Web Policy

Websites representing Liberty University divisions that are designed, hosted, and supported by Liberty University are the property of the University and subject to governance by Marketing and Information Technology (IT). All such websites must conform to this policy and the Brand Identity policy of the university. The purpose of the Liberty University web policy is to establish consistency in style, content, structure, and functionality of Liberty University websites.

Hosting

All university web pages and websites must be hosted and maintained on the university’s network.

Templates

In general, all web pages will be created within the established Liberty University web page template. It is understood that some departments or organizations affiliated with the University will require a separate template. Requests for a separate template design will be decided by Web Content and IT.

The template provides the visual design of the website; the content is provided by the web users. Departments are not to create a second, separate design within their web pages.

WordPress

WordPress is the CMS (Content Management System) tool used by Liberty University to create and edit website content for all university-designed and hosted websites. Access to WordPress is both a privilege and a responsibility.

Any questions concerning functionality not offered through WordPress may be submitted via the contact information on the Web Services homepage.

Access to WordPress:

• Granted to university employees, and occasionally to students, after completion of required training. Students may not serve as Editors.
• Sharing your access privileges with someone else is prohibited. If someone in your department needs access, please email your request to the Web Content Team at webcontent@liberty.edu.
• May be removed individually or departmentally if the user/department fails to adhere to the university web policy, posts anything contrary to the mission of the University, repeatedly fails to keep web content current or to follow the guidelines set forth by the Web Content office or IT.
• Granted at the Contributor level to no more than five individuals per web department, at least one of which must be a full-time employee.
• Granted at the Editor level to one full-time employee per non-academic web department. Departments seeking an exception must receive approval from the Web Content manager.

Expectations of all WordPress Users:

• View the required online WordPress training course.
• Follow direct instructions from the Web Content office regarding content.
• Review and follow any posted guidelines or instructions found on the Web Services blog.
• Regularly review all department Web content to make sure it is current and accurate.
• Delete files from the Media Library that are no longer in use.
• Properly edit and format all content and files for upload.
• Comply with the University Web Policy.

Expectations of Editor WordPress Users:

• Comply with WordPress User expectations outlined above.
• Serve as website contact for Web Content office.
• Delete outdated pages as necessary, taking care not to break links from other pages website-wide.
• Approve page edits/creations for Contributor users (non-academic departments).

Special rights:

• Admin rights to all pages and features of WordPress are restricted to IT or Marketing personnel that provide website template design, website editing software development, network maintenance or university-level content maintenance.

WordPress User Roles

Subscriber

Access:

• None. When users first login to their site, they will be shown on the user list as a Subscriber.

Contributor

Access:

• Make edits to pages using Front-End Editor
  • Including text, images, links, buttons, accordions, etc.
• Create new pages
• Submit pages for approval to have them made live
  • Non-academic departments: pages approved by Editor for the department
  • Academic departments: pages approved by the Web Content Team

Editor

Copyright

All original material appearing on Liberty University websites is copyrighted by Liberty University and may not be reproduced elsewhere without written permission from the University.

Web users wishing to include copyrighted content from outside sources on a University website must obtain proper permissions to do so.

Navigation

With limited exception, University navigation must appear on every page (except Official Pages, which employ a different navigation scheme). Sites will then have their own navigation menus. This may be a sidebar or additional navigation across the top of the page.

• Departments may require more than one navigation menu. Multiple menus are encouraged to increase organization and decrease the number of links per navigation set.
• Departments approved to use different templates must employ a consistent system of navigation.
• Only Administrators can edit/create navigation menus. Academic and Non-Academic departments should contact the Web Content Team (webcontent@liberty.edu) to edit their navigation.

Images and Audio/Video Files

• Image size is limited to 150K. All images must be optimized for the web (Photoshop).
• Audio/Video may be used sparingly and strategically to enhance content.
• Audio and video files may not play automatically on the site.
• Text in images should not be used, with the exception of images that are purely for visual appeal with no necessary text in them (as approved by the web team).
• Non-text content should have a text description in an alternative text tag.

Advertising/Sponsorships/Partnerships

Outside organizations or companies providing sponsorship or services beneficial to the Liberty University community may appear on a web page in a discreet and tasteful manner. E.g., Hockey may create a sponsors page to thank their sponsors; the Visitors Center may link to a page of local hotels as a service to site visitors.

Paid advertisements are not permitted to appear on the University website, consistent with its academic purpose. An exception is made only for select departments/organizations which are permitted by the University to sell advertising, such as 90.9 FM, the Liberty Champion, and Athletics.

Colors & Fonts

Official Liberty University colors for use on the web are red #990000 and blue #0A254E.

