Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

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Archive of FrontPage 'Frequently asked questions (FAQs)' information:

If you have a question that is not answered here, please email webeditors.enquiries@lse.ac.uk. If you think the answer to your query would be useful to other web editors, please let us know at lsewebsite@lse.ac.uk. 

  1. How do I write for the web?
  2. How long should a web page be?
  3. How do I add links to a web page?
  4. I need help with images - can you help?
  5. How do I add an alt-tag to an image or link?
  6. How do I get a website for my department/centre/unit?
  7. What if I want a website that isn't in the standard look and feel?
  8. How do I find out how many visitors are accessing my web pages?

1. How do I write for the web?

Writing for the web is different to writing for print or any other medium. Some hard and fast rules are:

See Writing for the web for more.

2. How long should a web page be?

There is a lot of debate about how long a web page should be and there is no absolute length. More important than length is that the page is scannable. Excessive scrolling is bad, but an extra link may be more annoying. Keeping content concise and putting the most important information at the top of the page will help you keep your audience reading the content they need and that you want them to read.

3. How do I add links to a web page?

Hyperlinks are added to HTML pages using the <A> tag. 'A' stands for 'anchor'. The <A> tag takes an attribute called 'href', which stands for 'hypertext reference'. There are four main types of hyperlink:

See Referencing and hyperlinks for more information.

4. I need help with images - can you help?

Yes, have a look at the Images page or contact webdesign@lse.ac.uk for advice.

5. How do I add an alt-tag to an image or link?

Adding alt-tags to links

The following advice is for web editors within the LSE publishing framework using FrontPage 2000:

  1. Make the word a link in the usual way (by using the 'Create hyperlink' button)
  2. Highlight the link
  3. Switch from 'Normal' to 'HTML' mode via the tab at the bottom of the screen
  4. Find the highlighted text in the code. It will look like this:
    <a href="events/2003/20031027t1722z001.htm">More</a>
  5. Between 'a' and 'href', add:
    title= “Name of page that link points to”
    eg an alt-tag that links to a page called 'This week’s events' will look like this:
    <a title="This week’s events" href="events/2003/20031027t1722z001.htm">More</a>
  6. To check that this has been done correctly, switch to the 'Preview' tab and hover the mouse over the link. The alt-tag will be visible

Adding alt-tags to images

The following advice is for web editors within the LSE publishing framework using FrontPage 2000:

  1. Click on the image to select it
  2. Right click and select 'Picture properties'
  3. On the 'General' tab, go down to 'Alternative representations' and type in a short, suitable description in the 'Text' field
  4. Click OK

6. How do I get a website for my department/ centre/ unit?

The Web Services Team will create new collections and resources for LSE departments, divisions, research centres and services using the LSE website template. We cannot offer support for the creation of collections and resources that do not use the LSE website template, although these can usually be hosted and published using the LSE web server. For more information please see Requesting a new site in the Web editors' support section.

7. What if I want a website that isn't in the standard look and feel?

The Web Services Team only produces sites using LSE templates. We cannot help you with requests for non-standard sites.

8. How do I find out how many visitors are accessing my web pages?

Please visit the website statistics pages to look up your website's visitor stats. You can talk to the Web Services team about how to analyse them or visit the site stats FAQs pages.

 

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