Standards and Guidelines

All Web Platform sites are required to adhere to the following standards. These requirements are regularly reviewed and any major changes will be promptly communicated to site owners.

1. General: All Web Platform sites are to be used for publicly facing communication. The Web Platform should not be used as an intranet site.
    
2. Site Updates: All Web Platform sites should anticipate allocating a minimum of 15 hours a month to maintain and update content.
   1. Content on sites must be updated and reviewed regularly for accuracy.
       
3. Site Owners: All sites must have a site owner who is a FTE employee of UCLA.
    
4. Site Access
   1. New Users – All users needing the ability to edit pages must attend the two introductory courses to gain access.
   2. Site Owner – Any user needing Site Owner access must attend the two introductory courses as well as additional training provided by the Web Platform Owners.
   3. Web Platform Owners – Will retain access to your site and will login to your site periodically for verification and site maintenance.
       
5. Communication: The Web Platform will communicate with users occasionally.
   1. All users must have and use an email ending in one of the following domains:
      1. @mednet.ucla.edu
      2. @sonnet.ucla.edu
      3. @dentistry.ucla.edu
   2. The emails provided with the above listed domains are the method the Web Platform will use for all communications.
   3. All users agree to receive periodic emails from the Web Platform.
       
6. Compliance with Regulations: All sites must adhere to relevant regulations, including those set forth by UCLA, UCLA Health and DGSOM.
    
7. Branding: All sites must meet UCLA and UCLA Health guidelines related to branding and marketing.
    
8. Security and Privacy:
   1. No site will expose or capture any Personally Identifiable Information (PII) or Protected Health Information (PHI) or any other confidential information on a Web Platform site.
   2. No site may install or place anything on a Web Platform site for the purpose of capturing data.
   3. Users are not allowed to add any CSS or unapproved HTML on the Web Platform.
       
9. Accessibility: Websites must be accessible to individuals with disabilities, following WCAG 2.0 Guidelines (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) and standards to ensure inclusivity.
   1. All components provided by the Web Platform will be accessible.
   2.  All sites will do the following:
      1. Provide proper alt text when adding images. 
      2. An image with text as the main message cannot be added to a Web Platform site (no flyers, QR codes or the like).
      3. Add captions to all videos and verify their accuracy.
      4. Upload only remediated PDF documents.
          
10. Content Accuracy and Integrity: Information presented on a Web Platform site must be accurate, up-to-date, and evidence-based, reflecting the high standards of medical education and research.
    1. All links to external sites will be to current and appropriate information.
    2. Links may not point to sites like the internet archive as they are a historical record and may be outdated. 
        
11. User Experience (UX): Websites should provide an intuitive and user-friendly experience, facilitating easy navigation and efficient access to relevant resources for students, faculty, staff, researchers, and patients.
    1. All links within the site structure must go to a physical page. Sites may not use "<nolink>" in place of a physical site URL.
        
12. Audits – The Web Platform Owners will periodically review all sites.
     
13. Errors, Inconsistencies – If an issue is discovered, the Web Platform Owners will notify Site Owners of the issue.
    1. Minor Issues – If a minor issue is discovered on your site, the Web Platform Owners will notify the Site Owners who must rectify the problem as soon as practically possible.
    2. Moderate Issues – If a moderate issue is discovered on your site, the Web Platform Owners will notify the Site Owners who must rectify the problem within five business days.
    3. Major Issues – If a major issue is discovered on your site, the Web Platform Owners will correct the issue immediately if possible. If this is not possible, the page(s) or site will be unpublished until such time as it can be fixed.
        
14. Resources: No Web Platform site may knowingly use Web Platform resources on other sites that will adversely affect the Web Platform.
     
15. Documents: Only remediated PDF documents are allowed on Web Platform sites.  
     
16. Images: Only the following image types are allowed and supported on the Web Platform. Any other image type is not supported and is not allowed on the Web Platform.
    1. SVG – Only supported in the header and footer of your site as part of a logo.  All logos must meet UCLA and UCLA Health guidelines related to branding and marketing as per point 7 of this document. 
    2. PNG – Supported on all content types
    3. WEBP – Supported on all content types
    4. JPEG – Supported on all content types
        

17. Variances: Any site needing variances must submit a Support Request and work with the Web Platform Owners who will assess and work with site owners to accommodate their request when possible.