Linking to content outside of UNBC

Menus on the UNBC website are intended to help the user find content within the UNBC website. We are currently limited in our ability to indicate if a link in the menu will take the user to content outside of the UNBC website. This can result in a website visitor "bouncing" from their user session. In addition, we have no control over the functionality of the external link.

Links to external websites should only be contained in the body of web pages or in a 'Related' box beneath the left navigation menu for the section. By including external links in the body of web pages rather than in the left bar, web editors are able to to maintain these links should they change.

We recommend that a brief description of what the user will find when they click on an external link be included wherever appropriate.

In summary:

• Links to any content that is not hosted on the UNBC website should not be included in any local menu.
• Links to external content should be accessible in the body of web pages or in a 'Related' box beneath the local menu.
• Web pages within your section of the website that contain external links in the body can always be included in the local menu.

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Linking to media files

In order to better track online assets and to keep navigation simple, media files such as Adobe PDF documents, MS Word documents, etc. should not be added to local menus. Some media files on the website are updated frequently. When these media files are included in the local menu, it presents a challenge in maintaining the menu link, as they each need to be updated manually.

In summary:

• Links to media files should only be included in the body of web pages or in a 'Related' box beneath the local menu.
• Local menus can always link to web pages within your section that contain links to media files.