UNLV Writing Center Website Guide

Created: Fall 2006

Written by Suann Robinson, Fall 2006
Edited by --Last Updated: 5/28/2007 6:17 PM

BEFORE BEGINNING

DESIGN: The basic design of the website is based off the template given by the UNLV
website. Please do not redesign the website unless it is to adhere to updated versions of the
UNLV template.

PROGRAMS: The Website is created by hand-written code using Programmers Notepad

and managed with Secure Shell Client. These methods were chosen because of the need to
maintain clean code for future webmasters. We could have used Dreamweaver or some other
WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get) program, but for the untrained person, these
programs can complicate the code. Please use the programs outlined in this guide to maintain
continuity throughout the website. Advanced webmasters can change this system, but please
check with the Director before doing so.

NEW WEBMASTERS: If you are the new webmaster and do not know anything about HTML
or websites, please inform the Director. This guide is meant to assist you, but it is not made to
teach anyone HTML or any other scripting.

USING THIS GUIDE: There is a list of contents on the following page. However, an easy
way to find your way around this guide is via computer. Use the Find (Ctrl + F) function to
search for key terms.

Password (as of Fall 2006) CASE SENSITIVE: REMOVED FOR SAMPLE

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 2

Spring 2007 To-Do List
This is a list of suggested tasks for the website.
1. General: update hours, schedule, and remove the bold text that says the office is closed.
2. Staff: update the consultant/receptionist list. Also, change RECEPTIONISTS to
ASSISTANTS throughout the website (including menus).
3. Online Writing Lab: remove the comment tags to REACTIVE THE OWL. Do OWL
test-run.
4. Writing Tips: upload all new handouts from Fall 2006 to the website. There needs to be
a web version of the handouts as well as a link to download the original .doc file.
5. Writing Tips: update the existing handouts to abide by website standards.
6. Workshops: update the calendar and class list.
7. Workshops: upload all workshop content for students to download.
8. Writing Center Website Guide: expand areas where needed (suggestions are the Website
Standards and section on Programmers Notepad).
9. Handouts: update Feminism handout; handouts on the website that are not put on the
template need to be done (if no one has been assigned this).
10. Download the website from the server to the computer.
11. New Section: create an online listing of office library?

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 3

CONTENTS

Setting Up

Changing Content
Links
Images
Tables
Forms
Menu System

Website Standards

Resources and Help

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 4

SETTING UP

1. Open all appropriate programs and folders (see Box I)

a. SSH Client (Secure Shell Client)
b. Programmers Notepad
c. Writing Center Website folder on the hard drive (optional)
d. GIMP or other graphics program (if applicable)

Box I: Opening Programs

The icons to all these programs should be located on the

desktop. If not, click on the

Start button on the

lower left, hover to Programs, and find the appropriate

folder for the programs needed. (See Image 001)

Image 001: Where to find Secure Shell Client

and other programs if the icons are not on the
desktop.

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2. SSH Client (see Box II)
a. In SSH Client, click Profiles there should be a yellow folder icon.
b. Select Writing Center from the drop-down menu.
c. Enter password at the prompt.
d. From the top menu, click Window, and then select New File Transfer. A new
window will pop up that displays the web directories to the website.

Box II: SSH Client

This is similar to FTP programs. If you are

familiar with CuteFTP or other programs to
upload material to the Internet, the SSH Client
is not that much different. Be familiar with
these windows because you will use them
often.

Image 002: Navigating the SSH Client to log into the website.

Image 003: The directory file transfer window in front of the

log-in screen.

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 6

3. Programmers Notepad
a. Double-click the icon on the desktop or locate the program in the Start menu.
b. A new, blank file will already be opened. Close it if you are editing an existing
file.
c. To open an existing file, you can drag the .html file directly into the program or
select from the top menu File, then Open (or Ctrl + O).
d. To save the file, select File, then Save (or Ctrl + S).
e. Programmers Notepad color codes the text to help find material quickly. Green
marks tags, purple and magenta marks values within the tags, and black is general
content that will be the viewable material (in most cases).
f. Pay attention to organization tabbing and proper spacing helps to make the
website easier to update and maintain.
g. Pointer: use the FIND function if you are looking for particular areas of the code.
Press Ctrl + F and type in keywords or phrases. This will save you time!

