HUD's Web Publication Procedures and Style Guide - Section 3: Rules About Content

A. Headquarters And Field Content Parameters: To ensure that HUD's websites are as concise and effective as possible, it is important to avoid duplication of effort.

1. Headquarters office content generally should be "generic" or "Departmentwide" in nature.
2. Headquarters offices should post content only within their organizational purview.
3. Information and services - including local information - that can come from national systems must come from those systems if at all possible. It is the responsibility of the Headquarters offices to ensure that local information generated by systems is presented in a customer-friendly manner.
4. Field office content should be exclusively information and services that only can be gathered and presented by local offices.
5. Local program office information appearing on state pages must comply with standard program templates developed with the Headquarters program offices. Any additions or changes to the local program office templates must be vetted through the Headquarters program managers. Once the Headquarters program office has approved an addition or change to the local program office templates, the Web Manager for that Headquarters organization will notify the Departmental Web Manager for Field Operations, who will make the change.
6. Local versions of national (generic) content are appropriate only to highlight local exceptions.

B. Audience And Purpose: For every page on HUD's websites, the audience and purpose must be clear and unambiguous. In most cases, a brief introductory sentence or paragraph should be used to describe the purpose of the page. As a rule, a web page on our Internet websites should not attempt to address both "citizens" and "partners," since these two audiences have very different perspectives.

C. Writing And Organization: Every page on HUD's websites must meet HUD's Web Writing Standards, Appendix D. HUD uses plain language both for Internet and intranet content. Writing tips can be found at: www.plainlanguage.gov. Plain language classes may be available in your area. Check with the Departmental Web Team if you are interested in attending one.

D. Tone And Voice: Web content should be conversational, as if you were speaking to the person.

1. Web content (sentences, paragraphs, link "teasers") should be written in second person (for example, "We'll show you how to use this page"). Segues between major content sections, too, should be conversational and in second person ("you").
2. Web content should be written in the active voice.
   • Do: The web team wrote this document.
   • Don't: This document was written by the web team.
3. Though it's not necessary to use complete sentences, it is essential to use correct grammar. Complete sentences should be ended with a period. Incomplete sentences do not need to be ended with a period, unless they are within a paragraph. In that case, a period will help the reader know when one thought stops and another begins.

E. Spelling And Proofing: All web pages must be checked for spelling and grammatical errors before they are posted. Although Dreamweaver has a "Check Spelling" function, all content should be reviewed manually, as well, since automated spellcheckers do not catch every mistake or problem.

F. State Pages (Internet Only): To ensure that citizens across the country have the opportunity to find the same high quality information and services, no matter where they live, the local information or "state pages" on HUD's Internet websites must follow a strict template, both in layout and in content. Specific guidelines for state pages can be found in Appendix E.

G. Good Stories (Internet Only): "Good Stories" are short write-ups about good things that are happening with HUD funds, programs, or initiatives and good things that are happening in communities, even if they aren’t using HUD funds. They are an important feature on HUD's Internet websites. Guidelines for developing and posting Good Stories can be found in Appendix F.

H. Features: "Features" are short paragraphs, normally used on the front page or "home" page of a Headquarters Office section or state pages or regional hud@work pages.

1. Features should serve as teasers, providing very brief descriptions of new initiatives, new developments, or updates of high interest.
2. Features should change often.
3. Features normally should be no more than 3-5 lines in length; and normally, the features section should not exceed 25 lines in length.
4. Your features may contain a link to more information.
5. Features must have a sub-header.

I. Highlights: Highlights are one-line links, normally used to bring attention to new or updated information or a "hot" topic or issue. Highlights should be no more than one line. Highlights should be changed frequently (at least monthly; more often, if possible).

J. Links And Teasers:

1. Links normally should be created as bullets underneath the narrative that explains them - not within the text - so they don't break up the text. For example:
   HUD homes can be very good buys. Find out how you can buy a HUD home in your area.
   How to buy a HUD home
   HUD homes in your area
   
   
2. In most cases, links should be the same exact words as the page header of the linked page, for example:
   Find lists of HUD homes for sale.
   
   
3. If additional information is needed to help the visitor understand why he/she would want to visit that link or how he/she can use the information found at the link, a "teaser" may follow the link title. Teasers should be short - never more than 2 lines.
   
