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Why use the
Skidmore templates?
1. Consistency
The templates establish a consistent
presentation metaphor that help users navigate across
the pages by placing key elements in the same location
on all pages. Thus, visitors come to expect certain
navigation elements to be in the same locations across
all of the pages.
2. Identity
The templates help to establish
an institutional identity for the Skidmore College
web site that helps people know when they are at the
College. For example, some people may access individual
pages via search engines or personal bookmarks. With
the templates, it remains clear that the information
comes from Skidmore even if accessed without navigating
through the home page.
The
bookstore's Yahoo site is a good example. While
this site is not located at Skidmore and design limitations
imposed by Yahoo prevent an exact use of the Skidmore
template, it still feels like a "Skidmore site"
because of its judicious use of template components.
3. Future maintainability
If you adopt the templates,
then the header information on your pages is updated
automatically whenever the template changes. For example,
should the College change the network location of
search tool, the pages that employ the template will
all be updated instantly to include the new location.
4. Support
The Web Team and CITS Consulting
work regularly with the templates and are fully conversant
with their characteristics. We can quickly assist
you with any problems that you might encounter. We
will assist you with nonstandard layouts but we may
not be as readily able to identify the underlying
problems.
5. ADA Compliance
The Web Team has modified the
templates to make them more compatible with current
standards for access by disabled individuals. If you
design your own page layout, you should invest the
time to make them accessible by individuals with various
disabilities.
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