Technical and Operational Policies

Account Management

Web Communications approves all requests for Web accounts on the central University Web server. Upon approval, and with the direction of Web Communications, NUIT will assign a master NetID account that will own all of the data files (Web pages) created.

Disk Space Allocation

Disk space on the central Web server is carefully controlled to provide adequate service to those holding accounts on the server. Web Communications will establish the disk storage quota for each account on the central Web server. If your site requires a large amount of disk space you must consult with school or division-level technology support staff to find local hosting for the content as the central server cannot accommodate large requirements.

Maximum File Size

Individual files on the central Web server must be kept to under 1MB in size.

Web Address (URL) Names

Web Communications will work with you to determine the top-level directory structure for your Web site.
Once a directory structure is defined, you are free to create sub-directories.
Requests for URL redirections required by organization renaming or host changes are approved by Web Communications and NUIT through webmaster@northwestern.edu. The administrative contact and site administrator will be consulted during this process.
Requests for virtual host addresses on the central Web server must be submitted to and approved by Web Communications at webmaster@northwestern.edu.

URLs in the .org domain

Under special circumstances, approved in advance by Web Communications, a Web site in the .org domain may be hosted on the central Web server.
The entity must secure prior approval from Web Communications before obtaining the domain name from the third-party registration service at its own expense.
Northwestern must be the Domain Name Service (DNS) provider for the domain name.
NUIT will coordinate the domain registration once approved by Web Communications.
Contact Web Communications and NUIT through webmaster@northwestern.edu.

URLs in the .com or .biz domains

The University does not permit hosting of .com or .biz sites within its networks.

Scripting and Interactive Applications

Web Communications and NUIT must approve all scripting or interactive applications on the central University Web server.
Such applications must be constrained due to concerns about security, server performance, operational monitoring, and ongoing maintenance.
Web Communications and NUIT must approve the proposed application in advance and then review the coded application before it is put into production on the server.

Site administrators wishing to use scripting should confer with Web Communications to determine if a service is already in place (for example, collecting results from a Web form and e-mailing them to a particular address). If extensive scripting development is envisioned, consult school- or division-level technology support staff to find local hosting.

Separate University policies closely control applications that carry out monetary transactions. See the NU policy site (http://www.northwestern.edu/univ-relations/web_comm/policy/nuinfo/server/) for guidelines on such applications. No monetary transactions are permitted on the central Web server.

Limiting Viewer Access to Sites

Your Web site on the central University Web server is open to viewing from any point on the Internet. Site administrators may provide control files within their directory structure to limit access to particular networks.

Appearance and Nomenclature Guidelines

The following technical guidelines augment the Web Communications standards (http://www.webstandards.northwestern.edu) for Web sites. Consult Web Communications (webmaster@northwestern.edu) for assistance with site organization, navigational techniques, usability and accessibility issues.

University Domain Name

The University's domain name is northwestern.edu. This domain must be used in all URLs, e-mail addresses, and other service addresses. Do not use the older domain, nwu.edu, which became non-operative in 2004.

Format of URLs

When creating sub-directories and thereby determining the format of URLs, consider the following good practices:

Use the official and complete name of your unit/department/division/school to avoid confusion.
Good: www.aeronautics.northwestern.edu
Bad: www.flying.northwestern.edu
Use only lowercase characters: e.g. /chicago/ not /Chicago/. Some Web server software is sensitive to case in URLs, so consistency will assist the user to navigate across the multi-server University Web.
Avoid underscore characters in favor of minus or hyphen for word breaks: e.g. /wildcat-soccer/ not /wildcat_soccer/. Your visitors could be confused about whether the underscore is a character or denotes a space. The underscore may also be difficult to find on the keyboard. Because Web browsers display links as underlined, the underscore character may be obscured should the user make a note of the URL.
Avoid both very long names, and short, cryptic names. Acronyms should only be used if part of the entity's brand identity.
Good: www.aero-design.northwestern.edu
Bad: www.adp.northwestern.edu (too cryptic)
Bad: www.aeronautical-design-program.northwestern.edu (too long)

E-mail Addresses on Web Pages

Obtain a departmental e-mail address from NUIT and use it on all Web pages.
E-mail addresses should always be listed with the alias form of something@northwestern.edu, not as a specific host e-mail account address.
Do not use personal e-mail addresses on Web pages as contacts for the business of your department. If that person leaves the University, automatic processes remove the account and your Web page will become invalid.