITY NO YES YESVETERANSAFFAIRS NO YES YESVOTING NO YES YES
CHILD&FAMILYMATTERS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOADOPTION NO NO YESBIRTH NO YES YESINTERNATIONALPARENTALCHILDABDUCTION
NO YES YES
U.S.CitizenServicesMegamenu
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |14 DocumentVersion–2.0
RequiredSidebarItems–U.S.CitizenServicesLandingPage
STEP SendingMoneyOverseas
RequiredSidebarItems–Safety&SecurityMessages
STEP MoreInformation
RequiredSidebarItems–InternalRevenueService
AdditionalResources AdobeReader
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |15 DocumentVersion–2.0
RequiredSidebarItems–OtherFederalBenefits
AdditionalResources–SocialSecurity AdditionalResources–SocialSecurity
AdditionalResources-VeteransAffairs AdditionalResources-Voting
RequiredSidebarItems–InternationalParentalChildAbduction
ContactUs AdditionalResources
LocalResourcesDisclaimerAllpagesunder“LocalResources”thatlistlinkstoexternalsourcesmustincludetheCA-approveddisclaimerinBlockquote:
LocalResourcesDisclaimer
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |16 DocumentVersion–2.0
Our Relationship
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?OURRELATIONSHIP(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
U.S.MISSIONLEADERS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOAMBASSADOR[NAME] NAMEONLY YES YESDEPUTYCHIEFOFMISSION[NAME] NAMEONLY YES YES
CONSULGENERAL[NAME] NAMEONLY YES,IFTHEREARE
CONSULATES YES
U.S.GOVERNMENTLEADERS NO ISNOTAPAGE NOPRESIDENT NO YES NOVICEPRESIDENT NO YES NOSECRETARYOFSTATE NO YES NO
U.S.&[HOSTCOUNTRY] NO ISNOTAPAGE NOPOLICY&HISTORY NO YES YESOFFICIALREPORTS NO YES YES
FEATUREDEVENT YES NO YES
OurRelationshipMegamenu
RequiredSidebarItems–OurRelationshipLandingPage
RelatedLinks
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |17 DocumentVersion–2.0
RequiredSidebarItems–Policy&HistoryPages
UsefulLinks History@StateTwitterFeed
RequiredSidebarItems–OfficialReportsPage
AdditionalResources FeaturedEvent–DetailsWebmanagersmaychoosetospotlightaneventintheFEATUREDEVENTcolumnoftheMegamenu.Thefollowingguidelinesapply:
1. The24/7/365helpdeskcanimplementtheFEATUREDEVENTcolumn.Pleasee-mailthehelpdeskatembassy@america.govforassistance.
2. “FeaturedEvent”isaplaceholdertitleonly–itshouldbereplacedwiththetitleoftheevent.
3. A243x115pixelimagemustbeprovided.
4. Abriefdescription(nomorethan200words)shouldbeprovided.
5. AFeaturedEventtemplateisrecommended.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |18 DocumentVersion–2.0
Business
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?BUSINESS(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
DOINGBUSINESSIN[COUNTRY] NO ISNOTAPAGE NO
GETTINGSTARTED NO YES YESCOMMERCIALOPPORTUNITIES NO NO YES
OVERSEASSECURITYADVISORYCOUNCIL NO YES YES
ECONOMICDATA&REPORTS NO YES YES
DOINGBUSINESSINTHEU.S. NO ISNOTAPAGE NOGETTINGSTARTEDINTHEU.S. NO YES YES
ECONOMICDATA&REPORTS NO YES YES
BusinessMegamenu
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |19 DocumentVersion–2.0
RequiredSidebarItems–DoingBusinessin[HostCountry]andDoingBusinessintheU.S.Pages
ContactUs TradeLeads QuickLinks
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |20 DocumentVersion–2.0
Education & Culture
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?EDUCATION&CULTURE(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
STUDYINTHEU.S.A. NO ISNOTAPAGE NOSTUDYINTHEU.S.A NO YES YES
AMERICANSPACES NO NO NOSPACEONE YES NO YESSPACETWO YES NO YESOPTIONAL YES NO YES
LOCALPROGRAMS NO NO YESPROGRAMONE YES NO YESPROGRAMTWO YES NO YESOPTIONAL YES NO YES
FEATUREDPROGRAM YES NO YES
Education&CultureMegamenu–DefaultOptions
TheEducation&Culturesectionofthewebsiteprovidesagreatdealofflexibilityforwebmanagerstodisplaylocalprogramsandresourcesfortheirvisitors.TheaboveexampleisthedefaultoptionforEducation&Culture,howeverthe3leftcolumnsareflexibleandmaybeusedtodisplaylistsoflinks(asshown)orasinglespotlightasdepictedintheStudyintheU.S.A.andFEATUREDPROGRAMcolumns.TousetheFEATUREDPROGRAMcolumn,thefollowingguidelinesapply:
1. The24/7/365helpdeskcanimplementtheFEATUREDPROGRAMcolumn.Pleasee-mailthehelpdeskatembassy@america.govforassistance.
2. “FeaturedProgram”isaplaceholdertitleonly–itshouldbereplacedwiththetitleoftheprogram.
3. A243x115pixelimagemustbeprovided.
4. Abriefdescription(nomorethan200words)shouldbeprovided.
5. Anytemplatemaybeused,howeverFeaturedEventandPaginationworkbest.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |21 DocumentVersion–2.0
Embassy & Consulate(s)
PageName CanLabelBeChanged? IsPagerequired? WebManagerEdits?EMBASSY&CONSULATE(S)(LANDINGPAGE) NO YES NO
U.S.EMBASSY NO ISNOTAPAGE NOCITYNAME NO YES YES
U.S.CONSULATE(S) NO ISNOTAPAGE NOCONSULATEONE NO NO YESCONSULATETWO NO NO YESOTHERSASREQUIRED NO NO YES
EMBASSYSPOTLIGHT YES NO YESWORKWITHUS(JOBS) YES NO YES
Embassy&ConsulatesMegamenu
RequiredSidebarItems–Embassy&Consulate(s)LandingPage
Holidays
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |22 DocumentVersion–2.0
EmbassySpotlight–DetailsWebmanagersmaychoosetospotlightaneventintheEMBASSYSPOTLIGHTcolumnoftheMegamenu.Thefollowingguidelinesapply:
1. The24/7/365helpdeskcanimplementtheEMBASSYSPOTLIGHTcolumn.Pleasee-mailthehelpdeskatembassy@america.govforassistance.
2. “EmbassySpotlight”isaplaceholdertitleonly–itshouldbereplacedwithanappropriatetitle.
3. A243x115pixelimagemustbeprovided.
6. Abriefdescription(nomorethan200words)shouldbeprovided.
7. Anytemplatemaybeused,howeverFeaturedEventandPaginationworkbest.RecommendedSidebarItems–Embassy&ConsulateInternalPages
GoogleMap ContactUs HolidayCalendar IIPalsostronglyrecommendsimplementingtheSOCIALMEDIAsidebaronallEmbassyandConsulatepages.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |23 DocumentVersion–2.0
News & Events TheNews&EventsMegamenuiscategory-driven.Whichcategoriesdisplayisdeterminedbythewebmanagerandisimplementedbythe24/7/365helpdesk.Sitesmaydisplaybetween3and9categoriesintheleftcolumnoftheNews&EventsMegamenu,andwhenthevisitorhoversoverthem,the4mostrecentpostsforthecategorywilldisplayinthe4rightcolumnsoftheMegamenu.
News&EventsMegamenu
RequiredSidebarItems–News&EventsLandingPage
BlogFilter/Search Topic/CategoryList
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |24 DocumentVersion–2.0
DefaultSidebarItems–IndividualPosts
Topics/CategoryList RecentPosts
NOTE:IFTHEREISCONTENTFORACUSTOMSIDEBARONABLOGPOST,SUCHASANASSOCIATEDVIDEO,LINKSORPDFS,WEBMANAGERSMAYCHOOSETOUSETHECUSTOMSIDEBAROPTION.
