> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://ccsdrupalguide.uoguelph.ca/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://ccsdrupalguide.uoguelph.ca/practips.md). # Best Practice Tips Best practices for getting started when managing/editing your website include starting small and working towards more complex criteria. [SiteImprove](http://my.siteimprove.com) will help highlight issues and create reports for where your website needs improvement. ## 1. Start with the basics – Broken Links Broken links negatively affect user perception of your website. Broken links most often occur because either the URL was entered incorrectly when the link was created, or the link destination has moved or no longer exists. There should be no broken links on your website. ## 2. 150 characters or less for metadata. Keep it short. Metadata includes things like alt descriptions, summaries, captions, and other descriptive text. Meta descriptions are commonly used on search engine result pages (SERPs) to display preview snippets for a given page. Ideally, meta descriptions should be no more than 150 characters, or else you risk important information being cut off or being too long to be useful. ## 3. Misspellings A misspelling can have a devastating effect on a visitors experience with a website, and therefore the image of the organization behind the website. There should be no misspellings on your website. ## 4. Keep it small A simple thing to overlook when adding documents and media files to a website is their size. As a general rule of thumb, documents and files should not be bigger than 5MB otherwise they will cause a range of annoying problems for the user. They will slow the speed of your site, cause problems if you have a responsive design and put a serious dent in mobile users data plans. ## 5. Link it right Writing descriptive link text is important for accessible websites. Ideally, link text should describe the destination even when taken out of the context of a paragraph it may appear in. This is why using ‘read more’ or ‘click here’ for link text should be avoided. The small change of writing descriptive link text will make a big difference to a number of users. ## 6. Testing 1, 2, 3 Use Siteimprove to help in assisting and finding accessibility issues such as broken links, misspellings, and WCAG 2.0 Accessibility testing. --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter, and the optional `goal` query parameter: ``` GET https://ccsdrupalguide.uoguelph.ca/practips.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is optional and describes the broader end goal you are ultimately trying to accomplish on behalf of the user. GitBook uses it to tailor the answer towards what is most useful for that goal. The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation. Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.