Information Technology - Instructions for Faculty and Staff

To begin creating web pages on the MSU Billings web site, you need to have an MSU-BILLINGS domain account which allows you to transfer files to and from the MSU Billings web server computer. If you already have an e-mail address ending in @msubillings.edu, that account can be used. Call the Help Desk at 247-5700 to obtain an account, if you don't have one.

Next, you will need to obtain software for creating web pages. MSU Billings has licenses for Microsoft FrontPage (Mac and PC versions), so this is the preferred program on campus, although you are free to use any program you like. If you would like to have FrontPage installed on your computer, please call the Help Desk at 247-5700.

Designate one page in your web to be the main page, and name the file index.htm (index.html, default.htm and default.html are also acceptable for the main page). This will make your web address shorter and easier to link.

Do not put spaces in your file names if you can help it. Spaces in URLs (web addresses) are converted to %20 on the web. This doesn’t break anything, but can make pages hard to link to from outside of your web.

Never use any punctuation apart from hyphens or underscores in your file names, or links to them may not work. This is one of the most frequently encountered problems in web publishing!

Acceptable file names:	Unacceptable file names:
index.htm (preferred name for main pages)	default (missing the file extension!)
INDEX.HTML (capitalization doesn’t matter)	jim’s resume.html (bad punctuation!)
this_weeks_schedule.htm (underscores OK)	week#1.htm (bad punctuation!)
calendar-of-events.htm (hyphens OK)	events&activities.htm (bad punctuation!)

The main page of your web site should include:

The official MSU Billings logo

MSU Billings or Montana State University – Billings in the page title

How to locate & contact you (office location, phone/fax, e-mail)

Links to other pages in the site and a link back to the MSU Billings home page

Don’t make links from your main page to any other files until those other files are ready for the public. Use the following list as a guideline for "quality control":

Is the information accurate and up-to-date?

Are the spelling and grammar correct? (Most web publishing programs have spell checkers.)

Do links between files and images work? (You will need to test these after the pages are made public as well; contact the Web Coordinator if you need help fixing problems.)

Images should have "alternate text" provided for them.

Graphics on the web: whether you insert clip art, grab graphics off other web sites, or use graphics provided by the Web Coordinator, the graphics are in either .GIF or .PNG file formats.

Web pages can be viewed on a variety of computers with different web browsers, operating systems, monitor settings, color capabilities, fonts, etc. Unfortunately this also means your web page may look great on your computer but slightly odd on another computer with different settings. This is something most web designers just have to accept, unless you are prepared to do lots of research into designing for all possible configurations. The most commonly encountered problem is pages that are too “wide” for the screen; to solve this problem, ensure that your tables and/or graphics are no more than 750 pixels wide.

Here are some things NOT to do:

Don't use "Under Construction" text and/or graphics. Most web pages are continually being updated, so the "under construction" metaphor has been overused. If a page isn't ready for the public, don't make it public until it is.
Don't overdo animation and other "flashy" elements. Animated GIFs are fun, but they can be distracting, so try to limit your use to one per page.
The MSU Billings web site is a resource to be used for University-related purposes; do not conduct non-University business on your web pages. If University resources are used for the benefit of third parties or for-profit activities, MSU Billings reserves the right to remove any page from its server at any time without prior notice to the provider.

To have your pages linked to the Faculty Web Page list on the MSU Billings web site, contact the the IT Department after your pages have been published.

Remember... you are ultimately responsible for the appearance and functionality of your web pages. Please update and maintain them regularly. If you need assistance with a problem, contact the Help Desk at 247-5700.

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