System Pages Eachwebsitehasthree(3)systempages.Thesepagesarenoteditablebywebmanagersandarestandardinallsites:
1. Sitemap–Automaticallygenerated,thesitemapdisplaysallpageswithinthesiteina“tree”view.
2. SocialMediaProperties–aCountry’ssocialmediapropertiesarelistedonthispage,bothforEmbassyandConsulatelocations.
3. Privacy–TheprivacypolicyisapprovedbylegalandisrequiredineachU.S.Missionwebsite.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |25 DocumentVersion–2.0
Design Standards Header TheHEADERistheprimarybrandingofeachU.S.Missionsiteandisconsistentthroughouttheenterprise.TheHEADERappearsoneverypageandpostwithinthesite.
StandardHeader
1. DepartmentofStateOfficialSeal.
2. LocalBranding–Tomaintainconsistency,thefollowinglabelsmustbeused,
dependingonthesituationin-country:
a. U.S.Embassyin[HostCountry]b. U.S.Embassy&Consulate(s)in[HostCountry]c. U.S.Consulatein[HostCity]d. U.S.Missionto[Country]e. U.S.Missionto[InternationalOrganization]
3. LanguageSelector.
4. SocialMediaandSearchButtons.
a. Three(3)SocialMediabuttonsmayappearintheheader.The“+”linkstotheSOCIALMEDIAPROPERTIESpage,whichlistsallSocialMediawithinthecountry.
NOTE:IFANEXCEPTIONTOTHELOCALBRANDINGARISES,THEMODERNIZATIONTEAMWILLWORKCLOSELYWITHIIPSENIORMANAGEMENT,THELOCALTEAMINCOUNTRY,ANDTHEREGIONALPOLICYOFFICETOPROVIDEASOLUTIONBASEDONJUSTIFIABLENEEDS.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |26 DocumentVersion–2.0
Footer & Disclaimer TheFOOTERisthesecondbrandedelementofthesiteandisconsistentthroughouttheenterprise.TheFOOTERappearsoneverypageandpostwithinthesite.
StandardFooter
1. GlobalNavigation–ThisincludesallitemsdisplayedintheMegamenu,inaddition
tosystempages,suchastheprivacypage.
2. EmbassyDetailsa. CityName,linkedtointernalpage.b. Addressc. Phoned. Faxe. SocialMediaProperties
3. Consulates
a. EachConsulatecity,withalinktotherespectiveinternalpage.
4. OfficialDisclaimer.
5. U.S.Flag.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |27 DocumentVersion–2.0
Privacy Notice & Disclaimer External Link Disclaimer PerDepartmentofStatepolicy,thefollowingdisclaimerisrequiredonallofficialwebsites:“ThisistheofficialwebsiteoftheU.S.Embassy&Consulatesin[HostCountry].ExternallinkstootherInternetsitesshouldnotbeconstruedasanendorsementofthevieworprivacypoliciescontainedtherein.”Privacy Notice Inaccordancewith5FAM772,allU.S.Governmentwebsitesarerequiredtoprovideastatementthatdescribeshowuserinformationmaybetrackedaswellaswhatisdonewithinformationcollectedfromusers.Federalwebsitesmustcontainaprivacypolicystatement,evenifthesitedoesnotcollectanyinformationthatresultsincreatingaPrivacyActrecord.EverywebsiteproducedbytheDepartmentisrequiredtoprovideaPrivacyActstatement,regardlessofwhatnetworkthesiteresideson.Typography TheU.S.MissionWebsitePlatformusesseveralfontfamilies:Preferred Fonts
§ SiteHeader:Oswald22points§ PostHeader:Oswald24points§ BodyText:Roboto16points
Alternate Fonts
§ SiteHeader:Arial,San-serif§ H1–H6:Arial,San-serif§ Body:Arial,Helvetica,San-serif
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |28 DocumentVersion–2.0
Color Palette Properuseofcolorcanbeextremelyeffectiveforcreatingperceptualeffectsandcanreinforcethelayout,whichwillallowforincreasedcomprehensionforthevisitor.Agooduseofcolorcanmakeanitemthatwouldotherwisebelostonthepage,popout,emphasizeimportantinformation,andvisuallygrouprelateditemstogether.TheprimarycolorsfortheDepartmentofStateU.S.MissionWebsitePlatformarerepresentedbelow.ThecolorswereselectedbasedupontheoverallbrandingofotherStateDepartmentwebsitesandhistoricalbrandingforEmbassywebsites.Brand Colors Brandcolorsareusedin:TheHeader,Footer,SidebarBoxes,NewsletterSign-upBoxandtheMegamenu.
#003875 #06284C #FFFFFF #CC3333
Other Colors of Note Someadditionalcolorsthatappearthroughoutthewebsiteareworthnoting
#EFEFEF #DDDDDD #FFDB67
BrandGrey BorderGrey TSGNotification
BarSocial Media TheofficialcolorsofFacebookandTwitter
#47639E #55ACEE
Facebook Twitter
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |29 DocumentVersion–2.0
Page Templates Foreaseofusewhencreatingcontent,theU.S.MissionWebsitePlatformprovidescustomtemplatesspecificallydesignedforusebywebmanagersinthefield.Thesetemplatesaddressmanydifferentcontentscenarios,themostcommonofwhicharenotedbelow.Page Templates Available to Users
• PageTitleCharacterLimit–150
TemplateName CommonandRecommendedUses
AmbassadorPage § LeaderBiographies,specificallyAmbassador,DCM,ConsulsGeneral.
§ TopImage/Video.§ NameTitleFieldLimit–130characters.
DefaultPage § Mostallpagesusethedefaulttemplate.§ Paginationisavailable.§ Accordionisavailable.§ Images–Limit2.
FeaturedEventPage § Specialevents,featuredprograms,Embassyspotlight,etc.
§ TopImage/Video.§ Taggedblogrolldisplaysthe6latestposts.§ ContentTextLimit–1300characters.
HolidaysPage § U.S.andlocalholidays.§ Displaylimitof12calendarmonths.§ EventTitleTextLimit–75characters.§ NoSidebar.
ImageVideoPage § ThispageiscurrentlyusedfortheStudyintheUSApageandtheTravel&Tourismpage.Itmaybeusedinanysectionthatrequiresanimage-heavylookandfeel.
§ Limitof20contentboxes.§ BoxHeadingTextLimit–75characters.§ BoxContentTextLimit–340characters.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |30 DocumentVersion–2.0
TemplateName CommonandRecommendedUses
ListingPage § Anypagethatrequiresalisting,eachlistitemcanalsoaccommodateabriefdescription.
§ Limitof10linksperpage.§ LinkTextLimit–100characters.§ DescriptionTextLimit–1300characters.
PeoplePage § UsefulforKeyOfficerpagesorsimilar.§ Limitof15items.§ NameTitleTextLimit–130characters.§ ContentTextLimit–1300characters.
Administrator Templates
TemplateName CommonandRecommendedUses
HomePage § Flipboxesandblogrollcanbechangedviathe24/7/365helpdesk.
LandingPage § ToplevelpagesforallMegamenusections.§ Limitedto10linkspersection.
LocationPage § UsedexclusivelyfortheEmbassy&Consulate(s)landingpage.
TravelAlertPage § AutomaticallypopulatedbyTravel.state.govanditemsfromtheNews&Eventssectionwiththe“Security&EmergencyMessages”category.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |31 DocumentVersion–2.0
Navigation Global Navigation Dropdownmenus(theMegamenu)allowone-clickaccesstoalltop-levelpages.Visitorscanseethedepthofthewebsitewithouthavingtoclickthrougheverypage.Inaddition,visitorshaveeasyaccesstoin-countrylocations.
Megamenu(GlobalNavigation)
§ Eachsitedisplaystheseven(7)maincontentsections.
§ Sectionnamesremainconsistentthroughouttheenterpriseandmaynotbe
changed.Landing Pages
LandingPageExample
§ Eachcontentsectionofthesiteisrepresentedwithalandingpage.
§ ThelandingpagewillmirrortheMegamenudrop-down.
§ Landingpagesmayhavesidebars.
§ Onlythe24/7/365helpdeskmayeditLandingpages.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |32 DocumentVersion–2.0
Home Page Elements Above the Fold
TopHalfofHomePage
1. StandardHeader.
2. AlertBar–Controlledbythewebmanager,maybeusedforimportantlocal
messages.