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 7

CHANGING CONTENT
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UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 8

WEBSITE STANDARDS
This section explains the website standards including menu organization, document appearance,
and file-naming conventions.

1. Menus
a. The website is organized much like a filing cabinet. Main links serve as a folder
in the cabinet, and sub-links are the individual sheets of paper in the folder. The
website can be written in outline format (see Appendix for expanded outline of
the file system). The outline is based on the folder system. Main links are
folders, sub-links are html files, and this general outline is expressed in the left
vertical menu column. Update the menus and navigation bars to reflect any
changes made to the organization to the website.
b. Top horizontal navigation bar (see Image 004)
c. Left vertical menu column (see Image 005)

Box III: Top Horizontal Navigation bar

Image 004: Screen-capture of the top horizontal navigation bar.

Image 005:

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 9

2. General Standards
a. Be mindful of using universal standards on the website. Keep to what is currently
being used for headers, subheaders, and so on. If you change the standard, make
sure you make the change UNIVERSAL throughout the entire website. This is to
keep the website professional and user-friendly.

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 10

RESOURCES AND HELP

1. HTML
a. W3 Schools: Tutorials and scripting help
http://www.w3schools.com/html/default.asp
b. HTML Quick List: Lists HTML tags for quick reference
http://www.htmlcodetutorial.com/quicklist.html
c. There should be a copy of Creating Web Pages for Dummies in the office if
needed.

2. CSS
a. W3 Schools: Tutorials and scripting help
http://www.w3schools.com/css/default.asp
b. CSS2 Reference: Lists tags with explanations
http://meyerweb.com/eric/css/references/css2ref.html

3. GIMP
a. gimp.org: Tutorials for a variety of issues
http://www.gimp.org/tutorials/

4. Programmers Notepad
a. pnotepad.org: Host of the program. Help and upgrades available
http://www.pnotepad.org/

UNLV Writing Center Website Guide 11

APPENDIX

General Website Organization Tree

I.

Home

II.

Writing Tips
a. Downloads
b. Links

III.

Online Writing Lab

IV.

Workshops
a. Classes
b. Schedule

V.

FAQ
a. Students
b. Instructors

VI.

Staff
a. Administration
b. Receptionists
c. Consultants

VII.

Satellites

Writing Tips Organization

I.

Documentation Styles
a. MLA
b. APA
c. Chicago Manual of Style

II.

Sentences and Structure

a. Articles
b. Comma Splices
c. Dangling and Misplaced Modifiers
d. Prepositions
e. Pronoun/Antecedent Agreement

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f. Sentence Formulas
g. Subject-Verb Agreement
h. Verb Tenses
III.

General Writing
a. Essay Organization
b. Introductions and Conclusions
c. Thesis Statements
d. Transitions
e. Writing About Literature

IV.

Research
a. Evaluating Sources
b. How to Write an Abstract
c. Plagiarism
d. Research Papers

V.

Style
a. Sexist Language
b. Wordiness and the Passive Voice
c. Parallelism

Writing Tips: Downloads Organization

I.

Microsoft Word Documents

a. Writing Tips - Handouts
i. Sentence Formulas
ii. Thesis Statements - Extended
iii. Thesis Statements - Quick Hints
iv. Transitions
v. APA Style Works Cited
vi. APA Style - Tables
b. Workshop Materials
i. APA Style
ii. Part I: Activity: References

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iii. Part II: Generic Sample Table
iv. MLA Style
v. Part I: Activity: MLA Samples
vi. Part I: Activity Answer Key
II.

PowerPoint
a. APA Style
b. Part I: The Basics Plus
c. MLA Style
d. Part I: Mastering the MLA Part I
e. Part II: Mastering the MLA Part II