UTMB Web Styleguide: Naming Sites and Individual Files

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UTMB Web Page Standards

Naming Sites and Individual Files
In general, a site should have a name that is meaningful, memorable and short. A policy at UTMB sets the general form for URLs, but the actual name of directory/web site names is usually left up to the publisher.

A name has to be available; that is, unused within our domain

UTMB's style is to use all lowercase letters in URLs; it can save some problems with some types of case-sensitive web servers

Spaces should be avoided in URLs; they're interpreted differently by different browsers

Special characters (including hyphens) should be avoided in URLs; they're also interpreted differently by different browsers

Site Names
Generally, new sites hosted on UTMB’s two institutional servers are hosted as “www.utmb.edu/name” or "www2.utmb.edu/name"

A few large sites on the main UTMB servers are or can be set up as virtual webs; they function, and are named, like independent sites running within a web server. In those cases, “www” is dropped from the name. Examples: gsbs.utmb.edu, sahs.utmb.edu

This “virtual web” name model requires a distinct IP address; requests are reviewed and fulfilled on a case-by-case basis, and require a bit of extra time.

All other web servers operated within the UTMB domain should follow the “sitename.utmb.edu” model. Examples: registrar.utmb.edu, library.utmb.edu, nrcc.utmb.edu, cardiology.utmb.edu

This naming convention increases consistency, yet still offers flexibility and allow for an IT solution that accommodates current and future scenarios with minimal impact or difficulty.

Page Title
Every page needs a clear, meaningful title that defines the site and the content on a specific page. Not only does this help increase search results, it aids with bookmarks and gives users a meaningful reference for your page. It's also a state requirement.