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Web Style Guide

One College, One Website.

Web Editing

The Web Services team makes it easy to keep web pages accurate and up to date.

The website has designated content owners for each web section. Content owners are responsible for making sure the content on their designated webpages is correct and current. Content owners can designate other staff members to review and maintain the webpage content.

If you are a designated content owner or editor and need to edit content on your webpages, please email a detailed request to ITServiceDesk@MontgomeryCollege.edu. 

In your email, please include:

  • A link for the page you want to update
  • Details of the changes you want to make

A few content editors who need to edit webpages daily have been granted limited access to the content management system. That access is reserved for employees who have web content management as a significant portion of their job responsibilities. They are expected to stay abreast of the latest legal, style, and accessibility requirements, and their work is reviewed by the web communications group before it is published. 

All pages, regardless of whoever edits them, must comply with the web and other style guides detailed below. 

Web Style Guide

The Montgomery College website must meet the requirements laid out in this web style guide, the brand style guide, and the editorial style guide. The “MC website” includes all pages with montgomerycollege.edu in the address. If your page does not comply, the Marketing and Communications team may revise or remove it.

Web Content Guidelines

Most people scan web content rather than read every word. It is best to keep your pages concise and straightforward. Use the following guidelines when you are writing for the web.

General Guidelines

  • Keep your audience in mind when creating web content.
  • Use plain language and a conversational tone. Avoid jargon.
  • Keep sentences and paragraphs brief.
  • If you have access to the content management system, do not create excess pages. Use the appropriate CMS snippets, assets, and components to consolidate pages whenever possible.
  • Page layout and formatting must be consistent with the design of existing page templates.
  • Format and break up longer content with subheads, bulleted lists, numbered lists, or appropriate CMS snippets and components as needed.
  • All text on all pages should be left-aligned.
  • Only use italics when needed to match editorial style guides (e.g., in publication titles, etc.).
  • All written content should be consistent with the voice and tone of the MC brand voice.  
  • Avoid creating duplicate content. Make sure you are not recreating a page or information that already exists on the MC website. For example:
    • Link to a course description in the catalog rather than repeating the course description on your page.
    • Link to the academic program, degree, and certificate pages in the Programs, Majors, and Degrees section rather than creating new pages.
    • Link to the main campus directions pages rather than repeating maps or directions on your page. 

Quality Assurance

  • Check your content for spelling, grammar, and style. Ask a colleague to proofread your page.
  • If you have access to the content management system, make sure all hyperlinks work and that links to external sites open in a new browser window.
  • Check your page in different web browsers and mobile devices (phone and tablet) to make sure it displays correctly.

Content Maintenance

  • Create content that is evergreen whenever possible. If you need to include dates or time-specific information on a page, set a reminder in your Outlook calendar or use the OmniUpdate reminder feature to update the content when needed.
  • Check your pages on a regular basis to ensure they are not out of date.

Links

  • Make links to external sites open in a new browser window.
  • Spell out link text: do not use “click here” (or its variations) and do not use the URL as the link text. This is important for SEO (search engine optimization) and accessibility.
  • Limit the number of links within each page.
  • Use the More Information sidebar snippet to house your links when possible.
  • Do not link to files other than webpages or PDFs (e.g., do not link to Word docs, PowerPoint presentations, Excel spreadsheets, etc.) The CMS will only allow you to upload images and PDFs.

Navigation Menus

The right-hand navigation menus (also called the right-nav) are the dark gray boxes with links that appear on the upper right side of pages in desktop view throughout the website. Your page must have a sidebar and a section navigation menu. 

You may request a customized navigation menu by contacting ITServiceDesk@montgomerycollege.edu. A custom navigation menu is one that includes sub-items, or dropdowns, within the navigation. If you have access to the CMS and create your own section navigation menu, use the following guidelines: 

  • Create a navigation item for each page in your section. Your section navigation should be an accurate representation of the pages within your section. Navigation items should match the names of the page(s) we see in the URL and breadcrumb.
  • Do not link off-site from your section navigation menu.
  • Do not link to PDFs from your section navigation menu. 

Adding Employee Contact Details

  • Employee Information Bar style used on pages (component): if using first text area box, give it the title "Biography." List only highest degree in degree field, you can list complete degrees in first text box.
  • Purple Contact Box style used in the right nav (component - Contact Box (3 Person)): Fill out information as appropriate.  

