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Web Editor Responsibilities and Guidelines

As web editors, the contents you post on the college website are available to the public. Therefore, site owners and editors are responsible to follow and check regularly that the following requirements and guidelines are maintained in your respective site(s).

ADA-Compliant Accessibility

Accessibility is a shared responsibility. All website content must meet accessibility standards to ensure it can be used by everyone.

  • What accessibility means: Web accessibility ensures there are no barriers preventing interaction with or access to websites by people with physical disabilities, situational disabilities, or limited internet bandwidth. Websites must be designed and maintained so that anyone can perceive, understand, navigate, interact with, and contribute to the Web.

  • Responsibility: Web editors are accountable for ensuring their content meets accessibility standards. This includes webpages, PDFs, Microsoft Office files, Google Docs, and other digital media.

  • Resources:

Information Security

The Chabot College website is public and searchable. Do not upload or display confidential or sensitive information.

  • Prohibited content: Never post social security numbers, student ID numbers, credit card details, or any personally identifiable information (PII).

  • Compliance: Review the Student Privacy Policy and FERPA requirements.

  • Testimonials: Use first names only (e.g., “Maria, Nursing Student”) and avoid identifiers like “Class of 2020.”

  • Best practice: When in doubt, don’t post. Less is best.

Copyright

All web editors and campus areas must comply with federal copyright laws.

  • Text, images, music, and videos may not be placed on the Chabot College website without proper copyright permissions.

  • Campus units are responsible for securing official releases from students, faculty, staff, speakers, etc., if photos or recordings are used.

Managing Content

Intent: Provide clear, simple, and meaningful content to the intended audience.

  • Public website audiences: Current and prospective students are the primary audiences. Content must be written for public consumption.

  • Internal content: Use Microsoft 365 OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams, or the S-drive for employee-only content.

    • Example: For employee project documents, store them in OneDrive and assign access to project team members.

    • Example: For course materials (syllabi, instructional files), store them in Canvas for students or in OneDrive for internal use.

  • Resource: Review guidelines on How to Write Effective Web Content.

Keeping Content Current

All content must reflect accurate and up-to-date information.

  • Responsibility: Each department or area is solely responsible for monitoring and maintaining its own content.

  • Review plan: Establish a schedule with assigned team members and dates. Aim to review content at least once per semester.

  • Expired/outdated content: Remove or update content that is no longer relevant.

Managing Files and Documents

  • File storage: Store the original and all versions of Microsoft Office files and PDFs in OneDrive or on the S-drive. Please do not use the websites as a file storage.

  • Archiving: The Chabot College website is not an archive for outdated materials. Use OneDrive or SharePoint for archiving old files and web pages.

  • Compliance: The College may periodically require the relocation or removal of outdated content to align with best practices or compliance standards.

Avoid Duplicating Content

  • Link, don’t duplicate: Whenever possible, link to existing content instead of recreating it.

  • Webpages over PDFs: When the same information exists both as a webpage and a PDF (such as a brochure), always use the webpage version. Do not upload the PDF, as they take longer to load, and not responsive.

External Links

When posting links to external websites:

  • Be alert to link-bait and third-party link-building schemes.

  • Verify that the site is suitable for an academic audience.

  • Check for inflammatory, hateful, or offensive content.

  • Limit to a few trusted and reputable sites (3–5 maximum).

Guiding Principle

Not everything belongs on the public-facing Chabot College website.
Less is more.
KISS: Keep It Super Simple.

At times, the college can update any webpages due to necessary circumstances.