3. Megamenu.
4. Slideshow:a. Displaysupto5items.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |33 DocumentVersion–2.0
b. MayembedYouTubevideos.c. ImageSize:1140x440pixels,minimum.d. TitleLimit–60characters.e. AnchorTextLimit–80characters.f. DescriptionTextLimit–300characters.
5. FlipBoxes:
a. VisasandU.S.CitizenServicesboxesrequiredtobeplacedinspots1and2inallwebsites.
b. Maydisplay3boxesor6boxes.c. Onlythe24/7/365helpdeskcanchangeflipboxes.d. Newflipboxesmustbeapprovedbeforeimplementation.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |34 DocumentVersion–2.0
Below the Fold
BottomHalfofHomePage
6. Blogroll:
a. Displayspostsfromcategoriesselectedbythewebmanager.Thesecategoriesmaybeupdatedbycontactingthe24/7/365helpdesk.
b. Displaysupto6itemsonpageload.c. Visitormayclick“ShowMore”toloadanadditionalsixitems–thisactionis
repeatableandwilldisplaya“ShowAll”buttonafterthree(3)clicks.
7. StandardFooter.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |35 DocumentVersion–2.0
Internal Page Elements
InternalPageElements
1. StandardHeader.
2. AlertBar–Appearsoneverypagewhenactive.
3. Megamenu.
4. MainBodyContent–Displayvariesdependingontemplateinuse.
a. TitleTextLimit-150
5. Sidebar.
a. SidebarBoxLimit-8
6. StandardFooter.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |36 DocumentVersion–2.0
Blog Post Elements
BlogPostExample
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |37 DocumentVersion–2.0
1. StandardHeader.
2. Megamenu.
3. PostTitle.a. TitleTextLimit–150characters.
4. FeaturedImage.
a. Imagesizerequirementsvarybytemplate.b. Thisimagepopulatestherestofthesite(blogroll,News&Eventsdropdown,
suggestedforyou,relatedcontent,etc.)
5. AddThissharingbuttons–Allowsvisitorstoeasilysharecontentontheirsocialmediapages.
6. MainContent–Canaccommodateavarietyofcontent:a. Textb. Multipleimagesc. Embeddedvideod. EmbeddedWordPressgalleriese. EmbeddedFlickrGalleriesf. EmbeddedSocialFeeds(Twitter,Instagram)
7. DefaultSidebar–DynamicallygeneratedandupdatedbasedonNews&Events
content:a. Categories–analphabeticallistingofallcategoriesbeingusedthroughout
thesite.The“Exclude”categorydoesnotdisplay.b. RecentPosts–displaysthe5mostrecentpostsintheNews&Eventssection
ofthesite.
8. Metadata–Providesinformationaboutthepost:a. AuthorName–IIPrecommendsthatGenericAuthornamesbeused
wheneverpossible.i.e.PublicAffairs,ConsularAffairs,U.S.Embassy[City],etc.
b. Date–thedatethatthecontentwasposted:“Day,Month,Year”format.c. Categories–Anycategorieswhichareassociatedwiththepost(“Exclude”
doesnotdisplay)d. Tags–Anytagsassociatedwiththepost.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |38 DocumentVersion–2.0
9. SuggestedForYou–Recentcontentsimilartothecurrentpost.ThisisdeterminedbytheselectedCategoriesandTags
10. StandardFooter. Main Body Features and Functions Pagination
PaginationExample
1. Itemsincludedinthepagination.Thevisitormayclickthelinkstonavigatethe
section.a. Thefirstchildpageinpaginationisrequiredtobeanexactduplicateofthe
parentpage.
2. PageContent.
3. Next/Previousnavigationallowsease-of-useonmobiledevices.
4. Sidebar.
5. Paginationislimitedto10items.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |39 DocumentVersion–2.0
Social Media Navigation SocialMediaisspotlightedinseveraldifferentwaysintheMissionWebsitePlatform:
1. SiteHeader.
2. SiteFooter.
3. Sidebars,whichcanbeaddedtoanypageinthesite.
Event Calendar TheMissionWebsitePlatformincludestheabilitytocreateandembedanEventCalendar:
1. OneEventCalendarmaybecreatedpersite.
2. Thecalendarmaybeembeddedwithinthemainbodyofapagebyusingtheshortcode:[CALENDAR].
3. ThecalendarmaybeembeddedinasidebarwiththeShortcodebox,usingtheshortcode:[CALENDARtype=mini].
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |40 DocumentVersion–2.0
Accordion
AnexampleofanaccordionusedonthePassportspage
1. AccordionsmaybeusedonDefaultpagetemplates.
2. MorethanoneAccordionmaybeusedonapage.
3. Eachpagemaydisplayupto200totalAccordionitems.
4. Accordionsareintendedtodisplaysmallpiecesofinformationthatmakesensegroupedtogether,suchasFAQs,step-by-stepinstructions,contactssortedbyregion,etc.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |41 DocumentVersion–2.0
Home Page Slider
HomePageSliderexample
1. Displaysupto5items.
2. MayembedYouTubevideos.
3. ImageSize:1140x440pixels,minimum.
4. TitleLimit–60characters.
5. AnchorTextLimit–80characters.
6. DescriptionTextLimit–300characters.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |42 DocumentVersion–2.0
Custom Sidebars ASidebarisaverticalcolumnthatdisplaysontherightsideofapageorpost.SidebaritemsaredesignedtoenhancetheMissionWebsitePlatformthemeandareintendedtoprovidewebmanagerswithamannerofdisplayingcontentthatiscomplementarytothemaincontentofapage.
§ Themaximumwidthofasidebaris300pixels.
§ Uptoeight(8)sidebaritemsmayappearonapage.
§ SidebarTitleLimit–60characters.
§ AnchorTextLimit–80characters.
Google Maps
• GoogleMapsmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostwithinthesite.
• Onemapembedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
GoogleMapSidebar
Link Lists
• LinkListsmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostwithinthesite.
• Upto4LinkListsboxesmaydisplayonanypageorpost.
• Eachboxmaydisplayupto10links.• AnchorTextLimit–80characters.
LinkListSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |43 DocumentVersion–2.0
Related Posts
• RelatedPostsmaybeembeddedonanypageinthesite.
• OneRelatedPostsboxmaybedisplayedonapage.
• IIPRecommendsthattheRelatedPostssidebarnotbeusedonposts.
RelatedPostsSidebar
RSS Feed
• RSSFeedsmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneRSSFeedboxmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• Upto4feedsmaybeincludedinanRSSFeedbox.
• SourceTextLimit–60characters.
RSSFeedSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |44 DocumentVersion–2.0
Adobe Reader
• TheAdobeReadersidebarmustbeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesitethatcontainsalinktoaPDFdocument.
• OnlyoneAdobeReadersidebaritemisnecessaryapageorpost.
AdobeReaderSidebar
Social Links
• SocialLinksmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneSocialLinksitemmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• NewSocialLinksareaddedasrequired,andwillbecommunicatedtothefieldwhentheyareimplemented.
SocialLinksSidebar
Textbox
• Textboxmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• Upto4Textboxboxesmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• Textboxboxeshavea1000characterlimit(thisincludesanyHTMLtags).
TextboxSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |45 DocumentVersion–2.0
Textbox Image
• TextboxImagemaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneTextboxImageboxmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• 4Linksmaybedisplayed.• Imagesusedinthissidebaritem
mustbeaminimumof50x50pixels.• AnchorTextLimit–80characters.• DescriptionTextLimit–240
characters. TextboxImageSidebar
Textbox Image Full
• TextboxImageFullmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneTextboxImageFullboxmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• 4Linksmaybedisplayed.• Imagesusedinthissidebaritem
mustbeaminimumof312x125pixels.
• AnchorTextLimit–80characters.• DescriptionTextLimit–240
characters.
TextboxImageFullSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |46 DocumentVersion–2.0
Twitter Feed
• ATwitterFeedmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneTwitterFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
TwitterFeedSidebar
Facebook Feed
• AFacebookFeedorPostmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneFacebookFeedboxmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
FacebookFeedSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |47 DocumentVersion–2.0
Instagram Feed
• AnInstagramFeedmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneInstagramFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
InstagramFeedSidebar
Flickr Feed
• AFlickrFeedmaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• OneFlickrFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
FlickrFeedSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |48 DocumentVersion–2.0
Secretary Feed
• TheSecretaryFeedisaTwitterfeedthatisautomaticallygeneratedbyIIPandmaybeembeddedonanypageinthesite.
• OneSecretaryFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• TheSecretaryFeed’sprimarylocationwithinthesiteisontheSecretarybiopage.
SecretaryFeedSidebar
POTUS Feed
• ThePOTUSFeedisaTwitterfeedthatisautomaticallygeneratedbyIIPandmaybeembeddedonanypageinthesite.
• OnePOTUSFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• ThePOTUSFeed’sprimarylocationwithinthesiteisontheSecretarybiopage.
POTUSFeedSidebar
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |49 DocumentVersion–2.0
VPOTUS Feed
• TheVPOTUSFeedisaTwitterfeedthatisautomaticallygeneratedbyIIPandmaybeembeddedonanypageinthesite.
• OneVPOTUSFeedmaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
• TheVPOTUSFeed’sprimarylocationwithinthesiteisontheSecretarybiopage.
VPOTUSFeedSidebar
Video
• AYouTubeorVimeovideomaybeembeddedonanypageorpostinthesite.
• Onevideomaybedisplayedonapageorpost.
EmbedVideoSidebar
Shortcodes
• Shortcodesareusedtoeasilydisplaycontentthatisusedthroughoutthesite,suchascontactinformation.
• Shortcodesmaybeusedonanypageorpost.• Upto4Shortcodeboxesmaybeusedonanypageorpost.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |50 DocumentVersion–2.0
Forms PDF Forms PDFformsmaybeuploadedtotheWordPressMediaLibraryforusewithinthesite.AllPDFformsmustcontainanOMBnumberandexpirationdate.AdditionalguidelinesforPDFforms:
1. Wheneverpossible,linktotheoriginalformatitsoriginsite.Someexamplesoftheseformsandtheirsitesare:
a. PassportForms:http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/apply.html
b. AdditionalACSForms:http://www.state.gov/m/a/dir/forms/c21447.htmc. VisaForms:http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/forms.htmld. GrantForms:http://apply07.grants.gov/apply/forms/sample/SF424_2_1-
V2.1.pdfe. EmploymentForm:
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/136408.pdf
2. AllPDFformsshouldopeninanewbrowsertaborwindow.
3. Usersmaycreatetranslationsofselectedformsinthelocallanguage:a. TranslationsmustbeexactduplicatesoftheEnglishform,includingtheOMB
numberandexpirationdate.b. Usersmaynotaddordeleteanyfieldsintranslatedversionsofforms.
ItisimportanttonotethatalluniquePDFformsrequireareviewandmayneedapprovalfromtheOfficeofManagementandBudget(OMB)beforetheymaybeimplemented.
Online Forms OnlineformsaresupportedintheMissionWebsitePlatform.Torequestimplementationofanonlineform,e-mailthe24/7/365helpdeskat:embassy@america.gov.ItisimportanttonotethatallformrequestsrequireareviewandmayneedapprovalfromtheOfficeofManagementandBudget(OMB)beforetheymaybeimplemented.Onlineformrequestsmustincludethefollowinginformation:
1. AvalidState.gove-mailaddress,whichiswheretheformwillbesubmitted.
2. Thedestinationpagewherethevisitorwillre-directafterformsubmission.
3. Textforthedestinationpage,thisiswhatthevisitorwillseeafterformsubmission.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |51 DocumentVersion–2.0
Photos Whenusedproperly,graphicscanbesuperiortotextwhenavisitorfirstentersasite.Theycanbeperceivedfasterthantextandareabletosaymorewithless.Thethreeprimaryfunctionsofagraphicare:
1. Helpvisitorsmakeadecision.
2. Communicateinformation.
3. Makecontentmorevisuallyappealing.
Itisgoodpracticenottousegraphicsextensively.Althougheffective,graphicsarenotasubstituteforwords.Inaddition,notallvisitorshavereliablehigh-speedInternetconnectionsandthesevisitorscanbecomefrustratedwhenthepagetheywantdoesnotloadquickly.
General Guidelines for Images
• Maximumfilesize:25megabytes
• Eachpageshouldbekeptsmallinsizeforeaseofviewing.
• AllimagesshouldbeuploadedtotheMediaLibrary(donotlinktoexternalimages).
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |52 DocumentVersion–2.0
Photo Sizes PhotosizeswithintheMissionWebsitePlatformvarydependingontheirpurpose.Thefollowingarefeaturesthatrequireaspecificimagesizeandtheirrequirements:Pages
1. HomePageSlider–1140x440pixels,minimum.
2. DefaultTemplateImageOne–450pixels,minimumheight.
3. DefaultTemplateImageTwo–200x200pixels,minimum.
4. AmbassadorTemplate–Nominimumrequired,recommendatleast200pixels
wide.
5. FeaturedEventPage–750x350pixels,minimum.
6. Image/VideoPageMainImage–750x350pixels,minimum.
7. Image/VideoPageBoxContent–360x233,minimum.
8. ListingPage–750x350pixels,minimum.
9. PeoplePage–258x258pixels,minimum.Posts UploadedasFeatureImages
1. FeaturedImage–750x350pixels,minimum.
2. ParallaxImage–750x350pixels,minimum.
a. ParallaxBackgroundField–1200x560pixels,minimum.
3. ParallaxTransparent–750x350pixels,minimum.
a. ParallaxBackgroundField–1772x827pixels,minimum.
4. FullWidthImagePost–940x439pixels,minimum.
Miscellaneous
1. Sidebar,Textbox–Nowiderthan298pixels.
2. Sidebar,TextboxImage–50x50pixels,minimum.
3. Sidebar,TextboxImageFull–312x125pixels,minimum.
4. MegamenuImage–243x115pixels.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |53 DocumentVersion–2.0
Captions Captionsarerequiredonallphotos:
1. Captionsshouldprovideinformationthatenablesthevisitortofullyunderstandthe
purposeofthephotowithoutconfusion.
2. Captionsshouldberelativelyshortandtothepoint.
3. Captionsshouldrefertothepeopleorobjectsinthephotowithoutambiguity.
4. Specificinformationrequiredincaptionsvariesfromonephototothenext.
5. Thebestpracticeistoidentifypeoplefromlefttoright,unlesstheactioninthe
photodemandsotherwise.
6. Captionsshouldalwaysbetranslatedwhenplacedonalanguagesite.
NOTE:CAPTIONSDONOTDISPLAYONTHEAMBASSADORPAGEMAINIMAGEORONFEATUREDIMAGES.Caption Text Limits
1. HomePageSlider–300characters.
2. DefaultPageImage–200characters.
3. AmbassadorImage–nocaption.
4. FeaturePhotos–300characters.
5. PhotoGalleries–300characters.
6. AdditionalPhotos–300characters.
ALT Tags ALTtagsarerequiredonallimageswithinthewebsite.Thisincludesphotos,logos,drawingsorothergraphics.ALTtagsarerequiredtomeetSection508compliancestandards(SeeAccessibilityStandards–Section508,below).
