Web Policy

The goal of the University of Iceland's public website is to:   

• Provide reliable digital services   
• Share information about the diverse and important work taking place at the University of Iceland,  
  • e.g. in the fields of teaching, learning, research, innovation, knowledge transfer and public outreach  
• Attract new students to the University and provide systematic support in selecting study programmes  
• Ensure that users are able to quickly and easily find all information and services  
• Increase awareness of the value of the University and demonstrate how its work has a broad societal impact and addresses contemporary challenges   
• Ensure a uniform, simple and comprehensive user interface in all major devices and browsers  
• Ensure a uniform appearance for all webpages

The target groups for the public University website are:  

• prospective, current and former UI students  
• the media, the government and the private sector  
• partner institutions, the general public, staff and prospective staff  

Content is tailored to suit different target groups.

Development of University of Iceland webpages must always be based on a detailed assessment of users' needs.  

Focuses are:   

• Search engine  
• Study programmes   
• Research, innovation and societal impact   
• Public outreach and collaboration with industry   
• Operations / events / news   
• Structure of the University   
• Services  

University of Iceland webpages must be consistent with the University Brand Manual. The design should be tailored to users' needs. The content management system should be capable of meeting these requirements. 

Content is presented using a variety of media on the University of Iceland website: 

• accurate, simple and descriptive text  
• eye-catching images and  
• a focus on video content  

The UI logo must be visible at the head of all UI webpages.

All images on the website shall be consistent with the Brand Manual. Images should reflect the University community, strategy and values. Photographs used on the University of Iceland website are usually in colour. Graphics must be without text, for reasons of accessibility.

UI webpages are simple in appearance and function. They are designed for all commonly used devices and browsers. Webpages must be scalable for all commonly used devices. 

Text must be written and formatted with reference to the Brand Manual.  All UI webpages must meet accessibility standards for disabled people.

Content on University of Iceland webpages must take into account the needs of different groups as far as possible, such as blind people, people with visual impairments, people with dyslexia, and people with other disabilities.

The University of Iceland public website should have extremely reliable functionality and optimal uptime. The same applies to response time.

In connection with the Web Policy, there are rules of procedure and guidelines that provide further details on implementation as applicable. These can be found in the appendices and the Brand Manual. Anyone producing content for the University of Iceland website must familiarise themselves with the Web Policy. 

The University of Iceland Web Policy has been approved by the University of Iceland webmasters, the web editor, the English language web editor, the director of the Division of Marketing and Public Relations, school webmasters, the web steering committee, and the web council appointed by the rector. 

The Web Policy will be reviewed as necessary on the initiative of the webmaster and the director of the Division of Marketing and Public Relations, in close cooperation with the web steering committee.

The University of Iceland website should share important information about the University's work and also provide access to digital services.

Structure

Users of the main University of Iceland website should be provided with a clear overview of website structure.   

Information should be organised in a simple and transparent way and users should always be able to see where they are on the site.   

The search engine for the University of Iceland website should be efficient and simple to use, generating detailed and transparent results.

Quality

Information on the University of Iceland website must always be up-to-date and correct.   

The University of Iceland website should always be accessible to all social groups. Content should be accessible in all the most popular browsers, operating systems and devices.   

Web servers and database servers should be protected at all times with the necessary security software.   

The main University of Iceland website and the English website should be user-tested at least once per year.

Accountability

The University of Iceland webmaster is accountable for the University of Iceland Web Policy and responsible for enforcing it.   

The webmaster organises and takes responsibility for developing the site map and navigation system of the main University website, school websites and the main specialised websites.   

Webmasters for specialised websites are responsible for allocating access rights to certain webpages. Specialised websites created outside the University should be delivered to the DIT with full administrator rights for updates.    

Coordinators for individual websites, including school webmasters, are responsible for ensuring that content is always accurate and up to date.   

Registered owners of private sites are entirely responsible for the content published in their name.   

The Division of Information Technology is responsible for managing web servers and site databases and shall ensure that they are continuously protected with the necessary security software. 

Institute websites

Institute websites are for the University's institutes. These sites are generally on a second-level domain – hi.is/name-of-institute – or name-of-institute.hi.is.     

Institute websites should include the University of Iceland logo and comply with the University Brand Manual.    

Within each institute, there must be an editor who takes responsibility for content published on the institute's website. Content on institute websites must be maintained and updated.  The University webmaster has the right to close a website if the institute fails to comply with a request to improve the site. 

The University webmaster is the institutes' contact with the Division of Information Technology, who manage the creation of websites. If an institute contacts the Division of Information Technology directly, a Division employee shall forward the matter to the webmaster. The webmaster at the relevant school shall always be consulted at the planning stages. Websites associated with the University of Iceland must not be made live without the permission of the webmaster. 