   The Housing Choice Voucher Program allows you to find your own place to rent, using the voucher to pay for all or part of the rent.
   
   
4. If you are listing more than 5 links, normally you should break them into groups under sub-headers.

K. Time Zones: For events (broadcasts, webcasts, meetings, conferences, conference calls, etc.) that span time zones, provide both the Eastern Time (ET) and the Pacific Time (PT). That will help eliminate confusion for people living in other time zones.

Example: Webcast on SuperNOFA overview: 11:00 a.m. ET (8:00 a.m. PT).

L. Phone Numbers: Phone numbers will be shown as follows:

Example: (555) 555-5555
If there is an extension, the phone number will appear like this:

Example: (555) 555-5555, ext. 55

M. Translations (Internet Only): The most-used web content for citizens on www.hud.gov is translated for espanol.hud.gov.

1. When new pages are developed, notify the Departmental Web Managers, who will determine if they should be translated.
2. If content that has been translated is changed significantly - updated or expanded - in English, notify the Departmental Web Managers so it can be translated for espanol.hud.gov.
3. Do not translate content on your own, without approval of the Departmental Web Team. HUD is striving for consistency in translations.

N. News Releases (Internet Only): News releases are posted only at the request of Public Affairs, in Headquarters, or the officially designated Public Affairs Officers (PAOs) in the Regions.

1. Whenever possible, the national news release will serve as the only news release on a particular subject. So, for example, if a news release announces grants, then the state pages will link to the national news release to showcase local grant recipients.
2. If Regional PAOs choose to alter a national news release to give it local emphasis, then they are responsible for ensuring that any subsequent changes to the national release are picked up in the local release.
3. On state pages, links to both local news releases and national releases about grants will appear on a "Grant Announcements" page. The Grant Announcement's page will be the first link under "highlights" on the front of the state pages during grant announcement "season," and it will be a link on the "Local Newsroom" page.

O. Photo Galleries: "Photo Galleries" are slide shows that showcase the many ways HUD funds help communities. They are photo essays with short captions. The goal is to do a photo gallery for every state. In some cases, a state may have several photo galleries, organized by city or region. Photo galleries also are appropriate for Headquarters pages.

1. The technical support contractor must resize photos for photo galleries for state pages. Regional Web Managers should submit the photo in full size (whatever format was used by the digital camera, preferably 1024X768) and allow the contractor to resize them.
2. Well-written captions are extremely important. Write at an elementary reading level. Avoid citing specific HUD programs by name or number, since program names and numbers are not meaningful to the audience.
3. Captions should be no more than 250 characters.
4. Captions must contain both the city and state name.
5. Photo galleries normally should be 5-10 photos.
6. Each photo in a photo gallery must have well-written alt tags, describing the photo.
7. Choose a selection of photos that, when grouped together in the photo gallery, are interesting and show the breadth of HUD’s programs. Avoid a series of photos of buildings. "Before and after" shots are a good way to show buildings. Photos with people in front of buildings or playing at community centers, etc. are good.

P. Print Publications: Print publications must be posted in PDF format or reformatted so they are web-friendly. Print publications must follow the same approval processes of any other web document. Information contained in PDFs must also be posted in a text file, to ensure that it is accessible.

Q. Newsletters: Print materials do not read well on computer screens. If a HUD office prints and distributes a hard copy newsletter and, as a secondary way of distributing it, wants to post that newsletter on the website, we will post it in PDF format. The office must provide a "soft" copy of the newsletter to post. If the office wants to publish a newsletter on the web as the only or primary way of distributing it, then it must go into the HUD template and be published as a web page. Again, information contained in PDF files also must be posted in a text file, to ensure it is accessible.

R. Terror Alert Level - The terror alert level will be posted only on the front page of the national hud@work website. If specific regions or cities are at a different alert level, it will be noted in that box. Employees only have to check one place - the front page of hud@work - to find out the alert level. The Departmental Web Managers will update the terror alert level based on a) notification from the Office of Security and Emergency Planning, b) notification from the White House or a notice on the White House website, or c) notification from the Department of Homeland Security or a notice on the Homeland Security website, whichever comes first. If the alert level is changed after normal working hours, the status will be updated on hud@work as early in the morning as possible, the next working day.