Jump to main content.

PDF Disclaimer

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view PDF files. See EPA's PDF page for more information about getting and using the free Acrobat Reader.

Site Help

    Topics

    Glossary

    Site Map

Entering Intranet
Many links on the Web Guide are available to EPA Intranet users only. If you are an outside contractor working for EPA, please contact your EPA representative for more information. If you are another federal agency or other party interested in EPA's web policies and procedures, please contact EPA through the "Contact Us" page on this site.

Questions?

Web or WebCMS Questions?

Call the EPA Call Center
1-866-411-4EPA (4372).
EPA Call Center

Computer Questions?

Call CTS
1-866-955-4CTS (4287).
EPA Call Center

Intranet Publishing Guidelines

An Intranet is a system, based on Internet technology, which allows an organization like EPA to share information among its employees.

EPA's Intranets are intended primarily to facilitate internal communication of information among Agency employees. Publishing to both the Agency (i.e., EPA@Work) and Headquarters Intranets differs in several respects from Internet publishing. Those differences are outlined here.

For more information about the Intranet approval process contact Michael Hessling (hessling.michael@epa.gov), OEI, 202-566-0419.

Introduction

The Intranet and related Web technologies help provide information to the EPA-network user community quickly, extensively, and efficiently. The growth in the number of sites and the amount of material they contain intensifies the need for standards and guidelines to help users publish, find, retrieve, and use the information they need. If EPA data owners conform to a reasonable set of Intranet guidelines for the organization and presentation of information, our customers will be able to enter our sites at any point and find not only the specific information they want, but also the full resources of the Agency.

These Intranet guidelines establish ground rules to standardize the publishing of pages on the Agency's Intranet. This document is not a training document, nor is it a complete style guide for composing HTML. It provides guidance to ensure quality content, organization, and presentation of information on EPA's Intranet and to help users find pertinent information to answer their Agency-related questions. This document does not constrain, unnecessarily, the design and format of individual information resources and services.

The Office of Environmental Information (OEI) is responsible for coordinating EPA@Work Intranet efforts. OEI welcomes your comments and ideas for improving this document and the Agency's Intranet sites. Please visit the Web Guide Contact Us page to submit your correspondence.

Infrastructure

EPA@Work serves all EPA employees. EPA@Work is distinguished from the other Agency Intranets serving local populations, e.g. the Headquarters, Regional, RTP, or Cincinnati Intranets. The EPA@Work servers are housed at EPA's National Computer Center in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina. The system will support a clearly defined set of Intranet technologies, including HTML, PDF, Oracle and Domino databases, and CGI scripting. Additional technologies will be tested and supported as necessary.

Local Intranet Sites

Many EPA locations and program offices will want Intranets customized for their staffs. These local "Intranets" can be hosted on separate servers and be defined as a "site" within a Working Capital Fund provided server at RTP.

Our EPA Intranet Server is Designed to:

Organization and Agency-sponsored Intranet materials must be coordinated and cross-linked within the Agency Web space in any of the above areas. This is to ensure that those who access EPA's Intranet servers easily gain access to the complete range of the Agency's information and services.

Support and Process

Information provided through EPA@Work is managed by OEI. It is primarily an interface that organizes information created by program offices. Establishing "data ownership" and managing information will be similar to those in EPA's public access arena, including ownership of data through the TSSMS account and approval of Intranet content by division directors (instead of office directors as is the case on the Internet).

For assistance using the Intranet or technical issues, you may contact the EPA Call Center at 1-866-411-4372. For assistance in creating HTML documents and graphics, there are two Working Capital Fund (WCF) services available: Internet Service CenterEntering Intranet or Web Development ServicesEntering Intranet. Both services operate under the Working Capital Fund service that can, for a fee, design Web pages and convert documents to electronic format for anyone at EPA. The most utilized formats on EPA's servers are HTML and PDF.

Top of Page

Content

Approvals

Division Directors are responsible for material published to the Intranet. They are also responsible for content, currency and adherence to this publishing guidance. For more information about the Intranet approval process contact Michael Hessling (hessling.michael@epa.gov), OEI, 202-566-0419.

Accuracy

Complete accuracy for all online information is an important goal. This is true for both the content of the document and the construction (e.g., HTML syntax) of the document. In terms of content, care should be exercised in the following areas:

Before submitting and uploading a document, the syntax and spelling should be checked and all links verified. Use a spell checker for spelling and proofread it by hand, as a spell checker can miss a lot of errors. HTML syntax can be checked by using a HTML validation tool such as The W3C Markup Validation ServiceExit EPA Disclaimer.

Remember that HTML is not print. Formatting adjustments that are required to present information in HTML are not considered to compromise accuracy if they faithfully convey the information in a document.

Timeliness/Currency

Effective customer service and your credibility depend on providing useful and updated information. Information, particularly time sensitive information, such as notices which require employee action, must be posted as promptly as possible. Out of date information must be removed or updated promptly.

