HUD's Web Publication Procedures and Style Guide

Section 4: Rules About Web Page Design

M. Content Boxes: Use "content boxes" to guide users to related links, to highlight important information, or to provide additional facts. When you use the following box titles, you should follow these protocols:

• What's new - Use "what's new" to highlight new regulations or requirements, new reports, new instructions, etc. Normally, items should remain in this box for a limited period of time (probably no more than 1 month).
• More From HUD - offers links to additional information about the particular subject from another part of HUD's websites.
• Links: links users to pertinent information on outside websites.
• Did You Know? - provides answers to questions that audiences might not think to ask. For example, "Did you know…that you can apply for public housing at more than one PHA?" "Did you know…that you need to see a HUD-approved lender to get an FHA loan?"
• What's Your Opinion? This is a great way to get feedback and to involve the public in policy issues. Normally, you should keep these short and current. For example: "HUD is selling homes at half price to police officers. What's your opinion?" The link should be a "mail-to" to an email box.
• Quick Links - highlights most frequently requested or most frequently used information.

N. Anchor Tags Or "Jump To's:" In some cases, anchor tags – which allow the user to "jump" farther down on the page – can be a good design practice. However, remember that if someone hits "print," they'll print the whole page – not just the section they jumped to. A better practice is to create a series of related web pages. This may be easier for the user to handle and enable a user to print out specific pieces of content instead a large volume of information that they do not want or need.

O. Highlighting "New" Items (Internet Only): A standard "new" icon may be used to highlight information on HUD's Internet sites. That is the only "new" icon that may be used on HUD websites. It will automatically expire 2 weeks after it's posted.

P. Standard Links (Internet Only): The "Information By State," "Email A Copy To A Friend" and "Printer Friendly Version" will appear on each document level page on HUD's Internet sites.

Q. Page Title: The "page title" appears in the title bar of the visitor's browser, as the label in bookmarks to the page, and in search results lists and statistics reports. A page title should be concise and meaningful to the audience.

R. Tables: Tables are useful to create concise layouts and to create multi-column lists efficiently.

1. Tables should be used to display tabular data and lists in an organized manner.
2. Define tables with headings and with column and row labels to facilitate navigation for people with disabilities.
3. Do not use borders on tables, since borders may display differently in different browsers and platforms.
4. When possible, use the approved background colors to enhance readability.
5. Do not use tables to isolate or highlight text on a page. Use content boxes and other template features to highlight important content.

S. Frames: HUD does not use frames on any pages of its websites. Frames add unnecessary weight to a web page, making it more difficult for people with slow modems to access the page.