1. ALTtagsshoulddescribetheimage’scontentratherthanidentifypersonsorplaces(thefunctionofthecaption).
2. CaptioninformationhaslittleornomeaningforvisuallyimpairedusersandshouldnotbeusedastheALTtag.However,usingthecaptionasanALTtagispreferabletoleavingitblank.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |54 DocumentVersion–2.0
3. ALTtagsshouldalwaysbetranslatedwhenplacedonalanguagesite.NOTE:ALTTAGSDONOTDISPLAYONHOVER.THESETAGSAREINTHESOURCECODEOFTHEPAGESOTHATSCREENREADERSCANIDENTIFYTHEM.Photo Credits AccordingtoWebcontent.gov,theU.S.FederalGovernment’ssiteforofficialwebpublishingguidance,“…whenanorganizationusesorduplicatesinformationavailablefromtheprivatesectoraspartofaninformationresource,product,orservice,theorganizationmustensurethatthepropertyrightsoftheprivatesectorsourceareadequatelyprotected.Theseprotectionsapplytoanymaterialpostedtofederalpublicwebsites,suchasdocuments,graphics,oraudiofiles.”PhotocreditsinU.S.MissionwebsitesarerequiredintheALTtagofthephotograph.Forexample:“Manstandingatpodium(StateDept.)”or“AudienceMembers(APPhotos)”.Itisstronglyrecommendedthatanyphotoover200x200pixelscontainaphotocreditembeddedwiththeimage.NOTE:ONLYPHOTOGRAPHSMUSTHAVECREDITINFORMATION.LOGOS,DRAWINGS,OROTHERGRAPHICSDONOTREQUIREUSEOFAPHOTOCREDIT.Photo Tips
1. Besurethatallimagesaresizedcorrectlyfortheirpurpose.
2. Alwaysresizeimagesinanimage-editingprogramintheiroriginalformat.
3. Settheresolutionto72dpi.Higherresolutionwillnotprovideasharperpicture,justalargerfile.
4. ProvideanALTtagforallphotos.
5. Includethecreditinformationforallphotos.
6. Selectthecorrectfiletypeformaximumoptimization:a. Photos-.PNG,.JPG(.JPEG),or.GIFb. Images-PNG,.JPG(.JPEG),or.GIF
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |55 DocumentVersion–2.0
Useful Information
1. GIFsarebestforflatcolorimageswithnogradients.
2. GIFsprovidethelowestfilesizeforimagesthathaveflatcolorsandnoblends.Theycanalsohavetransparentbackgrounds.
3. PhotoscanbesavedaseitherPNGsorJPEGs.PNGphotostendtohavelargerfilesizesthanJPEGphotos.
4. Therearethree(3)typesofPNGformats:PNG8,PNG24,andPNG32.PNG32istheformatfortransparencyandwillsometimesyieldahigherfilesizethanPNG8orPNG24.
5. PNG32offersthebestoptionforanyimagesrequiringatransparentbackground.Tables Tablesareawaytovisuallydisplayinformationinalogicalandeasy-to-understandformat.However,misuseoftablescanwreakhavoconassistivetechnologywhenrenderinglargeamountsofdata.Ifnotproperlylabeledandcaptioned,thenon-visualreaderoftengetsgarbledandconfusinginformation.NOTE:INTHEU.S.MISSIONWEBSITEPLATFORM,TABLESSHOULDBEUSEDONLYTOPRESENTINFORMATIONAL,STATISTICALDATAANDMUSTBESECTION508COMPLIANT.TheScopeattributeistheeasiestwaytocreatetablesthatarecompliantwithSection508AccessibilityStandards.COLSPANandROWSPANaretheattributesthatprovideameanstorelategroupsofrelatedinformationinaconsistentmannerandtheyareenabledforassistivetechnology.Scope Attribute TheScopeattributenotifiesthebrowserandscreenreaderthateverythingunderthecolumnisrelatedtotheheaderatthetopandthateverythingtotherightofherowheaderisrelatedtothatheader.
Tomaketabulardatamoreaccessible,assign“scope”totableheaders.
1. Usescope=”col”attributeinthe<th>or<td>tagofeverycellinaheaderrow.
2. Usescope=”row”attributeinthe<th>or<td>tagofeverycellinaheadercolumn.
NOTE:ONLYUSETHESCOPEATTRIBUTEINTHEHEADERCELLS(CELLSATTHETOPORLEFTINTHETABLE).
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |56 DocumentVersion–2.0
Table Summaries Anothermethodofenhancingvisuallyimpairedvisitorsexperiencewithtablesistoincludeacaptionandasummaryofthetabledata.
• Anytextenteredintothecaptionfieldisdisplayedabovethetableandreadaloudbyscreenreaders.
• Anytextenteredintothesummaryfieldwillnotbedisplayed,butwillbereadaloudbyscreenreaders.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |57 DocumentVersion–2.0
Sample Coded Table Belowisanexampleofaproperlycodedtable:
508Accessibility
Term Definition
AccessibleDesigns AccessibleDesignsallowasmanypeopleaspossibletousetechnologyregardlessofdisability,age,orfunctionallimitation.
AccessibleVideo Accessiblevideoisasynchronizedmultimediafilewithatextequivalent.
<tableborder=“1”align=“center”summary=“AbrieflistingoftermsanddefinitionsforSection508accessibility”><caption>508Accessibility</caption><tr><thscope=“col”>Term</th><thscope=“col”>Definition</th></tr><tr><tdscope=”row”>AccessibleDesigns</td><td>AccessibleDesignsallowasmanypeopleaspossibletousetechnologyregardlessofdisability,age,orfunctionallimitation.</td><tr><tr><tdscope=”row”>AccessibleVideo</td><td>Accessiblevideoisasynchronizedmultimediafilewithatextequivalent.</td><tr></table>
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |58 DocumentVersion–2.0
User Friendly Pages User-friendlypagesaredesignedsothatnothinginterfereswiththevisitor’sabilitytogetandunderstandthecontent.Apagethatisslowtoload,hasdistractingandunnecessarygraphics,requiresconsiderablescrolling,ordeviatesfromthecommonlookandfeelareallobstaclesthatvisitorsmustnavigatebeforegettingthecontenttheyneed.Creating User Friendly Pages
1. Pagesshouldbesmallinsizesothattheydownloadquicklyevenoverlowbandwidthconnections.Longerpagesshouldbebrokenupintoseveralshorterones.
2. Thenumberandsizeofimagesshouldbekepttoaminimum.
3. Noimageorvideoshouldbelargerthan25megabytes.File and URL Naming Conventions FilenamesandURLsshouldbeinlowercaseandshouldnotcontainanyspacesorspecialcharacters.LanguageURLsshouldbecreatedinEnglish.Thisisespeciallyimportantinnon-Latincharacterlanguages.AnexampleoftheAmbassadorpageURLinArabicis:https://xx.usembassy.gov/ar/our-relationship-ar/ambassador-ar/External Links LinkstoexternalpagesfromtheU.S.MissionWebsiteplatformshouldalwaysopeninanewbrowsertaborwindow.Thismakesitcleartovisitorsthattheyareaccessingdifferentwebsite.Domain Names DomainnamesarecreatedwiththeofficialISOcountrycode(twoletters).Someexamplesinclude:
1. U.S.Embassy(andConsulates)Website:https://xx.usembassy.gov
2. U.S.ConsulateOnlyWebsite:https://xx.usconsulate.gov
3. U.S.InternationalOrganizationMissions:https://xxxx.usmission.gov
4. U.S.VPPs:https://xx.usmission.gov
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |59 DocumentVersion–2.0
Language Content Display TheMissionWebsitePlatformusesthePolylangplugintodeliverlanguagecontenttovisitors.ThispluginenablesIIPtosupportbothFullandPartialLanguageversionsofcontentforendusers.UsersmaytranslateasmuchoraslittlecontentastheydesireandhavetheresourcestomaintainandIIPofferstwooptionsforLanguagecontent.OptionOneiswhatIIPreferstoas“FULL”LANGUAGE.Simplyput,thismeansthattheLanguagecontenthasatranslatedHomepage.OptionTwois“PARTIAL”LANGUAGEandisintendedforusebyPostswhodonothavetheresourcestokeepacurrenttranslatedversionoftheHomepage.AllsitesthatofferadditionallanguagesarerequiredtohavetheLanguagedropdownintheupperrightcorneroftheheader.
• InFULLLANGUAGEsites,thedropdownwilllinktothecorrespondingHomePage.
• InPARTIALLANGUAGEsites,thedropdownwilllinktotheLanguage’ssitemap.
SYSTEMPAGESmustalwayshavetranslatedversionsavailableforvisitors.Theseinclude:
1. Privacypage
2. Sitemappage
3. SocialMediaPropertiespage
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |60 DocumentVersion–2.0
Content and Maintenance IIPdoesnotreviewthecontentofU.S.MissionWebsitepages;thisistheresponsibilityoftheindividualwebmanagerswhocreateandpublishthem.However,thecontentofanyU.S.Mission’swebsitepagecontributestowardtheperceptionoftheDepartmentofState.Forthisreason,weprovidethefollowingguidelines:
1. Informationpublishedshouldbeasaccurateandup-to-dateaspossible.
2. Missionsshouldonlypublishmaterialsthattheyhavethecapacitytomaintain.Maintenanceincludeskeepingtheinformationoneachwebpageuptodateandarchivingorpurgingoutofdatecontent.
