By Kym Fox
When designing any publication, whether it is online or in print, consistent design is important. It makes your publication more professional and adds to your credibility. A CSS style sheet is employed when you construct an online site, but you can also use a style sheet to instruct contributors on how to employ certain elements, such as headlines, bylines and photo credits.
For the Mass Communication Week blog and other blogs we create, we want to be consistent in the way we use certain elements. So here are the rules:
Do not change the font style or size on your post. We have set the default with our CSS. If you need to emphasize a word, use ital not bold. When we see bold words, we expect that to be a link. Don’t you confuse the reader.
Title = headline. Write your headline in the space marked title. Use a downstyle head. That means capitalize the first word and any proper nouns, but lowercase the rest. Example: Social media is key to success. NOT: Social Media is Key to Success.
Bylines – Type By Your Name at the top of your post. Since some of your user names are not actually proper names, it is helpful if we know who is writing what. It also looks more professional. Capitalize the B in By and leave it justified left (not centered). Example: By Kym Fox
Photo credits – Credit all photos at the bottom of the post with a photo credit line. Remember copyright. You may only use photos you take or someone takes for your use. Use ital for the photo credit. Example: Photos by Kym Fox
Links – Insert links by highlighting a word and making the link. Do not type the URL and make it a link. If you can’t find a way to work the link into the story, try this approach: For more examples of Rigby’s work, click here.
Photos and videos – You may insert the photos and videos in your post as you see fit. Each post should have a visual element.
Questions: email kfox@txstate.edu