How do you decide whether information is useful? Ask these questions: Does it improve productivity? Does it improve collaboration?

The party responsible for the document or collection should determine whether the electronic version is the official record and retain those records according to the appropriate records control schedule. Please see http://intranet.epa.gov/records/Entering Intranet for more information.

Personal Home Pages

Personal home pages are not permitted on any Agency Intranet servers, with the exception of EPA's forthcoming "Facebook-like" application, EPAScene. Personal home pages are those that carry an individual's resume, picture, hobbies, or other interests that serve to promote the individual rather than the Agency.

Linked Content

The Public Access External Link Policy also applies to the Intranets. Please see External Links from the EPA Public Access Web Site (PDF) (11 pp., 32 KB).

Top of Page

Presenting a Unified Picture

An important goal for EPA's collective Intranet services is to offer each "customer" (staff member, contractor, etc.) full access to the entire distributed collection, regardless of the point at which s/he enters the system. Reaching the goal of providing the convenience of "one-stop shopping" in a large and diverse Intranet requires that each collection of information, in addition to serving its own particular constituency, must be recognizable as part of the EPA network.

Dead Links

Dead links inevitably occur on Web servers as pages are modified, moved, or deleted over time. However, dead links can damage a Web page's credibility and usefulness. The data owner for each Web project is responsible for monitoring and maintaining their collections. Dead links should be removed or corrected as quickly as possible. When changing URLs on your document collections, coordination may be required with other sites which point to those URLs. When moving a Web page to a new URL, courteous page owners often leave a note providing a link to the new location.

Restricted Access

Documents and collections that are not intended for open access (i.e., not yet published, not fully marked-up or tested, internal committee working group notes, etc.) cannot be linked from openly accessible documents or placed in openly available directories without information on the restrictions.

EPA's full-text indexing system provides access to all of the materials on the Intranet server that are not specifically designated for restricted access. To exclude a directory from being indexed, follow the instructions at Hiding Web Pages from Search. It may be necessary to coordinate with OEI to explicitly exclude restricted access documents from site-wide fulltext search indexes. Note that pages on the Intranet are not publicly-accessible by those outside EPA's network.

Top of Page

Style/Markup

Look and Feel

Required and Optional Elements for All Intranet Pages

Although EPA has only one look and feel for the Internet site, different Intranet sites have different presentations. These Intranets target different subsets of the EPA internal audience e.g., HQ, Agency-wide, Cincinnati, Regional, Laboratory and Office of Water staff, etc.

While EPA's Intranets may actually be physically separate Intranets, they appear to EPA staff as a single, logical information entity by the use of html links and the search engine. Pages on each Intranet will routinely direct users to pages from other Intranets. The Agency Intranet Search Engine allows EPA to create an index to all information on the Agency Intranet server. EPA's Intranet users may land on an Intranet page within any of these different EPA Intranets by navigating through links or after a search.

When the customer arrives at the page from a search, the Intranet page needs to provide enough information for the user to understand the purpose and source of the page, and for whom the page is intended, and how to return to the relevant Intranet home page.

Definitions
  • EPA@Work: EPA@Work is the Agency-wide Intranet for EPA employees. EPA@Work contains, or points to, information which is potentially relevant to staff at many locations or offices across the Agency.
  • Location Intranet: A location Intranet is Intranet information targeted at the employees of a specific Agency location. The Headquarters Intranet or the Region 3 Infonet are location Intranets.
  • Program/Local/Regional/Laboratory Intranet Site: A program office or even a division could have an independently managed Intranet site which would provide information to staff members of that organization. In general, a local Intranet site would contain information targeted at internal staff of an organization. For instance, an Office of Water local Intranet site would contain information only for Office of Water Employees. This local Intranet would not contain information that the Office of Water wanted to make available to other Agency staff. That information would be on EPA@Work, so it can be integrated with the rest of the Agency's general information and the search and browse features.
  • HQ Intranet: The HQ Intranet is the location Intranet site, maintained by OEI, which provides information targeted to Headquarters employees.
  • Logical Web Site: A logical Web site is a collection of Intranet information which has been prepared to appear as one piece to Web users, although the resources may be drawn from different pages or sites. An Intranet, like EPA@Work, contains many "logical Web Sites." A logical Web site will begin at a top level page and include information stored beneath that page. A logical Web site can also include information linked from elsewhere in the site. EPA’s intranet CFC site is an example.
  • Logical Web Site Logo: Often a logical Web Site has a characteristic look and feel, which is used to identify material as belonging to that site.
  • Target Audience: The "target audience" is the group of EPA employees for whom the Information on a given Web page is appropriate. For instance, Headquarters is the target audience for a page on which describes "how to arrange for conference calls at Headquarters."
  • Navigating "Up": Many Web sites are composed of a logical hierarchy of pages, with the lower pages providing more specific information and the higher level pages providing the broader context and interrelationships of the information within the Web site. Navigating "up" allows the user to go up either to the next page logically above the current page or to the home page for that logical Web site.
  • Search: EPA uses the Northern Light search engine to index the full text of all documents on EPA's Intranets. This search engine allows Web customers to search using words, URLs, metadata, etc., across Intranets. Intranet customers often find their way to a Web page by conducting a search rather than by navigating through links.

