Oregon Public Education Network
World Wide Web
Server Standards and GuidelinesRevised: 04 April 2000
Modified from USDE WWW Server Standards and Guidelines
This document is available for downloading in the following formats:
Microsoft Word 97 (155 KB)
Rich Text Format - RTF (188 KB)Please direct any questions or comments about this document to:
R.D. "Gus" Frederick
Instructional Technology Specialist
Oregon Public Education Network
905 4th Avenue SE
Albany, Oregon 97321-3199
541-967-8822: Voice
541-926-6047: Fax
rfrederi@open.k12.or.us
I. Background
This document defines the specific standards and general guidelines that Oregon Public Education Network (OPEN) will use to make information available on the World Wide Web (Web).
Why this document is needed: The World Wide Web and related Internet technologies hold great potential for providing information to the public more quickly, extensively, and efficiently than has ever before been possible. The remarkable growth in the number of WWW servers, the amount of material they contain, and their use by the public make the Web an increasingly attractive and effective dissemination channel.
This same rapid growth also intensifies the need to establish standards and guidelines to help users find, retrieve, and use the information they need. The state of Oregon is making a major commitment to electronic networking as a primary means of providing information and services to customers. The Web is a key enabling technology for the vision of "one-stop shopping." If OPEN-sponsored Web servers adhere to a reasonable set of Web standards and guidelines for the organization and presentation of information, users will be able to enter the system at any point and tap not only the specific server they first contact but also the full resources of the entire inter-linked system of which that server is a member component.
What this document is and is not: This document provides guidance to ensure high-quality and consistent content, organization, and presentation of information on OPEN Web servers, in order to help users find pertinent information to answer their education questions. At the same time, this document tries to avoid placing unnecessary constraints on the design and operation of individual servers and services. Every organization and program faces the special circumstances of its particular mission, goals, content, customers, technical capabilities, and organizational culture.
This document is not a training document. It is not a complete style guide for composing HTML (hypertext markup language). Nor does it provide a complete checklist of procedures for project leaders to follow to publish information on OPEN Web servers, although certain procedural issues are addressed.
Shelf life: The Web is evolving quickly. If this document is more than six months old, it should have been updated by now.
Credit: This document owes its structure and much of its content to the USDE WWW Server Standards and Guidelines--March 18, 1996, developed by Keith M. Stubbs of the Resource Sharing and Cooperation Division, National Library of Education, U.S. Department of Education (USDE).