All text must appear in site-specific default fonts provided in WordPress.

Text and graphics should be able to be understood without color. Individuals with colorblindness or difficulty differentiating colors, or those with non-color displays will miss a message that is conveyed through color.

Liberty Logos

Logos are not to be used on the website because the University wordmark appears at the top of each page. See the Liberty University Brand Identity Guide for more information about logos

MyLU Portal Announcements

MyLU portal pages provide access to university web apps as well as text and image-based slide announcements. Announcement slides are visible to the logged in user based on their role(s): resident student, online student, or faculty/staff.

 Text announcements

• Announcements are posted using the Campus Announcements web application and must be approved by the appropriate announcement moderator. University departments that do not have access to post their own announcements may submit requests to the Marketing Department at announcements@liberty.edu.
• All announcements are for internal messages only. Solicitations, advertisements for off-campus or non-student jobs, items for sale, non-Liberty events or roommates are not permitted.
• Announcements for student employment at Liberty may be displayed in the public section and must contain a link to Human Resources. Other announcements for student employment/internships are not permitted but may be submitted to the Career Center for inclusion on their web pages. Non-complying student employment/internship announcements may be removed.
• Announcements for Christian/Community Service opportunities may be displayed in the Ministries section if the opportunity has been approved by the Christian/Community Service office. Non-complying announcements may be removed.
• Miscategorized announcements may be moved to the Public section.
• The Marketing Department will delete inappropriate announcements and will notify the announcement author with an explanation for the deletion. Miscategorized announcements may be moved to the Public section. 

Slide announcements

• University offices may submit requests for the slides to Marketing. Requests for slides to be created should be submitted via a Project Request. If you have created your own slide, please send it to announcements@liberty.edu. Slide requests should indicate which audience(s) they are for: faculty/staff, resident students, or online students.
• Advertisements for upcoming Liberty University events, notices of special accomplishments or news of special interest to the Liberty community are acceptable for consideration.
• Requests must be received three working days before the requested live date.
• Slides will run for no more than two consecutive weeks (14 days) unless prior approval is received from Marketing.
• Slide requests will be approved if possible but may be denied by Marketing due to the nature and timeliness of requests, the total volume of requests received and the quality of the slide image.
• Content specifications listed above (numbers 2, 3, and 4) for text announcements also apply to slides.
• Pre-designed slides that are submitted must be submitted in layered PSD (Photoshop) or JPEG format. Dimensions are 382 pixels wide by 214 pixels high at 72 ppi (pixels per inch) in RGB color. Design guidelines include:
  • Slide text should be kept to a minimum, e.g., text should contain event titles and pertinent information. If more information is needed, the slide must link to a text announcement or department webpage.
  • Slides must be easily legible. Slides that are not easily legible at the proper size or that use illegible fonts will not be approved.
  • Slides should not include URLs. Instead, please request that your slide be linked to the appropriate URL (if applicable).
  • Dates should be written in the following format: Sept. 16
  • Times and time ranges should be written in the following format:
    • 8 a.m.
    • 7-8 a.m.
    • 7 a.m.-8 p.m.
  • Dates and times should be written in the following format: Sept. 16, 1-3 p.m.

Sensitive Information

No passwords, usernames, student addresses, or student phone numbers may appear on any Liberty University website.

News of deaths within the Liberty community will be appropriately communicated by the Campus Pastor’s Office and/or the President’s office.

Blogs

See Liberty University’s Blog Policy.

RSS Feeds

Liberty University provides RSS feeds for Liberty News Releases and myLU announcements on its website.

Departments may display outside RSS feeds from trustworthy and relevant sites that will not be in violation of Liberty University’s standards or mission. The web page’s publisher is responsible for assuring that the RSS content is appropriate.

Accessibility Compliance

In order to provide site visitors with disabilities access to all site content, all text must be provided on the web page, and not in image form. The assistive technologies used to read web pages cannot read text within images.

Departments should include alternative text tags on images, movies, and other non-text content to provide a description of the content to those who cannot access it.

All pages should employ consistency of format and language.

See Web Accessibility for more information.

Domain Management

Domain names owned by the University are managed by IT’s office of Software Compliance. Requests for domain acquisitions must be submitted via the University’s HelpDesk ticket system and will be reviewed by IT and Marketing.

When applicable, associated fees are charged to the budget of the requesting department.

All domains must point to a Liberty University website. If there is no longer an appropriate website to point a domain to, Liberty University ownership of the domain may be discontinued (at the discretion of the Web Content and IT Departments).

All domains are reviewed yearly by the office of Software Compliance.