Information Technology Policies and Standards

Title
Text and Use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) Standard
Type
Standard
Related Policy
Accessibility Policy
Category
Web
Status
Superseded
Approved
03/24/2003
Revised
11/17/2005
To Be Reviewed
11/17/2007
Scope
This standard ensures a consistent appearance for web pages. It deals mainly with static HTML documents, but dynamically rendered pages and alternative formats (e.g. PDF) should follow the same conceptual layout standards whenever possible.
Standard
City of Albuquerque website style/s are determined by the City's official cascading stylesheets (CSS). For the stylesheets to work, designers/developers should always leave all font styles/sizes at default for basic body content, headers, etc. The use or creation of additional stylesheets should be discussed first with the Information Systems Division.

Unique in-line styles should be used sparingly.

Text should not be underlined, as this implies a hyperlink.

Text should not be in all caps as this implies shouting.
Rationale
The City of Albuquerque is committed to user-friendly design and accessibility to as many people as possible.

Use of stylesheets:
  • ensure a consistent appearance for web pages;
  • is recommended by the World Wide Web Consortium;
  • are an important component of accessible web design;
  • ensure faster loading pages;
  • ensure pages are easier to read on various devices (such as cell phones, PDAs, etc.);
  • ensure a more flexible website that can more easily be transferred to a new system; and
  • ensure site-wide design changes can be made quickly and easily;

See also:

Contact: Julie A. Hicks, (505) 768-2814