3. EachMissionshouldhaveaclearlyunderstoodprocesswheredesignatedindividualsperiodicallyreview,maintainandupdatethecontentofthewebsite.
4. Eachmissionwebsiteshouldhaveacontacttowhomvisitorscansendcontentcorrections,updates,orquestions.
5. Contentforthewebcanbegreatlyimprovedthroughappropriatewritingstyleandformatting.Basicrecommendationsinclude:
a. Contentthatvisitorsareexpectedtoreadonlineshouldbedividedintoshortsectionsandprovidedwithheadingsthatallowadocumenttobescannedeasily.
b. Contentshouldcontainextensivecross-referencedlinkstomakeiteasytofindrelatedinformation.
c. Textformattingsuchasboldoritalicsshouldbeusedsparinglytohighlightkeywordsorphrases,makingthemeasiertofind.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |61 DocumentVersion–2.0
Accessibility Standards What is Section 508? Section508isaU.S.lawthatrequiresgovernmentagencies,andinstitutionsreceivingfederaldollars,toensurethatallelectronicandinformationtechnologyapplicationsareaccessibletoindividualswithdisabilities.Tolearnmore,goto:http://www.section508.gov/.
Section508oftheRehabilitationActof1973wasenactedto:
§ Eliminatebarriersininformationtechnology.
§ Createnewopportunitiesforpeoplewithdisabilities.
§ Encouragedevelopmentoftechnologiesthatwillhelpachievethesegoals.Thescopeofsection508andtheAccessBoardstandardsarelimitedtotheFederalgovernment.Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
§ WascreatedbytheW3Cin1997.§ Isasetofguidelinescreatedtoassistwebdevelopers,programmers,anddesigners
inmakingwebcontentaccessibletopeoplewithdisabilities.§ http://www.w3.org/WAI/
Barrier to Access Section508addressesaccessibilityforpeoplewhohave:
§ Visualdisabilities
§ Hearingdisabilities§ Motordisabilities
§ Speechdisabilities
§ CognitivedisabilitiesSimplyput,accessiblewebsitesposenobarrierstothedisabled.Theinformationandfunctionalitycontainedinthewebsiteorapplicationarejustasaccessibletopeoplewith
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |62 DocumentVersion–2.0
disabilitiesastheyaretopeoplewithout.Therearemorethan750millionpeoplelivingwithdisabilities.
AsusersbecomemoredependentontheInternetforinformationandservices,itiscriticalthatthewebbeusablebyeveryone.Itisnotonlytherightthingtodo,it'sthelaw;in1998CongressamendedtheRehabilitationActtoincludeSection508.Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
§ QuickReferenceGuide(http://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/)§ GuidelineChecklist(http://www.w3.org/TR/2006/WD-WCAG20-
20060427/appendixB.html)
Accessible Design
§ Allowsasmanypeopleaspossibletousetechnologyregardlessofdisability,age,orfunctionallimitation.
§ Benefitseverybodybyenhancing:
o Usability
o Deviceindependenceo Globalization/localization
Unique Page Title Everypageofthewebsiteshouldhaveauniqueandmeaningfulpagetitle.Heading Tags – Proper Use Usingheadingtagstostructurethecontentonawebpagewillnotonlyprovidecontextforscreenreaderusers,butalsoenablethemtoskimthroughapage.
§ ThetemplatesuseLevel1headings<H1>forpagetitles.
§ UseLevel3headings<h3>forsectiontitles.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |63 DocumentVersion–2.0
Accessible Video Useofmultimediacontentonthewebisgrowing,andtheplatformoffersPostwebmanagersexpandedmultimediacapabilities.ItisimportantforWebdeveloperstoaddressusabilityneedsnow.
Guideline(b)oftheAccessBoardstandardsstates:“Equivalentalternativesforanymultimediapresentationshallbesynchronizedwiththepresentation.”
Theword"synchronized"iskey.Itispossibletocreateaseparatefilewiththetextofthecontentsofanaudiofileoradetaileddescriptionofavideooranimation.However,tocomplywithsection508,themultimediafilesmustbesynchronizedwithatextequivalent.
Captioning and Transcripts Thetwotypicalmethodsofprovidingamultimediaalternativearecaptioningandtranscripts.Providecaptioningforvideofilesandtranscriptsforaudiofiles.Althoughatranscriptisn’tsynchronized,usethismethodforaudiofilessinceaudioistechnicallyone(notmulti)media.
Captioning:Captioningistheon-screentextualpresentationofaudiomaterialsuchasspokendialogue.Unlikesubtitles,captionshavetheoptionofbeingturnedonoroff.
Captioning Advantages
§ Besidesaidingthosewithhearingloss,captionsalsohelppersonswithhearingdisabilities.
§ Increaseslearningandretention.§ Helpsincreaseliteracy.
§ Aidsinlearningasecondlanguage.
§ Facilitatestheconveyanceofaudiocontentinenvironmentsthatarenoisy(e.g.,aquietlibraryornosoundcardorspeakers).
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |64 DocumentVersion–2.0
Tips for Captioning Themethodusedtoactivateanddeactivateaccessibilityfeaturessuchasaudiodescriptionsandcaptionsshouldbeintuitivetoapersonrequiringthatfeature.
§ Closedcaptioning:Thetextequivalentoftheaudiomaterialisplacedonaseparatechannelsouserscanturnitonandoff.Usethisformatwheneverpossible,sinceitallowsuserstodecidewhetherornottodisplaycaptions.
§ Opencaptioning:Embedsthetextpermanentlyonthesamelayerasthevideosignal,soitcannotbeturnedoff.
Accessible PDF Documents PDFdocumentsmustbetaggedforaccessibility,andthelatestversionsofAdobeAcrobatXPro,willautomaticallycreateaccessiblePDFsfromcommonfiles(.doc,.docx,.html).AdobeAcrobatXProalsoallowsuserstoupdateexistingPDFstomakethemaccessible,althoughcurrentlythereisnorequirementforpoststoupdateolderversionsofPDFdocuments.However,makingthemaccessiblewillalsomakethemsearchable.
§ Alldocumentswillhaveauniquepagetitleinthepropertiessettings.
§ Languagemustbedesignatedinthepropertiessettings.§ Documentmustbetextbased,notscanned.
§ Allimagesmustbetagged.
§ WhenapagecontainsalinktoaPDF,thelinktodownloadtheAdobePDFReadersmustalsobeonthatpage.
§ PDFsshouldbeidentifiedandthefilesizeshouldbeannotated[ex:DSForm160(PDF,172KB)
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |65 DocumentVersion–2.0
Appendices Appendix A – Glossary
Term Definition
ACCESSIBLEDESIGNS
AccessibleDesignsallowasmanypeopleaspossibletousetechnologyregardlessofdisability,age,orfunctionallimitation.
ACCESSIBLEVIDEO
AccessibleVideoisasynchronizedmultimediafilewithatextequivalent.
ADMINISTRATOR Administratorscanaccessalltheadministrationfeatureswithinasinglesite.
ALTTAGS ALTTagsdescribeanimage'scontentratherthanidentifyingpersonsorplaces.
AUTHOR Authorscreate,edit,delete,andpublishtheirownposts,aswellasuploadfiles.
BLOG Ablogisafrequentlyupdatedonlinecollectionofposts…short,informal,sometimescontroversial,andsometimesdeeplypersonal…withthefreshestinformationatthetoppersonaljournalordiary.Blogisashortformforthewordweblogandthetwowordsareusedinterchangeably.
BLOGROLL Ablogrollisalistingofwebsitesthatoftenappearaslinksonweblogs.Thislistoflinksisusedtorelatethesiteowner'sinterestinoraffiliationwithothersites.
CAPTIONS Captionsprovideinformationthatenablesthevisitortofullyunderstandthepurposeofthephotowithoutmisleadingorconfusingthem.
