**Checklist of Mandates, Standards, and Best Practices for NBII Node Web
Site Development and Content Management**

**[Web Site Elements Mandated by Federal Law for All Federally-Funded
Web Sites]{.underline}**

\_\_\_ link to the NBII Accessibility Statement on *every* Web
page**\***

\_\_\_ link to the NBII Disclaimer and Privacy Policy Statement on
*every* Web page**\***

\_\_\_ link to the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) Statement on
*every* Web page**\***

**\_\_\_** link to the Firstgov Web site on every page, through
implementation of hyperlinked icon**\***

\_\_\_ compliance with Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities
Act (ADA); compliance will be measured based upon monthly scans of node
Web sites for 508 violations, and a node's prompt response to correct
any detected violations.

\_\_\_ alt tags for every image on the Web site

\_\_\_ text-only link on *every* Web page**\***

\_\_\_ Tables: tabular structures are lost when a voice-browser reads
HTML tables. Therefore, tables must be labeled so that the contents are
understood by disabled users.

-   Voice browsers read content in tables from left to right, and then
    move to the next line in the table. Therefore, column and row
    headers, and the x,y format, are lost.

    -   label your table with the \<CAPTION\> tag directly following the
        \<TABLE\> tag to explain the purpose of the table (e.g.
        \<CAPTION\>2005 Malformation Data By County for
        Tennessee\</CAPTION\> )

    -   for complex tables, use the \<SUMMARY\> tag to explain the basic
        purpose of the table, using as many attributes as is feasible to
        characterize the content (e.g. \<SUMMARY\>This table provides
        12-month summaries for all malformations reported in each
        Tennessee county. Monthly counts reflect total malformed
        individuals for each county, and are not broken down by
        malformation type.\</SUMMARY\> )

    -   Make sure that you label all table headers as such. Many tables
        don't contain headers, because the table creator assumes that
        the type of data is implied by the table content (e.g. 7:00 8:00
        9:00 may be assumed to be hourly intervals of time); however,
        voice browsers may not interpret them as such.

        -   table columns: \<th scope="col"\>January 2005\</th\>

> \<th scope="col"\>February 2005\</th\>

-   table rows: \<th scope="row"\>Knox County\</th\>

> \<th scope="row"\>McMinn County\</th\>
>
> where th=table header, "col" = column, and "row" = row
>
> for more information on tables and Section 508, visit section508.gov.

\_\_\_ plan of action by the node to provide data and information in an
alternative format, should the node be contacted by a user, where the
existing format of, or interface to, the data (for example, a map
service) render it impossible to access by a disabled person (a process
known as "comparable access"). These are rare circumstances, but Federal
law requires federally-funded information providers to accommodate such
requests to the fullest possible extent. It is therefore a good idea to
have a general plan of action to respond to such a request.

Please note that there are specific guidelines regarding what qualifies
under comparable access; if techniques exist to make data and
information accessible to disabled users, they [must]{.underline} be
utilized on the site. Comparable access is a last-resort alternative,
when no commonly available techniques or technologies exist to enable
online access to data by disabled users. Currently, common applications
such as Web-based mapping applications are covered by the comparable
access clause, but nodes must be prepared to offer the data and analysis
features of these tools to users in an alternative format, which can
include a summary of the data and analysis.

**\*Note 1:** The NBII Web development templates, provided to you by the
Program Office, automatically enable compliance by your node with those
policies marked with a **\***. These include files were developed
specifically to lessen significantly the burden of developing compliant
Web sites, and allow nodes to focus their efforts primarily on content.
Prompt implementation of updated include files as they are sent out
insures that every page of your Node Web site will always be compliant.
If you have questions about these templates and include files, contact
Mike Zavori, the NBII Web Administrator

\< <mike_zavori@usgs.gov> \>.

**Note 2:** Documentation on the ADA and its requirements, as well as
tools, tricks, and hints for making your Web site compliant, can be
found at \< [http://www.section508.gov](http://www.section508.gov/) \>,
the federal government's official Web site for 508 information. Nichole
Kallas

\< <nkallas@usgs.gov> \> in the Program Office can also assist you in
making your site compliant.

**[Web Site Design Standards and Web Policies Required by the NBII
Program Office]{.underline}**

\_\_\_ Web development templates provided by the Program Office MUST be
used by all nodes

\_\_\_ Nodes must implement updates to the development templates, as
they are provided by the Program Office, within one week from the time
of receipt

\_\_\_ Nodes may not modify templates (include files) that control the
node banner or NBII-wide navigation (e.g. the "green bar") in any way

\_\_\_ Nodes may modify the include file that governs the mandatory NBII
footer to add partner logos and/or links, or to hard-code internal node
navigation to fulfill Section 508 requirements; however, Nodes may
[not]{.underline} remove any elements included in the footer by the
Program Office.

