1. Technical
   1. Home page.
      1. Top web page is named index.htm or index.html
   2. File Names.
      1. File names preferably use small letters.
      2. no spaces in file names.
      3. Name length not to exceed 15 characters
      4. only permissible characters are letters (a-z), numbers( 0-9), and underscore (_).
   3. Load time no longer than 30 seconds over a 28.8 modem.
      1. Exception: multiple instances of the same graphic.
      2. Background graphics should be less than 3K in size.
      3. Word Document HTML compacted to reduce load time if it is excessive.
         1. Word Document "Generator" meta removed.
         2. Word document links to header, footer, and style documents removed if not necessary.
   4. Fonts, Formatting and Styles.
      1. Headings will use standard HTML elements (<h1></h1>, etc)
      2. All fonts or alternates will be: Times New Roman, Arial, Courier New, Symbol
      3. Fonts will not blink or use other distracting attributes.
      4. Only minor changes done with with formatting--If a style is to be applied more than three times, an internal style is to be defined.
      5. CSS is not to be browser specific.
   5. Frames are not used.
   6. Multimedia resources work properly.
2. Graphics
   1. Images are kept in an "images" folder at each level unless total files is less than five.
   2. Thumbnails linked to larger pictures are used for most photos.
   3. Image tags have height and width attributes equal to actual image.
   4. Images always displayed at 100%.
   5. Original images are never overwritten.
   6. Images are scanned first as non-lossy bitmap with a suitable number of colors (typically 16 bit for photographs and 8 bit for illustrations), then converted to appropriate format.
   7. Photo format is JPEG unless another format is necessary.
   8. Other graphics are GIF or PNG unless JPEG results in smaller file size.
3. Navigation
   1. Navigation has the same look every page.
   2. Navigation has links to:
      1. Top Page in Web
      2. Middle School
      3. ASIJ
   3. Subweb has its own navigation with additional link to top page in subweb.
   4. FrontPage® Navigation Bars used if appropriate.
   5. Navigation graphics are appropriate.
   6. Navigation and sequencing is consistent and clear; Page layout provides good direction.
4. Appearance
   1. Every page shows:
      1. Appropriate Title
      2. Last maintained or updated date (use "include" page or shared bottom border)
      3. Contact (use "include" page) of sponsoring teacher or class email.
      4. Optional information: Creator, Date Created.
   2. Page appearances are uniform
      1. Page background is linked to top page background (of web or subweb) if themes are not used or driven by style sheets..
      2. Fonts and headers are similar on each page.
      3. Page appearance is effectively controlled with tables, lists, and left and right justification where needed.
      4. Graphics (including background graphic) contribute to the page appearance and content.
   3. FrontPage® themes are used effectively.
   4. Background graphics are still appropriate at greater than 1024x768 resolution.
   5. Pages are developed for 800x600 resolution, but look good are higher resolutions.
   6. Content does not overlap.
   7. Content works in version 5 and higher browsers.
5. Writing Mechanics
   1. Sentence structure is appropriate and correct and punctuation is accurate.
   2. Words are spelled correctly; Names are checked for accuracy.
   3. Sentences and links are capitalized properly.
   4. Grammar is correct.
   5. Writing voice is consistent and appropriate.
6. Intellectual Property.
   1. Intellectual property and copyright guidelines are followed.
   2. Extra help is credited.
   3. Photos and art are credited on a citations page.
   4. License is granted by copyright owner and clearly indicated on a citations page.
7. Organization and Content
   1. ASIJ Publishing Policies followed; Full names of students are not used.
   2. Content is complete.
   3. Web site theme and purpose is evident on the opening page.
   4. Target audience is implicitly or explicitly identified; awareness of other audiences is demonstrated.
   5. Opening page is inviting.
   6. Page layout provides good direction.
   7. Pages have a clear transition and clear purpose.
   8. Links are logical and not superfluous.
   9. Authors show knowledge and insight of subject matter.
   10. Primary sources are main source
   11. Details are logical, correct, and effective.
   12. Information on all pages is relevant to the site.
   13. Authors demonstrate knowledge and effective use technology.

MMS Web Standards Revision E November 23, 2002

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Revision E

Last maintained 09/06/2003