Your website is often the first place prospective students, parents and community members learn about your area. Clear, accurate content helps them find what they need, take the next step and feel confident choosing NIU.
Content that is current, concise and accessible also works for you. Visitors who find answers on the page are less likely to call or email with questions, and your area avoids the risk of outdated information. Accessible content ensures that everyone, including people with disabilities, can use your site and helps NIU meet its accessibility obligations. Learn more about creating accessible digital content.
The web team is here to help. The guidance below explains how to prepare each type of content, and the Manager/Administrator Toolkit covers advanced or technical questions.
People skim websites to find the information they need rather than reading word by word. Website text should be concise and easy to scan, written at a fifth- to eighth-grade reading level. Follow the strategies in web standard 8.4 Readability and Plain Language.
The university has many official sources of information, such as catalogs for program requirements and the bursar’s office for tuition and fees. To ensure accuracy, link to these and other official sources instead of replicating content on another site.
Do not list the names of students in a non-employment capacity, which could violate FERPA. Names of graduate, research and teaching assistants may be listed because they are employees.
Colleges and departments are responsible for obtaining any needed student information release waivers.
Presenting content directly on a webpage ensures it is accessible and mobile friendly and that users can find it through search engines. If content must be a downloadable document, create a Microsoft Word file instead of a PDF. Learn how to create accessible digital documents.
To have a document open in a browser window instead of downloading automatically, the web team can host it on SharePoint. Learn about requesting a SharePoint folder for your area’s online documents.
If a document includes the NIU logo, format the logo appropriately and submit the document to the communications clearinghouse for approval before adding it to a site.
University photographers take engaging, brand-appropriate photos of NIU people, events and locations throughout the year. Find images for your site in the Canto image library. Learn more about photography and videography services. For more guidance, review the image specifications and video specifications in the Technical Specifications Guide.
| Content Type | How to Prepare the Content | How Web Update Coordinators or the Web Team Post the Content |
|---|---|---|
| Events | Add the event to the NIU calendar. | Create a calendar feed for the site if needed and tag events to appear in it. |
| Posters and flyers | Submit a request for design services. | Format the poster or flyer content as HTML and post it on the site. |
| Handbooks, guides, reports, manuals and personal documents such as CVs, résumés or individual faculty materials |
Format text using the sample Word document (DOCX). Turn on the accessibility checker in Word. If the document includes the NIU logo, submit it for brand compliance review. |
Post the document on the site as a document or HTML content. |
| News stories | Add news to your college or division’s news site or submit a story idea for NIU Today to niutoday@niu.edu. | Create a news feed on the site that pulls in articles from NIU Today, the NIU Newsroom or college or division news sites. |
| Newsletters | Review information about digital document accessibility. If the document includes the NIU logo, submit it for brand compliance review. | Post the content on the site as a document or HTML content. |
| Forms |
Create the form with one of these tools: |
Add a link to the form on the site. |
| Forms to collect prospective student information | Contact the CRM team to request a custom form. | Add a link to the form on the site. |
| Organization (org) charts | Provide the chart to your web update coordinator or the web team. | Convert the chart to HTML and post it on the site. |
| Articles and research | Locate a link to the original article or research and, if desired, submit it to Huskie Commons. | Add the link to the site. |
Our primary audience is prospective and current students. Other audiences include parents and families, current and prospective employees and community members. Everyone benefits from clear, easy-to-read text, but a different tone or a more advanced reading level may be appropriate when targeting graduate students or groups with specialized knowledge.
Our form-building tutorials explain the basics of Qualtrics, Kuali Build and Microsoft Forms.
Web Strategy and Support
University Marketing
Still Hall 110
Rachel Xidis
Director, Digital Strategy
rachelx@niu.edu
General inquiries: webcommunications@niu.edu