LNDL Libguide Template & Toolkit

Friendly URLs make it easy to quickly see and understand the purpose of the page. For example, 

/g=46515&p=365289

is not intuitive but

/libguidesintro/thebasics

carries meaning.

• Friendly URLs should be added to all pages.
• Should always be lowercase.
• Use letters, numbers dashes and underscores.
• Don't use spaces! Use either dashes, underscores or combine into one word.
• Limit to one or two words.

The friendly URLs can be set in the following ways:

• Guide: click the pencil next to the URL label
• Page: click the pencil icon in the bordered box next to the Page URL label. This must be set for every page.

Use these tips for giving a short and descriptive name for pages and content boxes.

• Jargon: avoid library jargon in naming pages.  Favor action words.
• Specific Titles: be specific in naming pages. “Encyclopedias” or "Overviews" are more meaningful to students than “Reference Tools”.
• Short Titles: keep page titles short – they should clearly reflect the content in that page.
• Use "&": use "&" instead of "and" in titles.
• Capitalization: use appropriate capitalization.
• Vagueness: Avoid vague terms like "other" or "additional resources".

Home page

• Better not to title it "Home." Something like "Getting Started" or "Overview" is better.
• "Start Here" is another good title if your guide walks a user through a process. 

A powerful feature of LibGuides is the easy reuse of any asset. Assets can be easily reused by mapping or copying from an original asset. An original asset is an asset that was created from scratch.

Mapped Assets

A mapped asset, or a "reused" asset, is directly linked to an original asset. If the original asset is changed in any way then all mapped versions to that asset will be updated immediately. A mapped asset can only be edited by the original creator (or by an administrator).

Copied Assets

A copied asset works a bit differently than a mapped asset. A copied asset is a duplication of an original asset that retains all the same information, yet becomes an entirely new asset with a new owner. A copied asset will not update when the original asset gets updated.

Links

Links to resources should be added as link assets.

• Give each link a description. Shorter descriptions are generally better and in keeping with the goal of less text-heavy guides
• Always have the description display beneath item title. Never have it hidden behind a pop up button as this isn't accessible.
• Reuse link assets as often as possible. This makes it easier to batch update.
• Order link lists by relevance.
• Always link to the specific page that will be needed by the user; refrain from linking to the main page of a large and potentially confusing website.

Linked text in rich text boxes

When you add links directly into a rich text box, those links can not be managed by the link asset manager.

Instead, use link or database assets to link to resources from your guides.

If you must use links inside a rich text box then check that these links open in a separate page or tab.

• If using the link button in the rich text editor be sure to set the target to Same Window (_self) on the target tab.
• Check link code in the Source view and make sure all anchor tags have target="_self" inside.

Links should make sense if the linked text is read by itself. Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page. Avoid phrases like "click here" and "more".

• Unclear link text: Go to this US Government source for comprehensive homeowner data by clicking here.
• Clear link text: The US Government provides comprehensive homeowner data.

Make Use of Images

• Images on a page or in a particular box can serve several purposes:
  • Liven up a page.
  • Catch the user's eye.
  • Break up text.
  • Provide graphical clues about content.  
• It's important to adhere to copyright and accessibility standards when using images.

Multimedia Resources

• In addition to text based resources consider adding podcasts, videos and other multimedia.
• They can add interest and appeal to guides, as well as useful information.
• It's important to adhere to copyright standards when using multimedia.
• Be sure to only provide properly captioned or accessible multimedia content.

Images and multimedia resources must abide by the accessibility guidelines provided in the "Images" and "Embedded Media" tabs on the Accessibility page of this guide.