Michigan Tech Web Template

Template Help

How to create a web page from a template

Choose a template page design.
Select "Source" or "Page Source" from "View" on the top menu bar in your browser window.
Copy the source code.
Paste the source code into a text editor program or WYSIWYG program.
Add your content.
Save the file in your W drive or Web server. Make sure your file has a .htm or .html extension.

Banners

Your MTU customized Web banner can be retrieved from the New Banner page. This banner must be placed on department home pages. The term department is understood to be any administrative, academic, or research unit at MTU.

Cascading Style Sheets

Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used because they

Control page appearance
Make updates easy
Improve usability
Are consistent with Web trends

The template examples contain a simple internal CSS. With an external style sheet, you can alter your entire site style by only editing one single file. For more information on CSS, look at the following resources.

Search Engine/Directory Rankings

You can help increase search engine visibility by taking a few minutes to evaluate your Web site and address the following:

Meta Tags. At the very least, each department’s home page should include a title, description, and keywords in the code of the site. Customizing these for each interior page is encouraged.

Copy. Search engines are increasingly weighing the actual text on a Web site in relation to the meta tags as the determination for the terms a Web site appears under in searches. If your home page is entirely graphics at this time, please consider adding a short descriptive paragraph that will aid both the search engines and a site visitor. Google's primary ranking method is based on the actual content of the site in conjunction with the title and description tag.

LInks. Link popularity is the secondary ranking method used by Google, giving more weight to sites that have numerous links from high-quality sites. Check to make sure links to your site are accurate.

How do you determine what to add? For all of these items, the first step is to do a little brainstorming about which phrases (two-three word phrases) you would like to be listed under. After determining these, write a one or two sentence description of the site and a paragraph to be included on the site itself. The title should include your department name, and the keywords can be your list of phrases. If you need an example, visit www.mtu.edu and under the View option on your top browser menu choose “Source” or “View Source.” You will see the following meta tags in the code of this site, giving you a guideline for length and style:

<title>Michigan Tech - Michigan college with graduate and undergraduate college degrees</title>

<meta name="keywords" content="michigan technological university, michigan college, engineering degree, science school, forestry program, masters degree program, best business school, economics degree, michigan huskies, communications program, higher education, university in michigan, top technology school">

<meta name="description" content="Offering students a top college education through the Michigan Technological University School of Business and Economics, College of Engineering, College of Sciences and Arts, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, and School of Technology">

Thank you for taking the time to go through this exercise. A few minutes of your time could increase your online exposure tremendously!

Tips

Use alt tags

Set page width at 640 pixels or 100%

No blinking

Michigan Technological University
INSERT DEPARTMENT NAME
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931-1295
INSERT E-MAIL ADDRESS
TELEPHONE NUMBER
FAX NUMBER

WEBMASTER E-MAIL