Naming Guidelines - URLs and Link policies

Referring to the university website

The correct address for the university website is www.brighton.ac.uk
The older www.bton.ac.uk should no longer be used.

Stating a URL in print

For a generic web address, use the following form:

www.brighton.ac.uk/prospectus

Note:

• There is no need to prefix the URL with http:// although you may if you would prefer.
• It is not necessary to use a final trailing slash.

For a web address which does not fit in to our standardised naming policy, quote the URL as follows:

www.brighton.ac.uk/undergrad/special/page3.html

• Try and design your site structure so that links can be expressed in less than 40 characters. This will allow them to fit into the printed prospectus without having to overflow onto another line. Obviously this will affect the structure of your site.
• If the required file is not called index.html or index.htm, you will need to include the file name.
• Note: HTML authoring tools on Apple Macs will not accept page names of more than 30 characters.

Stating a URL within HTML code

We recommend using fully syntactically correct URLs in the hypertext links in actual HTML code. In particular it is best to include the trailing slash for any URL that point to the default file in a directory. Most servers can cope with a missing slash, but doing so takes time and adds to the server response delay. Thus if you want to refer to the prospectus ordering form in print , you would write the URL as:

www.brighton.ac.uk/prospectus

....... if you wanted to include a hypertext link to the form, the HTML should be coded as:

<A HREF="http://www.brighton.ac.uk/prospectus/">Prospectus Ordering Form</A>

You may also wish to see our information on creating Link Titles for URLs

Creating memorable URLs

The university is moving towards a standardised naming policy for URLs within the brighton.ac.uk domain using server redirects or aliases. Studies indicate that a considerable number of web users employ URL-guessing techniques to help them navigate and to find information and the use of redirects allows us to create generic web addresses which can point to specific areas of the site. Over the coming months a considerable number of URLs will be changed to take this into account.

For example, the URL to view postgraduate info is:

www.brighton.ac.uk/audience/hubs/postgraduate/welcome.html

but a URL redirect can be created with the far more memorable URL

www.brighton.ac.uk/postgraduate

This system also allows us/you to maintain consistency and accuracy when thinking about creating promotional materials for print. Long, and direct URLs can break if major changes are made to the website. They can look unwieldy in print and are difficult to quote.

Obviously generic URLs are implemented at the server and require the webteam to create them. We run a policy of updating or creating generic names once a month, on the first of the month. You should ensure that you contact us ahead of time.

The policy for creating memorable URLs and redirects is still open to change and we cannot publish an official policy at this time. Please note, not all requested terms may be suitable for a redirect.