Institute websites can use Drupal or, in exceptional circumstances, WordPress. The Division of Information Technology is responsible for setting up websites. The webmaster must authorise the website. Institute websites created in WordPress by a web development company or another external party must be delivered to the Division of Information Technology with full administrative rights. If the appearance (theme) of a site is purchased, all information about the theme and the licence number must be included in the purchase.  Websites must comply with the UI Brand Manual.  

Institute websites created in other systems before January 2023 may remain as they are / in a different content management system until a new website is built. 

Institute websites should be completed within three months of establishing the relevant area of operations.

Conference websites

Conference websites are for conferences organised by or in partnership with the University of Iceland.  Websites for individual conferences are taken down without notice 24 months after the conference ends. The sites will generally be accessible in the web archive after that date.    

Other conference websites are not taken down, but content is updated within two years and edited by an accountable party.   

Websites for conferences hosted in collaboration with UI may use logos other than the UI logo in the header and are not required to follow the UI Brand Manual.    

Websites are generally built in WordPress but otherwise the same rules apply as for institute websites.   

• WordPress conference websites must be completed within three months of being established. 

Project websites   

Project websites for research projects or other academic projects can be created in SharePoint. The websites are intended first and foremost to be used by project teams and PhD students, who are then responsible for the content.    

SharePoint websites are first and foremost tools used to manage files related to a project and are not intended to be open to the public.    

Project websites are administrated by the owners of the content.  

Other informative websites

It is permissible to create websites for communicating and discussing scholarly material and research (mixed purpose websites). The same rules apply to these websites as to institute websites. 

It is strictly forbidden to create a website about a specific study programme or other content that is already on the University of Iceland's public website. 

Informative websites are built in WordPress or occasionally in Drupal, but otherwise the same rules apply as for institute websites. 

Informative websites must only be created once most of the content is ready for publication. 

• WordPress websites must be completed within three months of being established. 

Private websites

Academics with a University of Iceland username and password may create their own WordPress website for sharing scholarly material and articles. These websites are first and foremost for other academics and the general public.  

Academics are encouraged, however, to save time by sharing such material on social media and in the media instead.   

Pages for academics in Ugla, staff pages on the UI website, and profile pages in IRIS are usually sufficient for sharing information.   

Academics are obliged to ensure that satisfactory information about them is accessible in Ugla and IRIS.   

Websites that are not updated at least annually will be taken down.  

Private websites are taken down without notice when the owner's username is no longer active.   

The appearance of private websites is standardised and consistent with the University Brand Manual. The UI logo must appear in the header of the website.    

It is forbidden to create a website that could harm the reputation of the University of Iceland.    

• WordPress websites must be completed within three months of being established.   

The rules of procedure and editorial policy for University of Iceland websites are accessible on the University intraweb, Ugla. The webmaster and web editors (hi.is and english.hi.is) are responsible for initiating any review of the rules of procedure and editorial policy for UI websites and updating them in consultation with the director of the Division of Marketing and Public Relations and the school webmasters. The web management team for the public website should be consulted on any amendments to the rules of procedure.

Social media

The University of Iceland shares information about its work on the most popular social media platforms. The University encourages open exchanges of opinion on social media and allows input and comments from users.  

Users must express themselves in a respectful way. Comments about, for example, specific individuals, ethnic groups, religious groups or genders that cross the line into disrespect will be deleted. Users will be notified if one of their comments is deleted. If they repeatedly post comments of this nature, users will be warned and if the behaviour persists they will be blocked from UI social media accounts.   

Schools, faculties, institutes and other units at UI may run their own social media accounts on different platforms. They must always use the UI logo and identify themselves as part of UI. It is important that more than one person has administrative access to accounts and that accountability is defined.

Domains

Keep domain names as clear and transparent as possible. Domains belonging to the University of Iceland are: hi.is/xxx, xxx.hi.is. Other domains, such as xxx.is, are not hosted by the DIT except with special permission from the DIT and the webmaster, following an accessibility evaluation.

Web content management systems

The content management system Drupal is used for the main University of Iceland website, institute websites and selected specialised websites. 

In exceptional cases, institute websites may be built in WordPress. The University of Iceland provides templates that can be used for institute websites. Institutes may not reconstruct websites in other content management systems. The Division of Marketing and Public Relations and the Division of Information Technology will not provide support for websites set up in other systems before January 2023. 

Small websites on University of Iceland domains which are used by individuals or for smaller projects at the University are supported with WordPress and SharePoint. The University of Iceland provides templates that can be used for WordPress websites. 

All organisational units at the University may request specialised solutions for their websites, as long as the changes do not conflict with the Web Policy. Specialised solutions must, however, be approved by the University of Iceland webmaster before being implemented.

Information Technology

Small websites on University of Iceland domains which are used by individuals or for smaller projects at the University are supported with the WordPress content management system. The University of Iceland provides templates that can be used for these websites.

