Logo / Identity Guide

Web Standards

Logo Dos and Don'ts
Marketing Messages

Web procedures for academic and administrative units
Web procedures for websites outside the gvsu.edu domain
GVSU banner image map
GVSU webpages required elements
Title and meta tags
Doctype
GVSU color scheme
Official GVSU website graphics
Compliance with ADA guidelines
Footer information
University webmaster's concerns
Browser compatibility
Instruction and assistance

Web procedures for academic and administrative units

As of May 2010, all websites created for Grand Valley State University units must be hosted on GVSU servers (gvsu.edu) and must use the GVSU content management system (CMS).

Any use of the Internet resources of GVSU for revenue-generating advertising, promotion of businesses not related to GVSU, or personal sales is not allowed. For more information please read the Internet resource policy.

 

Web procedures for websites outside the gvsu.edu domain

GVSU organizations that maintain their own servers and publish pages under domains other than www.gvsu.edu/... are responsible for adhering to GVSU web standards.

The purpose of webpage design standards is to:

  • Reinforce GVSU's identity
  • Meet the needs of the constituencies Grand Valley serves
  • Provide continuity in website appearance
  • Protect and regulate the use of proprietary GVSU names, logomarks, wordmarks, and graphic devices
  • Keep content current
  • Faithfully represent GVSU to the public
 

GVSU banner image map

GVSU Banner Image Map

Although the following piece of code may be inserted anywhere into your website's HTML, we suggest placing it at the very bottom right before the end body tag. This way, if our code ever has an error, it will not prevent your website from loading.
 

 

 GVSU webpages required elements

  1. All Grand Valley departmental webpages must contain the GVSU banner image map (as it appears at the top of this page). Do not modify this banner in any way.
     
  2. Title and meta tags
    1. All pages must have a title and meta tags. These tags are necessary for pages to be found by the search engine (see example below). Click here to check your meta tags.
       
  3. Doctype
    1. Per HTML standards, a DOCTYPE (short for "document type declaration") informs the validator which version of HTML you're using, and must appear at the very top of every webpage. DOCTYPEs are a key component of compliant webpages.
       
  4. GVSU color scheme
    1. Prominent use of GVSU-related Web colors: Laker Blue ("#0065A4"), white ("#FFFFFF"), and black ("#000000").
    2. White page backgrounds only (bgcolor="#FFFFFF") - no graphic or colored backgrounds are allowed.
    3. Laker Blue, black, and white as appropriate to design.
       
  5. Official GVSU website graphics
    1. A variety of graphics are available on the logos page.
    2. Preferred placement -- one of the official Web versions of the GVSU logomark should be placed in the lower right corner of the page.
    3. Logomarks, wordmarks, and graphics provided by the university may not be altered or changed in any way.
    4. Any use of art, e.g., photos or clipart, not provided by the university must be relevant to the webpage design, representative of the department, and congruent with the image of the university.
       
  6. In order to not disrupt a webpage design, an alternate logomark or wordmark may be obtained from Institutional Marketing.
     
  7. Appropriate use of copyrighted materials.
     
  8. All GVSU websites are required to comply with ADA guidelines. Please consider the following:
    1. The use of framesets is discouraged.
    2. The use of alt tags on images is required.
    3. A text only version or site map of the homepage and its subordinate pages is encouraged.
    4. Check the W3C page on Accessibility Guidelines for more information.
  9. Required footer information includes:
    1. University copyright statement, i.e., "Copyright © 2010 Grand Valley State University"
    2. Department name as well as the name and e-mail address of the person responsible for maintaining the page.
    3. University AA/EO statement, i.e., "GVSU is an AA/EO institution."
       
  10. All GVSU webpages are regularly reviewed by the university webmaster. Concerns shall include, but are not limited to:
    1. Accurate and current information.
    2. Appropriate use of university graphics.
    3. Functional links.
    4. Appropriate public presentation, including page design and art.
    5. Conformity to webpage standards. The content should be easily viewable by the general audience. Content plug-ins should be avoided on main pages. If after review the site does not meet these standards, the university webmaster will first contact the department for necessary updates, if updates are not made a temporary one page site will be put into place to display basic information about the department.

 

Browser compatibility

All sites must properly load and function in the two latest versions, not including beta releases, of the following Internet browsers:

  • Internet Explorer
  • Firefox
  • Chrome
  • Safari

Bear in mind that a growing number of visitors to GVSU sites are using mobile devices. Please ensure that your content is accessible to this audience.

 

Instruction and assistance

Contact Institutional Marketing for assistance in meeting the minimum design standards or to request official GVSU graphics that meet your design needs.

Training and instruction in webpage publication is available through GVSU Academic Computing.

Page last modified March 25, 2013