CAPTIONINGANDTRANSCRIPTS
CaptioningandTranscriptsaremethodsofprovidinganalternativemeansofaccessingmultimediacontentbyprovidingcaptioningforvideofilesandtranscriptsforaudiofiles.
CATEGORY EachpostinWordPressisfiledunderacategory.Thoughtfulcategorizationallowspoststobegroupedwithothersofsimilarcontentandaidsinthenavigationofasite.PleasenotethepostcategoryshouldnotbeconfusedwiththeLinkCategoriesusedtoclassifyandmanagelinks.
CD-ROM CompactDisks-ReadOnlyMemory
CLOSEDCAPTIONING
ClosedCaptioningisthetextequivalentoftheaudiomaterialthatisplacedonaseparatechannelsouserscanturnitonandoff.
COLORPALETTE AColorPalettecontainsaselectionofcolorsthatcanbeextremelyeffectiveforcreatingperceptualeffects.Alsocanreinforcethelayout,allowinganincreasedcomprehensionforthevisitor.TheDepartmentofStateusesaprimarycolorpaletteaswellasagrayscalepalette.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |66 DocumentVersion–2.0
Term Definition
CONTENT Contentconsistsoftext,images,orotherinformationsharedinposts.Thisisseparatefromthestructuraldesignofawebsite,whichprovidesaframeworkintowhichthecontentisinserted,andthepresentationofasite,whichinvolvesgraphicdesign.AContentManagementSystemchangesandupdatescontent,ratherthanthestructuralorgraphicdesignofawebsite.
CONTRIBUTORS Contributorscreate,edit,anddeletetheirownpostsbutcannotpublishthem.
CSS CascadingStyleSheets
CSS ContentSupportSystems
DESIGNSTANDARDS
DesignStandardsaretoensureconsistency,offerasenseofplacewithinthesite,andsupportimplicitassociationbetweenthebrand(U.S.DepartmentofState)andtheprovidedsource(Embassy,Mission,Consulate,etc.).Designstandardsensurethattheuserknowswhattoexpect,howthesitewilllook,wheretofindeverything,andaswellashoweverythingworks.
DOMAINNAMES Domainnamesareanorganization’suniquespaceontheInternetoralsoreferredtoasyourwebsitesaddress.
DOS DepartmentofState
DROPDOWN ADropdownisamenuofoptionsthatappearsbelowtheitemwhenthecomputeruserclicksonit.Visitorsdonotneedtonavigatetoanewpageinordertoviewthemenu.
EDITORS Editorscanpublishandmanagepostsincludingthepostsofotherusers.
EMBASSYTEMPLATES
EmbassyTemplatesareamodelorstandardcreatedtoprovideacommonlookandfeelforallmissionwebsites.
EXTERNALLINKS ExternalLinksarelinks(URLs)toexternalpagesthatarenotapartofthewebsite.Externallinksmustopenupinanewwindow.
FEATUREDIMAGE AFeaturedImageisanimageorthumbnailthatisgraphicallyrepresentativeofapost(i.e.,animageofadogorcatonapagededicatedtoadoptingananimal.Featuredimagesareonlyusedinblogrolls.TheSagethemesupportsuptothree(3)featuredimagesperpost.
FILENAMINGCONVENTION
AFileNamingConventionisastandardofnamingfileswhensavingthem.Filenamesshouldbealllowercase,andnotcontainanyspacesorspecialcharacters.
FLIPBOXES FlipBoxesaregreatforgrabbingtheuser’sattentionandaddingsomeinteractionwithasite’scontent.Flipboxeshavefullycustomizablecontentonthefrontandbacksideandcanspin,rotate,flip.Putatitleonthefrontandbackside,addbuttonstothesite’scontentandtheboxheightwillextendbasedontheamountofcontentused.Customizethebordersize,borderradiusandhavefullcontroloverthefrontandbacksidecolors.
GALLERY AGalleryisspecificallyanexpositionofimagesattachedtoapost.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |67 DocumentVersion–2.0
Term Definition
GLOBALNAVIGATION
GlobalNavigationisthemainhorizontalsitenavigationthatappearsthroughouttheentiresite.Itcontainsasetofdropdownmenuslocatedatthetopofeachpagethatallowsuserstoseeallpageswithineachsectionofthewebsite.
GRAPHICS Graphicsarephotographsorvisualpresentations.
HEADINGTAG AHeadingTagisawayofstructuringthecontentonyourpagesotheusercanquicklyskimthroughthepage.
HTML HypertextMarkupLanguage
IIP BureauofInternationalInformationPrograms
INDEXPAGE AnIndexPageshowcasesthecriticalcontentandlinks,whichmaybeusefultotheaudience.
INFORMATIONARCHITECTURE
InformationArchitectureistheorganizationandeffectivestructureofawebpage.TheEmbassy’sstructureiscomprisedoffour(4)mainareas,andthenbrokendownintosub-groupsthatbetterassisttheuserinfindingspecificinformation.
INTERNALPAGES Internalpages:presentcontenttothevisitorthattheyhavebeensearchingfor.Thesearethepageswithinyourwebsite.
LAYOUTTEMPLATES
Layouttemplatesareavailableinapagelayout'sdisplaytab.PageLayoutTemplatesprovidedifferentplansordesignsavailabletoformatthecontentofthepage.
LISTINGPAGE AListingPageisapagethatprovidesthecontentinalistlayout,allowingthepublishertopresentlargeamountsofcontenttothevisitoreffectively.Listingpagesareoftenusedtoprovidealistofhyperlinkedtitlesdirectingsitevisitorstocontentsuchaspressreleases,speeches,orwardenmessages.
LOCALNAVIGATION
Local(left)Navigationprovideslinksforthecurrentlevelwithinthesitehierarchyandafastrouteforvisitorstogettothecontentinwhichtheyaremostinterested.
MAINCONTENTAREA
AMainContentAreacontainscontentspecifictothesection.Themaincontentareaisexpandableandcansupportsmall,medium,andlargeamountsofcontent.Thisisthefocuspointofthepage.
MORELINKS MoreLinksisanoptionaladditiontoallfeatureboxes;thisallowsaposttoguidevisitorstothecompletelistortoprovidefurtherassistancetocompleteatask.
MWP MissionsWebsitePlatform
OFFICIALBANNERS
OfficialBannersaretheofficiallabelingforallEmbassiesundertheDepartmentofState.ThisheaderisoneofthebrandingelementsoftheDepartmentofState.
OFFICIALSEALS OfficialSealsarethesymboloftheU.S.DepartmentofState,onethatisrecognizedandrespected.Ithelpslinkallwebsitesinthevisitorsmindandisabadgeofcredibility.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |68 DocumentVersion–2.0
Term Definition
OMB OfficeofManagementandBudget
ONLINEFORMS OnlineFormsareformsthatareavailablethroughawebsiteviatheInternet.
OPENCAPTIONING
OpenCaptioningembedsthetextpermanentlyonthesamelayerasthevideosignal,soyoucannotturnitoff.
PAGES APageisoftenusedtopresent"static"informationaboutaneventorsite.AgoodexampleofaPageisinformationplacedonanAboutPage.APageshouldnotbeconfusedwiththetime-orientedobjectscalledposts.Pagesaretypically"timeless"innatureandlive"outside"yourblog.
PDF PortableDocumentFormat
PHOTOCREDITS PhotoCreditsarewhenanorganizationusesorduplicatesinformationavailablefromtheprivatesectoraspartofaninformationresource,product,orservice,theorganizationmustensurethatthepropertyrightsoftheprivatesectorsourceareadequatelyprotected.Asapublisher,thismeanscreditmustbegiventotheorganizationthatthephotoorinformationisduplicatedfrominthefilescaptionorheadline.
PORTAL APortalisanentranceoraccesstosomethinglarger.
POSTNEWS/RSSFEEDS
PostNews/RSSFeedsarearticlestodisplayaheadlineandbriefdescription.ThesearedisplayeddirectlytotherightoftheHomepageslideshow.TheycanbecreatedbytheembassyordisplayedusinganRSSFeed.AnRSSFeedisamethodofpullingnewsfromonlinepublishersandpostingitonyoursite,providingfreshcontenttoyourusers.