Policy

When looking at any Intranet page, the user should be able to tell:

These goals can be met by including the following elements and standard navigation items on all Intranet pages.

Standard Elements

  1. EPA: Indicate that the page has been by EPA by using the words "EPA" or "Environmental Protection Agency" or an EPA logo. The following EPA Seals and Logos link provides examples of such logos.
  2. Title: Each page/document should have a title. Titles are used in search results and bookmarks. If the title is inaccurate or missing, users will have difficulty finding your page. The title should be meaningful and unique to each page.
  3. Logos: a graphic element which is used to identify a specific "site."
    • If the information is of Agency-wide relevance and is provided through EPA@Work, the EPA@Work logo indicates the page is of Agency-wide relevance as well as providing the required EPA identification.
  4. Page Title: Page title can duplicate the content of the title element.
  5. URL: The URL allows the user to identify the actual location of the page.
  6. Date Last Updated: This date can be automatically generated.
  7. Content Owner: State the program office or Region and the specific division that created the page. Spell out the organization. Example: "US EPA, OEI, Information Management Division"
  8. Search: search boxes can point to the search page for the "site" or the main search pages of EPA@Work.
  9. Logical Home Page: A link taking the customer to the top level of the logical Web site. This kind of logical home choice places the page in context and allows users to find related information. For instance:
    • Records Home
    • RTP Records Home
  10. Location/Local Intranet Home
  11. Contact Us: A link to a Feedback/Help page allows customers to send comments and ask questions. It may provide additional information in helping to use the page.
Special Navigational Requirements for Location/Local Level Home Pages

A location/local level home page is the top-level page of an independently managed Intranet site. The following navigation choices should be available on all pages of each site:

  1. EPA@Work Home
  2. EPA Public Home Page
  3. Location-Level Home Page (Example HQ Intranet) if the site is a local site
  4. Contact
Examples of Minimum Navigation Elements
For an EPA@Work Page that deals with records
For a location Intranet page (RTP Wide Web) that deals with records
For a location home page (example RTP)

Search Pages

The search engine at EPA@Work searches selected program office Intranet sites and most of the Regional and local sites. The Agency Intranet search engine is Northern Light which functions by indexing content on the Intranet server, but also on regional or locational servers that contain Intranet content as those regional/location Webmasters see fit. When a search is performed, those Intranet resources for which metadata records have been created in the Intranet Web Inventory (IWEBI) are elevated in the search results.

Body Content

The content should be concise, clear and simply-worded, but informative. Use links to access explanatory information or to provide access to additional graphics, tables, surveys, and indexes.

How do you decide whether information is useful? Ask these questions: Does it improve productivity? Does it improve collaboration?

Large or Complex Documents

Large documents (greater than five pages) should be organized into sections using headings or chapters and linked together. If the material is meant to be read primarily in order, then a table of contents and division by chapter may be most appropriate. If the material is meant to be picked through, then a division by section with key word links to appropriate sections may be best.

Links to non-HTML Files

Note the file size for all non-HTML files available for download, including PDF files.

Multimedia

Multimedia is supported through the set of standard file types specified by filename extensions. Web browsers associate files with these extensions. The most frequently used multimedia file types are:

Care must be taken to provide text equivalents for these multimedia resources. See the Section 508 pages for more information.

Top of Page

Additional Points

Reinventing the Wheel

Before building Web pages within a new site the data owner should explore the Intranet to identify sites which might contain identical content. Developers are also encouraged, when creating processes and procedures, to consider whether to generalize them for use in other situations at EPA in the future.

Usage Monitoring

Data owners should review and analyze the usage reports generated by the server for their documents and collections, and use this information to improve their services and information access, including 404 (file not found) pages and most request pages.

Continuous Improvement

Take advantage of the always on, never complete nature of Web technologies and the steady stream of technical enhancements by continuously improving your pages. While frivolous and arbitrary changes are distracting to users, improvements to services based on user feedback, better organization, new HTML/CSS/JS methods, or newly available functionality should keep pages fresh, provide customers additional functionality and reflect on the organization's commitment and expertise.

Copyrights and Multimedia Documents

A copyright is the "rights" of an author or publisher to the "copy" (text of an article) which that author or publisher produced. This has come to mean the right of intellectual property, whereby authors obtain, for a limited time, certain exclusive rights to their work. Copyrights can apply not only to text, but to graphics, audio or video materials, other electronic formats, and even ideas. Copyright considerations are dealt with on the Copyright Issues page of the Web Guide.

Top of Page

Home Page Checklist

Content

Navigation/Organization

Style/Markup

Top of Page



Local Navigation



Jump to main content.




0