Keep it simple and clean

Please use Sub-Title (H2) for announcement headlines.

The text and photos should be flush left, not centered. Avoid excessive boldface, ALL CAPS, and underline (which indicates a live link). Occasional red type is OK for emphasis, but use it sparingly.

ADA compliance

Please use Heading (H3) if you need a sub-head within an announcement.

We cannot leave raw coding on the page like this https://www.fcps.net/Page/125 or this, jane.doe@fayette.kyschools.us, because it is not ADA-compliant.  

In addition, all hyperlinks on a page should be unique and specific to the content. Avoid generic verbiage like "Click here." Simply embed the link in the text like this: Visit our demo site for examples. 

Keep it fresh & up to date

Your homepage announcements should be timely and relevant for your students and families. Make the time elements clear, and avoid words like "tonight," "Wednesday," or "this month." Example: Our science fair is Jan. 15.

You can include the school year at the end of the announcement for clarity in your archives like this, flush left:

(2020-21)

Or, if the actual date is not germane to the body of the announcement, you can add it at the bottom like this, flush left:

(Posted July 12, 2020)

Tip: You can set each item's end date under "Display Duration," so you never have to worry about old information hanging out on your front page.

You can also add a horizontal rule if you want to divide your announcements like this:

Concert band to present holiday performance 

Sentence-case style (above) is preferable to all uppercase like this: Concert Band To Present Holiday Performance

Also, we like to use active headlines (subject & verb) rather than labels like "Holiday performance"

 Reminder: For ADA compliance, you must caption every photo on your site with 'alt text' so it shows up in hover mode like "IAKSS building" above.

It's time to fill your backpack!

• 2020-21 school supply lists

This announcement is required for elementary and middle school sites. The school chiefs ask that you provide the upcoming year's supply lists by July 1. If the lists aren't available before you leave for the summer, please arrange for someone at your school to email your supply lists to the district webmaster, who will take care of it.

Recommendation: Upload and post the supply lists under the Families channel>Family Resources>School Supply Lists page, where they can remain for a while or even year-round. Then create the School Announcement for the homepage, simply redirecting to the School Supply Lists page. There's no need to upload the PDFs again.

This photo's width is 450, to give you an idea of what will fit in this space.

Registration window coming up

This is a good place to post reminders such as kindergarten registration for the following school year or the magnet application window.

Reminder: Don't copy-and-paste material from a district page, which is subject to editing anytime. Instead, use an embedded redirect such as Kindergarten registration.