POSTS Postsarethoseitemsthatusuallycontainsemanticallyandchronographicallyarrangedinformation.Alsoknownas“articles”andsometimesincorrectlyreferredtoas“blogs”.InWordPress,“posts”arearticlesthatarewrittentopopulatethewebsite.
PRIVACYNOTICEANDDISCLAIMER
APrivacyNoticeandDisclaimerisastatementthatdescribeshowuserinformationmaybetrackedaswellaswhatisdonewithinformationcollectedfromusers.Federalwebsitesmustincludeaprivacypolicystatement,evenifthesitedoesnotcollectanyinformationthatresultsincreatingaPrivacyActrecord.
READABILITY Readabilityisahighqualitywritingthatiseasytounderstandandread.
RSS RichSiteSummary,oftencalledReallySimpleSyndication,isaformatforsyndicatingmanytypesofcontent,includingblogentries,torrentfiles,videoclipsonnews-likesites;specificallyfrequentlyupdatedcontentonawebsite,andisalsoknownasatypeof"feed"or"aggregator".AnRSSfeedcancontainasummaryofcontentorthefulltext,andmakesiteasierforpeopletokeepuptodatewithsitestheylikeinanautomatedmanner.AlsofrequentlyknownasRichSiteSummary.
SAMI SynchronizedAccessibleMediaInterchange
SCHEMA ASchemaisanorganizationorlayoutofconceptsandactions.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |69 DocumentVersion–2.0
Term Definition
SCOPEATTRIBUTE
AScopeAttributetellsthebrowserandscreenreaderthateverythingunderthecolumnisrelatedtotheheaderatthetop,andeverythingtotherightoftherowheaderisrelatedtothatheader.
SECTION508 Section508requiresgovernmentagencies,andinstitutionsreceivingfederaldollars,toensurethatallelectronicandinformationtechnologyapplicationsareaccessibletoindividualswithdisabilities.Iteliminatesbarriersininformationtechnology,createsnewopportunities,andencouragesdevelopmentofnewtechnologies.
SHARE AShareenablesvisitorstoeasilyspotlightcontentfromthesiteontheirpersonalFacebook,Digg,andothersocialmediaoutletswithasimpleclickofthemouse.
SIDEBAR ASidebarisaverticalcolumnprovidedbyathemefordisplayinginformationotherthanthemaincontentofthewebpage.Themesusuallyprovideatleastonesidebarattheleftorrightofthecontent.Sidebarsusuallycontainelementsthatauserofthesitecancustomize.
SLIDER ASliderisawebpageelementusedtohighlightagroupofselectedposts.Thesliderdisplaysonepostatatime,transitioningfromonetothenextautomaticallyorattheclickofabutton.Often,thesliderlookslikeafancyslideshowlocatednearthetopofthesite.
SMIL SynchronizedMultimediaIntegration
STANDARDFOOTER
StandardFooterisabrandedelementoftheDepartmentofState,locatedatthebottomofeachpage.Thestandardfootercontainstheofficialdisclaimer,globalnavigationlinks,andlinkstomultimediapages,communityoutreachpages,FAQs,sitemap,andprivacystatements.ItmayalsoprovidelinkstoUSGandpartnersites,andotherUSGsitesinthecountry.
SUPERADMINISTRATOR
SuperAdministratorscanaccesstothesitenetworkadministrationfeaturesandallotheradministrationsfeatures.
TABBEDAREAS TabbedAreas(ContentChannel)offersembassiestheabilitytodisplaymultiplekeyembassyprogramsandpartnershipswithouttakingawayfromthedailycontent.
TABLES Tablesarechartsusedtodisplayinformal,statisticaldata.
TABLESUMMARY TableSummariesareacaptionthatincludesashortsummaryoranalysisoftheimportantinformationinatable.Thisishelpfulforreaderswithdisabilities.
TAG ATagisakeywordthatdescribesallorpartofaPost.ThinkofitlikeaCategory,butsmallerinscope.APostmayhaveseveraltags,manyofwhichrelatetoitonlyperipherally.TagscanbecreatedontheflybysimplytypingthemintotheTagfield.Bydefault,tagscanbeassignedonlytothePostandcustomposttypes.
OftenpeopleconfuseTagsandCategories.Categoriesgenerallydon'tchangeoften,whileTagsusuallychangewitheveryPostandareclosertothetopicofthePost.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |70 DocumentVersion–2.0
Term Definition
TEMPLATE ATemplateisafilethatdefinesanareaofthewebpagesgeneratedbyatheme.Forexample,thereistypicallyatemplatefortheheaderareaatthetopofthewebpages,atemplateforthecontent,atemplateforthesidebars,andsoon.Thetemplatesarelikebuildingblocksthatmakeupthecompletewebpage.
TERMSOFLANGUAGE
TermsofLanguagearewhetherauserismonolingual,bilingual,ormultilingual.
THEME AThemeistheoveralldesignofasiteandencompassescolor,graphics,andtext;aThemeissometimescalledtheskin.ThedefaultthemeforthisWordPressprojectistheSagetheme.
TRANSLATION TranslationenablesthewebmanagertolinkdirectlytoacorrespondingLanguagetranslationofthecontent.
TYPOGRAPHY Typographyisthetechniqueofarrangingverbalandvisualcommunicationinaneffectway.
URL UniformResourceLocator
USERFRIENDLYPAGES
User-friendlypagesaredesignedsothatnothinginterfereswiththevisitorgettingtothecontentandallcontentiseasilyfoundandaccessible.
WAI WebAccessibilityImitative.CreatedbytheW3Cin1997,itisasetofguidelinescreatedtoassistwebdevelopers,programmers,anddesignersinmakingwebcontentaccessibletopeoplewithdisabilities.
W3C WorldWideWebConsortium
WEBMANAGER WebManageristhepersonwhomaintains,updates,andmanagesthecontentofthesite.
WIDGET Widgetsareindependentsectionsofcontentthatcanbeplacedintoanywidget-enabledareaprovidedbythetheme.Widget-enabledareasarecommonlycalledSidebarsandareusuallylocatedintherightorlefthandcolumns.However,widgetscanbelocatedvirtuallyanywherewithinthesitedependingonthecurrenttheme.
InternationalInformationPrograms-IIP/PL/DIU.S.MissionsWebsitePlatformPublishingStandards
U.S.DepartmentofState–IIP/PL/DILastUpdated:06/03/2016 P a g e |71 DocumentVersion–2.0
Appendix B – Additional Services and Information Customer Support Services TheOfficeofDigitalHelpDeskprovides24/7/365customersupportforallusersoftheU.S.MissionsWebsiteplatform.Allrequestsfortechnicalassistanceorsiteupdateservicesmustbesentto:embassy@america.govsothatamemberofoursupportteamcanassistassoonaspossible.
ThenatureoftheplatformmakesiteasyforourteamtostepinandassistifthereisasituationatPostthatpreventsthelocalteamfromupdatingthewebsite.Weofferlong-termsupportservicesandwillbehappytoprovideadditionalinformationtoanyinterestedusers.Pleaseemailthehelpdeskat:[email protected].
Training Services Trainingservicesavailabletoourusersinclude:
§ OnlineTraining–Thistrainingtypicallytakestwo(2)hoursadayforthree(3)days.Itisintendedforfirst-timeplatformusersorforPostswhoaremigratingintothelatestversionoftheplatform.
§ RefresherTraining–ThistrainingisintendedforUserswhopreviouslytookthetrainingandneedtoreacquaintthemselveswithfeaturesandfunctionality.Italsotakesapproximatelytwo(2)hourspersessionandthenumberofsessionsisnegotiatedwiththetrainingteam.
§ Tutorials–Thisoptionallowstheusertosetthetrainingagenda.Atutorialsessioncanbeasshortas30minutesandlastupto2hours.Iftheuserneedsaquickoverviewofaparticularfunctionoftheplatform,thisisagreatoption.
§ RegionalWorkshops–RegionalWorkshopsarescheduledbasedonthemigrationscheduleandbudgetavailability.AttendanceataworkshopisbyinvitationonlyandistypicallydeterminedbytheRegionwheretheworkshopisheldandthemigrationschedule.
Torequesttrainingservices,simplye-mailourhelpdeskat:[email protected].