Site Structure

Here are some best practices for organizing the files and directories of your website.

• File names or anchor names should never have any spaces. Use dashes instead of spaces. File names should be short yet descriptive. Avoid using abbreviations they can have an impact on Search Engine Optimization.
• HTML files should  have an .html extension. .htm is acceptable, (.cfm, .php, .asp etc are appropriate for servers using those languages.) provided all files in the site are named consistently.
• File and directory names should be lowercase.
• The main page or default page in a directory should always be named index.html, or appropriately depending on the configuration of the server (default.htm, index.php, index.cfm, index.asp, etc.). A default page should be created in every directory to avoid 404 pages or directory indexes from appearing to the user.
• If you move frequently accessed files to a new location, provide a redirect from the old location.
• As a general rule, please keep your site organized and use a common images folder. (i.e “images/unm-image.jpg or “images/unm-graphic.gif”)

Sections

• Introduction
• Browser Support
• Site Structure
• SIte Design
• HTML
• Metadata
• Images
• Scripting
• Documents
• Accessibility
• Search Engine Optimization
• Quality Assurance
• Outside Tools
• Domain Names
• Copyright
• Exceptions