When to create a Publication page

Create a Publication page to:

• provide a file for download, such as PDF, CSV, ICS or a Word, Excel, or Powerpoint document
• group together a number of related files, for example, all the minutes from meetings held by one committee

Don't create a Publication page:

• to upload images, videos or audio files - use the University agreed hosting solutions instead
• if there is an existing Publication for this content and your document can be added to that page
• to provide information that should be added to the website as text
• to upload forms that ask for sensitive financial details like credit card numbers to be submitted by email – contact the IT Security Manager instead

Naming your Publication page

You shouldn't necessarily use the name of the document as the title for your Publication page.

Give your Publication page a unique name so the content is clear ("Energy and Environment Annual Report 2014", not "Energy and Environment Report" or "Annual Report").

Think about terms which users might enter to search for your document and which will stand out in search results. For example, instead of using "Agreement to amend the terms of your employment" (the name of the document for employees using University's cycle lease scheme), you should use "Cycle scheme lease agreement" as this is the purpose of the document.

The title for your Publication page should:

• be easy to understand – use simple English and avoid using technical terms if possible
• be limited to 65 characters if possible so users can read it in entirety on search results

Your title shouldn't:

• include the word 'publication' (this is automatically displayed on the page)
• be a question
• contain commas or dashes as this will create confusing URLs – use a colon instead if you need to separate phrases

Writing a Publication page summary

Explain the purpose of the document and why a user might want to download it.

Make sure the summary concisely describes what the Publication is so users can tell if it will be useful or help them complete a task.

Adding labels

We use labels to pin content items onto Topic pages. Only add a label if you know that your content item is going to be part of a Topic.

Labels are not typical website 'tags'. Don't add a label just because you think it might be relevant. You must know what labels the Topic uses. If you don't know, ask your Faculty Web Editor or contact the Digital team at web-support@bath.ac.uk.

To add a label to a content item, select from the drop-down list in the Labels section and click 'Add label'. You can add a maximum of 12 labels to a single content item.

Adding additional information

Add any extra details about the Publication that users will find helpful in the 'Additional information' field in the publishing platform.

Include links to any associated pages, for example:

"If you want to know more about the scheme before applying, download the Cycle Scheme brochure."

Resources to help you write your Publication page content

The University's style guide will help you make sure you're using the same terminology, style and tone as the rest of the website. This is important so that website users can understand us easily through the consistency of our content.

Our formatting guide will help you create appropriate headers, links, lists and other formatting for your page. This is important because it makes the information we provide clearer to website users.

Hemmingway editor will help you write clearer, concise content.

Adding attachments

Restricting access to attachments

When you create a Publication page, you need to choose whether or not to restrict access to the attachments.

If you choose to restrict access to attachments, anyone can visit your Publication page but they can only open the attachments if they're connected to our network or signed in to our Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Under 'Attachments', select the radio button next to:

• 'Restrict access to attachments' to make them only visible to people on the University network
• 'Allow anyone to access attachments' to make them visible to anyone

Attachments you can add

You must include at least one attachment on your Publication page, but you can add multiple attachments.

Files must be in one of these formats:

• PDF
• DOC
• DOCX
• XLSX
• PPTX
• CSV
• ICS

Naming conventions

All files attached to Publications should follow these naming conventions:

• all letters must be lowercase
• must use hyphens to separate words for readability, not underscores or spaces
• don’t use punctuation
• don’t include version indicators like 'v4' or comments like 'final'

For example:

• Incorrect: University_Financial_report_2016_Final-V4.1.pdf
• Correct: university-2016-financial-report.pdf

If the filename contains an academic year, it should use the format: 20xx-xx.

For example:

• Incorrect: bsc-economics-handbook-2019-2020
• Correct: bsc-economics-handbook-2019-20

If you are adding multiple attachments, make sure the naming conventions are consistent – for example, if you are uploading programme specifications, name the files 'bsc-chemistry-programme-specification.pdf', 'bsc-physics-programme-specification.pdf', and so on.

If you replace an attachment, make sure that the new file has exactly the same file name as the one you are replacing. If you don't do this, the old attachment will not be deleted and will be available as an orphaned document on the internet.  

Making documents accessible

You must make all the documents you upload accessible to users with disabilities.

Microsoft Office has guidelines for tagging PDFs to make it easier for assistive technologies to determine a logical reading order and navigation.

You can also use Microsoft's Accessibility Checker (available in all versions of Excel, PowerPoint and Word from 2010 onwards) to identify any accessibility issues that need addressing.

Alternative formats

You must be able to provide your documents in an alternative format if a user requests it. Alternative formats can include:

• large print
• Braille
• audio transcripts
• coloured backgrounds

Add a tagline to all documents or Publication pages, including minutes, agendas, and student leaflets, as a matter of routine.

You can add the tagline at the beginning or end of the document, or on the publication page, as long as it's easy to find. In the tagline, give the name of the person who created and maintains the document, with two different methods of contacting them, for example:

• phone number and email address
• phone number and postal address

You can use this copy as a template for your tagline:

'If you need this information in an alternative format, such as in large print or with a coloured background, please contact [name and contact details].'

Adding responsible organisations and groups

After you have added all your content you will able to select an owner or associated group for your page. This allocates permissions for who in the organisation is able to maintain the content.

A guide for adding responsible organisations and groups is available to help you do this.