egerton.ac.ke is user-first. It exists to deliver content that users need to complete an action or be informed.

a). Branding

University websites will convey the University’s brand, be clearly identifiable as a part of the University, and reflect the University’s broad values and culture. A consistent and identifiable representation of the University will be prioritized.

Other parts of the University’s web presence should, so far as is practically possible, adhere to the requirements for University websites detailed in the clause above.

b). Web Content

The University will maintain a high standard of communication through its web presence by managing the publishing, monitoring, maintenance and archiving of content.

Content will be:

• Up-to-date and accurate
• Conveyed clearly and unambiguously, in a tone appropriate to the audience and consistent with the image and reputation of the University
• Delivered in an appropriate format for its intended audience.
• Sourced from primary authoritative sources where practical.
• Approved by the Director for Marketing.
• Social media content will be managed, including through appropriate monitoring and moderating, to ensure that the reputation, standards and policies of the University are maintained.
• Content of a confidential or sensitive nature will be restricted to the appropriate audience.
• Web content will be subject to appropriate record-keeping, including archiving of content which is no longer current.

c). Functional Specifications (including Accessibility and Security)

• University websites shall be built and operated using the University’s designated Content Management System (CMS).
• University websites shall be built so as to be sustainable, flexible and robust, taking into account current applicable web standards and using syntactically correct code.
• University websites will be hosted on and served up through the University’s network or through other services/networks approved by Information and Communication Technology (ICT) department.
• The University will commit to a high standard of accessibility for all web users, including those with disabilities or impairments, and will aim to meet or exceed the current web Standards.
• Best practice security will be applied to the University’s web presence, to prevent insecure websites and online applications from risking or causing significant damage to the University.
• The main website should be upgraded constantly to the most current web standards, trends and technologies

d). Web Strategic Priorities

External

Support the university’s mission by focusing efforts on the following key areas:

• Brand awareness and perception
• Expand University’s reach by creating an on-brand website with consistent design, flexible features, and marketing-driven content to reach our No. 1 target audience: prospective students.
• Continuously improve the usability and accessibility of our website by ensuring:
• User-oriented content that is current
• Logical content structure
• In-site structure and navigation
• Information architecture of content
• Mobile accessibility
• 508 compliances for those with disabilities

Internal

• Reduce website bloat and content redundancy with an improved information architecture, thoughtful navigation, and regular maintenance process.
• Use a common Content Management System and code base across all schools and departments for efficiency and cost control.
• Guarantee stability and effectiveness of the website by resolving technology issues and performing regular maintenance.
• Ensure implementations follow web standards, accessibility, and usability best practices.
• Strategic Standardization
• University Communications & Marketing must approve, create, and develop all official University websites using the branded templates provided.
• Major revisions to the website – including but not limited to site structure, code, design, components, and functionality – require the approval of the Directorate of Marketing & Communications.
• The strategic priorities of the University, brand integrity, site performance, security, and site-wide code base will be considered before these types of requests can be approved.
• If schools and departments want to create a new website, start a blog, add additional pages to an existing website, or request new features that require development work or third-party software, a Web Request must be submitted to University Communications & Marketing.

e). CMS-Incorporated Standards

A great many of the technical issues associated with proper website design is implemented as part of the Content Management System, and thus will not be at the discretion of the content manager. These include:

• Sitemap implementation
• URL structure
• Coding style
• Browser compatibility
• Many code aspects of SEO
• Visual identity and style
• Most aspects of layout format and elements
• Requirements
• All official University websites should use a egerton.ac.ke website address.
• All egerton.ac.ke websites must use the official header and footer.
• Websites on the egerton.ac.ke domain must follow brand guidelines.

f). Web accessibility

Egerton University is committed to providing an online environment that is accessible to everyone.

g). Prohibited Content Topics

• Advertising non-university entities, businesses, organizations or products.
• Content that implies institutional endorsement of entities, businesses, organizations, products, projects or services.
• Content that is inconsistent with the University’s mission.
• Links to pages that are inconsistent with the University’s mission.
• Multimedia Policies

h). Images

• Due to copyright laws, images on egerton.ac.ke must be original content or considered public domain (free from copyright). Publishing an image that you do not own could result in legal action.
• Keep it professional. Ensure images are reflective of an institution of higher education.
• Include alt tags (for accessibility and search engine optimization). An alt tag is text associated with an image. It is not seen by the user, but is readable by search engines.

i). Directory Photos

It is important that all images in university’s website image directories are recent (preferably within the past five years), high resolution and maintain a consistent look.

j). Graphics

Graphic content across egerton.ac.ke – including graphics, advertisements, illustrations, infographics, or other artwork – must follow University brand guidelines, be properly formatted, and meet accessibility compliance. Graphic content that does not adhere to these policies is subject to removal from the website.

k). Third-Party Logos

Use of third-party logos on the University website must be approved by University Communications & Marketing.

l). Video/Audio

Where we provide video or audio it should be accompanied with a transcript. Where suitable we will also provide the option for subtitles.

• Videos uploaded to the university website or University social media platforms must follow University brand guidelines, be properly formatted, and meet accessibility compliance. Videos that do not adhere to these policies are subject to removal.
• Videos uploaded to the University website or social media platforms are the sole responsibility of the video owner and should continue to be stored and backed up by the video owner. University Communications & Marketing is not liable for lost video files and is not responsible for long-term video storage.

j). Flashing content

No element should flash more than three times in any one second period, and the flash is below the general flash and red flash thresholds.

k). Documents

Documents will only be used where necessary. Where they are used, it should only be in PDF format and will be clearly identified as a PDF. Content that needs to be uploaded on the website should be sent in soft and editable format (Word or Text) for ease of uploading.

l). Websites Management.

An appointed webmaster is responsible for managing the development, publishing and maintenance of all University Websites which includes institutes, directorates, faculties, departments, groups, centers, projects or other organizational units that is a part of, or owned, managed and staffed by the University, or run by funding won under the auspices of the University, irrespective of whether their website is hosted on University servers or otherwise. The webmaster may delegate duties to Faculty ICT Representatives who will be responsible for managing their respective faculty and departmental websites.