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Establish directory structure and file naming conventions

Consistent file structuring and naming conventions make it easier to find and organize files, and to continue the work of developing the site.

• To manage your content and accurately code your relative links, match the file directory structure to your site structure

• To avoid broken links, make all file names lowercase unless a program, such as a Java applet, specifies otherwise (on a case-sensitive server, home.html is not the same as Home.html)

• If you are doing cross-platform development, establish file-naming conventions that accommodate all platforms (you may want to use the DOS rules for formatting file names because all platforms support this format: limit file names to eight characters and file types to three characters, sometimes known as "8.3")

• Use names that describe content so that it isn't necessary to open the file in order to know what it contains

Establish a method for version control

The procedures you establish to manage developing versions of your site will begin in production and continue throughout the future maintenance of your site. The procedures should be clearly defined so that it is easy to follow them consistently. In most cases, you should not throw out older file versions of your site because you may want to refer to them later. You should also keep back-up copies.

• Decide how you will identify different versions (by file dates, by file names, or by directory names)

• Decide how many back-up files you will create, how often files will be backed up, and where they will be stored

Generate page templates

Use page templates to ensure layout consistency throughout the site and to separate the content and the interface. Separating the content and the interface will help you avoid having to place an element in multiple HTML files.

Templates should include your own design decisions for the site and any conventions dictated by your company or organization. They should also adhere to Web accessibility guidelines. Addressing accessibility at the level of templates will make the fundamental structure of your site accessible to users with disabilities. It will also make it easy for content providers to make individual pages accessible. For a complete list of Web accessibility guidelines, see IBM Web Accessibility.

Templates can be implemented using server-side includes, database forms, scripts, or simple, coded ASCII files. Items often found in templates include calls to standard CSS and JavaScript files and common header, footer, or navigation elements.

Separate content from the interface

Developing content independently from the user interface allows you to develop both more efficiently. If the two are developed interdependently, then every change made in one would have to be immediately considered in the other. Frames, JavaScript, and Java applets all allow you to separate the interface from the content. For example, the text in this guideline is used in both the print-all version and the frames version without modification.

Use relative links instead of absolute links

A relative link (images/example.gif) is easier to create and move than an absolute link (http://www.ibm.com/ibm/hci/guidelines/web/images/example.gif). Relative links allow you to test out the site on your local hard disk and then transfer the site to the server without changing the code for the links.