PDFs

  • PDFs should be added to the website sparingly and only when necessary.  
  • It is ideal to add content directly to a webpage instead of linking to a PDF. Information contained in PDFs must also appear as text on the page.
  • Each PDF must meet all WCAG 2.1, Level AA guidelines new window.  
  • When creating a PDF, ensure that it is created as fully accessible. This includes filling out the Title, Author, and Subject fields, and making sure the correct tags and alt-text are in place.
  • Use MC’s Universal Design Center new window as a resource to learn more about creating accessible PDFs. 

If you have access to the CMS and need to add a link to a PDF: 

  • Under “Insert/Edit Link”, “Open link in...”, select “New Window” so clicking will open the PDF in a new browser window.
  • Adhere to the same file-naming rules as for webpages – use the title of the PDF with dashes between each word. Do not use underscores or other special characters. Do not use capital letters in the names.
  • Do NOT use a PDF link in the title or description field of an accordion. The essential function of an accordion is "click to open." 
  • When you upload a new version of a PDF, overwrite the old PDF by checking the ‘overwrite existing’ box so that any links to the PDF are preserved.
  • Delete any PDFs that you are no longer using or linking to. 

Pop-Up Boxes

These script-driven messages are restricted to college-wide special needs. Please contact webcommunications@montgomerycollege.edu if you think you require one.

Countdown Elements

Countdown elements are restricted to college-wide special events. Please contact webcommunications@montgomerycollege.edu if you think you require one.

Photo and Video Usage

It is important to use photos and videos that represent the College’s dedication to student success. Choose relevant, compelling images to enhance your page’s message. Avoid using too many photos and videos throughout a page.

Photos
  • Only use photos that we have the rights to use. We cannot add photos to the website that we do not have the rights for. It is very important that we have the consent from the photographer or company that own the image rights.  
  • Use high-quality, crisp, clear, bright photographs.
  • Photography must feature actual MC students, faculty, and staff. Do not use stock photos of people.
  • Use only photos for which you have permission from the photographer and the subjects in the photo. For more information, visit our Photography Services page. 
  • Crop and scale images to the correct dimensions noted in the CMS. Save images as .JPGs at 72 dpi.
  • Images must meet accessibility requirements. See accessibility section below for additional details.  
  • Do not use clip art, animated images, illustrations, or photo collages. Select graphics designed by the Marketing and Communications team may be used on the website. If you have further questions about photo and graphic usage, please email  webcommunications@montgomerycollege.edu. 
  • Do not use logos. We only use the Montgomery College logo on the website.
  • Do not use images with text on them. They are not mobile responsive and are not accessible to screen readers.  
  • Never use an image in place of text.
  • If you edit your own page, always use an image component or snippet (Image – Inline, Image – Full Width, and Sidebar Image) to place images on a page. Do not use the Insert Image icon in the CMS toolbar.  
  • Photo galleries ("slideshow") may be used in certain situations. If you would like to place a photo gallery on your page, contact  ITServiceDesk@montgomerycollege.edu.
  • Do not use photos in the accordion teaser field. You may use photos in the accordion main content area. 
Video

Videos that support the College’s goals are welcome on the site. If you’d like to place a video on your page, please contact the Marketing and Communications team for assistance at webcommunications@montgomerycollege.edu.

Tips for SEO

Google search is the main source of traffic to our website. Optimizing your page will help users find your content. Creating good content as laid out above in this style guide will contribute to search engine optimization (SEO). A few additional tips to make sure your page is optimized for search engines:

  • Do not copy content directly from anywhere else on the web. Google search downgrades duplicate content.
  • Be sure to fill out the description and keywords (metadata) with accurate information. The description appears on the Google search results page below the page name. Use complete sentences in your description and keep the length between 50 and 300 characters.
  • Incorporate keywords or key phrases throughout your page content. Keep your most important and relevant key phrases and content toward the top of the page while maintaining a natural flow of information.
  • Your file name (URL) should reflect your page name, which should be descriptive and contain keywords. Separate words in the URL with dashes, not underscores.

Accessibility

Web Accessibility in its most basic definition is about making sure websites work for the widest possible audience. We need to make sure that our web presence works in the most inclusive and accessible way possible.  

Headings and Subheadings

There are five heading styles available: H2 through H6. 

  • H1 is automatically used for your page title. Do not use H1 anywhere else on the page.
  • Use H2 for the main subheads throughout your page.
  • Use other subheads as needed to create a hierarchy of subheads throughout your page.  
    • Use heading tags in proper order (H2, H3, H4, etc.), and don’t skip levels—for example, don’t jump from H2 directly to H5. Additional formatting can be applied using the Styles dropdown to accomplish the look/feel you require. 

Questions?

Questions about anything in this guide? Contact the Marketing and Communications team at webcommunications@montgomerycollege.edu. 

Updated April 23, 2026

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