Developer Guide

C&M Digital Project Functional Technical Specs

Mobile friendly

Both outward and inward facing projects should be designed to accommodate multiple form factors. Generally we recommended a responsive approach to interface design. It is best not to assume this philosophy is a developer's default approach to a project.

For further information:

• https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/01/guidelines-for-responsive-web-design/

Semantic HTML

Any project built to include HTML (especially websites) should be built to the semantic standards that govern HTML. Semantic HTML is a standard that supports accessibility, SEO, and potentially any kind of technical interoperability we might find important. It is for these reasons and more that it is strongly recommended projects adopt this standard. Additionally this means HTML should pass standard validation, which can be done via many mechanisms like the W3C Markup Validation Service.

For further information:

• https://developer.mozilla.org/en-US/curriculum/core/semantic-html/

• https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG22/Techniques/html/H101

Source Control

It is the recommendation of this office that all projects, where appropriate, are placed under version control within the University ecosystem. The easiest and most direct platform for that purpose is under the umbrella of the University's enterprise Github license. In the simplest case, individual units would maintain a Github workspace via the University enterprise license in which they would invite vendors to create and maintain projects. This will require vendors have a sponsored University account, or equivalent. Should a unit not have the expertise or resources to manage such an endeavor it is appropriate to open a discussion with Communications & Marketing.

Supported Browsers and Versions

• Chrome (latest two stable)

• Safari (latest two stable, includes mobile)

• Firefox (latest two stable)

• Edge (latest two stable)

Supported screen sizes

• 1920 x 1080

• 375 x 667

• 1440 x 900

• 1366 x 768

• 375 x 812

Accessibility Compliance

All projects have a formal accessibility requirement as defined by SPG 601.20 and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). All university websites must meet the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 AA at launch. The site owner is responsible for monitoring accessibility via the university’s enterprise accessibility tool (SiteImprove) over the lifetime of the site and for making or requesting adjustments to keep the site in compliance. 

We use the following for initial accessibility checking of websites

• SiteImprove

• Axe

• Accessibility Insights 

• Accessibility check sheet and severity scale: This is the spreadsheet and severity scale we use to assess new and existing websites and triage remediation.

On new site builds we strongly recommend considering accessibility at multiple points in the design process to avoid:

• Adoption of/built-in reliance on inaccessible plugins or third-party components

• Issues inadvertently hard-coded into the final product

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Compliance

We recommend using the cookie consent banner plugin and procedures provided by the Office of the Vice President for Communications.

We also recommend:

• Human readable and SEO-friendly URLs

• VPComm Google Analytics WordPress plugin, in conjunction with the Cookie Consent plugin. 

• Ensure important content is indexable by search engine

• Be mindful of industry standards for first paint and first interaction

• Integration of the VPComm alert system

• Be aware Cloudflare protection is expected for all campus websites in this era, and should be default when requesting a URL.