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Guide to Minimum Website Standards - Electronic Publishing
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This guidance has been superseded by the Australian Government Web Publishing Guide and should be used for reference purposes only. |
April 2003 edition. Contact details updated March 2005.
Chapter Headings:
What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard? - Implementation requirements - Background - Key things you should know - Further Assistance - FAQ
Electronic Publishing
Note: These guidelines are currently subject to review.
What is the standard, and which agency issued the standard?
The standards for electronic publishing on the Internet are the Guidelines for Commonwealth Information Published in Electronic Formats, which were issued by Info Products, Department of Finance and Administration. The guidelines are available at: www.agimo.gov.au/information/publishing/formats
Implementation requirements
From 1 June 2000, agencies were required to ensure that all new electronic publications complied with the Guidelines, and from 1 December 2000, all existing electronic publications were to comply.
Background
The Guidelines for Commonwealth Information Published in Electronic Formats provide principles for language usage, information presentation, production and best practice conventions for electronic publications. They also include and refer to other lead agency initiatives in archiving and accessibility. The application of the Guidelines by Commonwealth agencies will lead to improved efficiency, quality and accessibility of government information online and will assist in the preservation of electronic government publications for future access.
Key things you should know
The Guidelines cover a wide range of topics. They include information on the different dissemination formats for electronic publishing - from disk to the Internet, issues to consider when structuring a website, writing for the internet, and who to contact about using national symbols such as the Coat of Arms or Australian National Flag. In particular the guidelines cover:
The purpose of the document - eg.
- Be sure that you are clear on the nature of your audience and their skills, technological capabilities and interests.
- Keep in mind the expectations your audience has of the web site.
- Carefully consider which documents are appropriate for release. Allow public access to only these documents.
- Each document should contain the following information:
The status of the document - e.g;
- The author;
- Version and location of the original published document;
- Contact details and feedback mechanisms;
- Acknowledgments, copyright statements and disclaimers, if applicable.
Interface design - eg.
- Use clear navigation aids.
- Direct the viewer's eye.
- Do not overuse graphics, to avoid a disjointed and chaotic layout.
- Anticipate the needs of those with vision impairments.
- Use only the 256 Internet safe colours.
- Do not have dead-end pages (pages without links).
- Provide information in fewest possible steps in shortest possible time (preferably with a download time of less than ten seconds).
- Keep design simple and consistent.
- Allow for feedback on your web site.
- Build in alternative messages to explain graphics.
Organising Information - eg.
- Divide information into logical units.
- Establish a hierarchy of importance.
- Use this hierarchy to structure relationships between pages.
Writing - eg.
- Provide information based on the four principles of journalism: who, what, when, and where.
- Always use version control.
- Punctuation: minimise punctuation, use single quotation marks and reduce prepositions and conjunctions.
- Grammar: keep text concise and simple, include lists and dot points where possible and use qualifiers (almost, very, quite, often).
- Graphics: use graphics to assist the viewer.
The Guidelines also focus on the best ways of writing for the Internet. The main features to be aware of include:
- Establish a clear information structure.
- Organise text into small blocks of related information with a hierarchy.
- Limit each page to one concept-each page should 'stand alone'.
- Include copyright, author and date at the bottom of each page.
- 'Sign' or approve and date pages.
- Use short clear titles.
- Identify where the document comes from with corporate/institutional affiliations.
- Incorporate the home URL on at least the main pages of your site.
- Provide at least one link to a local home page in every web page.
Further Assistance
Website - www.agimo.gov.au/information/publishing/formats
Contact Person - Ainslie Sowden
Email - AGIMO - Service Delivery Branch
Phone - 02 6215 1524
Address - Australian Government Information Management Office, Department of Finance and Administration, John Gorton Building, King Edward Terrace, Parkes ACT 2600.
FAQ
Q: If I want to include the Commonwealth Coat of Arms on my web pages, who can I ask?
A: The Awards and National Symbols Branch, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet has policy responsibility for the use of the Commonwealth Coat of Arms. The Guidelines on their use are available at: http://www.dpmc.gov.au/guidelines/commonwealth_coat_arms.cfm. Graphic quality images of the Coat of Arms are available from the Awards and National Symbols Branch in many popular formats.
Subject to the Guidelines, portfolio ministers have authority over the use of the Arms by their departments and by other Commonwealth agencies within their portfolios. Commonwealth departments and authorities can select whichever prescribed version of the Arms they consider appropriate, subject to minimum size restrictions.