\_\_\_ required font style for all Web pages is san-serif, and
preferably Arial

\_\_\_ required predominant font color is black; accent font colors may
be used judiciously, but should not be selected in a way that would
cause users to confuse color text with hyperlinks

\_\_\_ hyperlink colors must be BLUE for unvisited links, RED for active
links, and PURPLE for visited links. This follows standard Web
conventions for usability with respect to hyperlinks.

\_\_\_ link to Science.gov in the footer of every Web page via a
hyperlinked icon (already built into footer include files provided by
the Program Office)

\_\_\_ Internal node navigation [must]{.underline} be provided on every
node Web page. This navigation should be based upon a sound information
architecture for the node, and should provide logical access to major
content themes and topics on the node Web site.

\_\_\_ Best practice for internal node navigation is that it be
text-based.

-   If image files (e.g. buttons) are used for internal node navigation,
    they absolutely must contain image alt tags.

-   Javascript-based internal node navigation is not recommended,
    because the NBII-wide (green bar) navigation is also
    Javascript-based; multiple Javascript navigation elements can
    produce overlapping pop-ups that hinder usability and frustrate
    users.

    -   If a node chooses to implement Javascript-based internal
        navigation, it [must]{.underline} provide text-only internal
        navigation as well on [every]{.underline} node page, in order to
        comply with Section 508 requirements (Javascript is inherently
        non-508 compliant, which is why the mandatory NBII footer files
        contain text-based links to major NBII category content). We
        recommend that this text-only navigation be embedded at the
        bottom of each node page or added to the footer (above all of
        the other footer elements), to conserve screen real estate.

\_\_\_ Minimum monthly reviews of the AccMonitor reports run for each
node by the Program Office, and available at \<
<http://vcfw.er.usgs.gov/stats/nodereports.htm> \>, and prompt action to
correct any violations or problems identified on that report.

\_\_\_ Use of required HTML metatags within the HTML code of each Web
page. A listing of required metatags, and free tools to generate them
quickly across multiple Web pages and Web directories, can be found in
the Content Managers Toolkit Community in the my.nbii.gov portal.

\_\_\_ Links to external content must display metadata that conforms to
the NBII's Metadata Standard for Web Resources. Compliance may be
achieved by one of two methods:

-   Use of the NBII Web Resources Cataloguing Tool, which is built to
    generate compliant resource records, and which automatically posts
    compliant records to the master database for sharing across nodes

-   Use of a custom tool, created by the node, which implements the
    mandatory metadata standard and displays records on the node Web
    site in the required format. These records [must]{.underline} be
    shared with the Program Office [in XML format]{.underline} on a
    [weekly]{.underline} basis. Please note that the Program Office
    [cannot]{.underline} provide support for the development or
    maintenance of any custom cataloguing tools developed by a node.

\_\_\_ Nodes should also index any major content areas, databases, map
services, applications, or other original content served on the node
site using the Web Resources Metadata Standard (see above) to ensure
that Biobot indexes the resource fully and accurately, so that NBII
users can find those resources from any point in the system.

\_\_\_ Nodes must keep the Program Office appraised of all personnel
responsible for implementing these policies, and should notify the
Program Office of personnel changes for Web development, server
administration, and content management. It is important that the Program
Office have up-to-date contact information in order to inform nodes of
policy changes, critical updates, etc.

\_\_\_ Nodes may not incorporate any individual search tools, search
boxes, or search engines on their Node Web sites. Biobot is the
[only]{.underline} permitted search mechanism on any NBII Web site,
regardless of where the node site is hosted. The link to the Biobot
search is located under the SEARCH button in the NBII greenbar
navigation. Users can search individual node sites by checking the box
for that node in Biobot.

-   Note that Biobot's ability to locate node resources and prioritize
    them in search results is [directly]{.underline} related to their
    presence/absence in the NBII Web Resources database. Nodes who do
    not have linked resources, as well as internally-developed content
    and applications, catalogued and shared in the Web Resources
    database will find that Biobot will rank those node pages much lower
    in a user search. This is because Biobot is forced to rely on
    full-text searches of the node's HTML Web pages where cataloguing
    does not exist. Biobot cannot harvest dynamically-generated node Web
    pages. If you want users to find your content, it needs to be
    indexed and shared in the database.