All organisational units at the University may request specialised solutions for their websites, as long as the changes do not conflict with the Web Policy. Specialised solutions must be approved by the University of Iceland webmaster before being implemented, however.

Updates to web systems and moving between web servers

University of Iceland websites are hosted on web servers monitored by the Division of Information Technology, which ensures optimal uptime and response time. Content must never be moved between web servers and/or data servers without consulting with the webmaster. 

Add-ons and changes to content management systems are generally implemented by the Division of Information Technology in consultation with the relevant party. Decisions about updates and changes to content management systems are made in consultation with the webmaster. 

Web development   

Websites must be built within three months. If an unpublished website is not completed within three months, the webmaster will inform the owner that it will be closed if it is not improved. If the owner does not improve the website within a month of being notified, the website has the authority to close it without further notice.    

When a website is created, there must be a clear project schedule and an accountable party. Staff may not apply to create a website before the content is mostly ready to publish and the site map and navigation system are ready.    

Hosting  

University of Iceland websites are hosted on monitored web servers.  The Division of Information Technology ensures optimal uptime and response time for University of Iceland websites. Content must never be moved between web servers and/or data servers without consulting with the webmaster.   

Add-ons and changes to content management systems are generally implemented by the Division of Information Technology in consultation with the relevant party. Decisions about updates and changes to content management systems must be made in consultation with the webmaster.   

Web design   

Websites must be built within three months. If an unpublished website is not completed within three months, the webmaster will inform the owner that it will be closed if it is not improved. If the owner does not improve the website within a month of being notified, the website has the authority to close it without further notice.    

When a website is created, there must be a clear project schedule and an accountable party. Staff may not apply to create a website before the content is mostly ready to publish and the site map is ready.    

Main website

The main website for the University of Iceland, with a front page and navigation system for all University web pages. This applies both to hi.is and english.hi.is.

Accessibility evaluation  

An investigation to determine whether the website is accessible for people who use technical solutions to access the website to find information.

Specialised sites

Websites for research projects, conferences, student organisations and other things that are neither an institute nor an individual. Specialised websites may be on special second-level domains (xxx.hi.is), but it is permissible to buy xxx.is or xxx.com domains outside the University. Only xxx.hi.is websites will be hosted by the Division of Information Technology except with special permission.

Small websites / private websites

Websites that do not fall under the other categories. Websites for individual staff members, e.g. uni.hi.is etc. Websites that do not fall under the other categories Websites for individual academics.

Institute websites

Websites for University institutes. They have the same appearance as other University websites but the content is primarily managed by the individual institute. These websites are on xxx.hi.is second-level domains. Institute websites are established in collaboration with the school webmaster and technicians from the Division of Information Technology.

Ugla pages

Staff and student pages in Ugla, the University intranet, which include a telephone number, email address and location, as well as a photograph. Where applicable, it is possible to include more detailed information, e.g. a CV and bibliography, specialisation, office hours etc.

Online editors

Staff members who are responsible for adding content to a website.

Editor of the English website

The editor of the English public website works at the Division of Marketing and Public Relations. This person is responsible for and selects news stories to be published on english.hi.is, as well as banner ads on the same site. The editor of the English website is responsible for all English language content that concerns the University of Iceland as a whole.

Editor of the Icelandic website

The editor of the Icelandic website works at the Division of Marketing and Public Relations. The editor of the Icelandic website is responsible for all content that concerns the University of Iceland as a whole. This person is responsible for and selects news stories to be published on the front page of the main website, as well as banner ads on the same site..

School webmasters

School webmasters are responsible for their school's website.

Specialised site webmasters

Staff responsible for the content of specialised websites (institute websites, conference sites, etc.).

UI Webmaster

The UI webmaster works at the Division of Marketing and Public Relations. This person is responsible for the maintenance and management of the University's public website as a whole, controls access authorisation and activates access for people who need to manage certain websites and specific sections of sites.

Web management team for the public website

The team comprises the University of Iceland webmaster, who leads the team, school webmasters, the editor of hi.is and the editor of english.hi.is. The team usually meets once a month. The team ensures that all units at the University follow this Web Policy and that content and information for users is consistent across all University websites.

Faculty websites

Sections of hi.is that contains information about specific faculties at the University of Iceland.

School websites

Sections of hi.is that contains information about specific schools at the University of Iceland.

Web steering committee

The steering committee comprises the director of the Division of Marketing and Public Relations, who also chairs the committee, a representative of the rector, director of the Division of Information Technology, director of the Division of Academic Affairs, the webmaster for hi.is, the editor of hi.is, and two representatives from among the schools' directors of marketing and web.

Professional group for web technology

The group comprises the UI webmaster, the web project manager and three specialists from the Division of Information Technology. The group meets on a weekly basis.