Web & Digital

Site planning and hosting

Initial plans for any new site or site redesign should include the CAES Web Team.

Sites for all CAES or UGA Cooperative Extension departments, units, centers, commodity teams and official programs/initiatives must be hosted by the CAES Web Team. It is strongly encouraged that all sites for faculty, labs and their individual programs and activities be hosted with the CAES Web Team, as well. Sites that are developed in collaboration with other universities or outside agencies are considered official and must adhere to the guidelines as set forth in this document.

Site owners are subject to the rules and guidelines set forth by the site’s host. For sites hosted by the CAES Web Team, the Web Team retains control over all technical aspects of the site. This includes code, plugins and other executable aspects of a site. The Web Team is under no obligation to host systems or code written by third parties or others outside of the Web Team’s purview.

To convey plans for a website, for more information about developing sites with third parties or to request hosting services, contact the CAES Web Team.

Identity, style and branding guidelines

The CAES web presence will have a standard look and predictable navigation achieved by the use of standard college templates for all CAES sites.

Any use of University of Georgia and College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences logos or other identifying marks must meet the requirements and specifications outlined in the university’s Brand Style Guide, as well as the UGA CAES Brand Guidelines.

All websites, regardless of who created them and where they are hosted, must include UGA headers and footers according to UGA brand guidelines and in consultation with the CAES Web Team to determine correct usage. Headers and footers will include appropriate links to the UGA home page and the CAES home page. Headers and footers must include UGA logo in accordance with the university identity policy and the college identity policy, respectively. All pages must have contact information listed in the footer to assist the user in contacting the individual or group responsible for the material.

Content creation, review and approval

[The policy stated in this section is repeated verbatim from the ONLINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICY, developed in collaboration with the UGA Office of Legal Affairs and officially adopted by CAES in December 2022.]

Pursuant to the University of Georgia Policy on Ownership, Control and Use of Institution Online Resources, the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES) (the “Unit”) has adopted the following Unit-level policy regarding the creation and management of online resources under its control. This Policy provides for the method of establishing the Unit’s Institution Online Resources, the Unit’s management of existing Institution Online Resources and the deletion of Institution Online Resources no longer needed. This Policy also sets the process for review and approval of content created on or posted to the Unit’s Institution Online Resources.  

For any type of action requiring approval under this policy, including the posting or removal of content, the approving individual or office may adopt a written set of standards to govern such type of action and, provided that an action complies with the applicable written standards, the action shall be considered approved. Such standards could include, among other things, descriptions of acceptable content and processes for the creation and management of webpages or social media accounts. 

The Unit maintains an inventory of its Institution Online Resources and updates the inventory regularly. The Unit’s Institution Online Resources are managed according to type, as follows:

Internet domains and pages

• Domain Management. The purchase, acquisition or divestiture of Unit web domains must be approved in writing by the IT Web Team Manager. All Unit web domains are maintained and managed by the CAES Web Team. 
• Webpage Management. The creation, management and deletion of Unit web pages must be approved by Web Team Web Support Specialists. Approval authority may also be delegated to another designated employee in the Unit for all web pages or for specific projects. Delegation will be documented in writing, which may be through an email sent to the designee at the time that permission is granted to the web content management system(s) used to publish web content. All Unit webpages are maintained and managed by the Web Team, provided that management and maintenance may be delegated as appropriate.
• Approval of Content. Content created on or posted to the Unit’s internet domains and/or webpages shall be in furtherance of a legitimate institutional purpose and shall comply with all applicable University policies. Responsibility for content approval shall reside with the Web Team or their designee. 

[The section on Social Media Accounts contained in the ONLINE RESOURCE MANAGEMENT POLICY is omitted from this Web Publishing Policy as out of scope for this document. Please review social media guidelines from the CAES Office of Marketing and Communications.]

Removal of content/resources

• Obsolete Resources. The Unit will periodically review its inventory of Institution Online Resources and delete or take offline those that are no longer needed in accordance with any applicable records retention policies and procedures.
• Unapproved Resources and Content. Unapproved or improperly created or posted resources and/or content shall be removed by the individual and/or office with responsibility for approving such type of category of resource and/or content.

For any questions regarding the creation, review and approval of web content, including requesting a web domain or pages, required training, changing existing web pages or removal of any outdated or incorrect web content, contact the CAES Web Team.

Web accessibility and other applicable laws and policies

All content published to the web is subject to:

• Federal, state and local laws, ordinances and guidelines.
• University System of Georgia policies and procedures, including web standards and accessibility standards.
• University of Georgia computing policies.
• Intellectual property, copyright and fair-use laws and policies.

The College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is committed to ensuring accessibility of its websites for people with disabilities. All CAES websites should conform to Section 508 and University System of Georgia accessibility standards.

Noncompliance

Site owners and maintainers are expected to self-regulate their own sites. If websites are identified as out of compliance with this policy, the CAES Web Team will contact the site owner, notify them of the issue and provide them with a timeline towards expected compliance, as well as assistance as possible. If the site continues to remain out of compliance, the site and links to it will be removed by the CAES Web Team or the individual and/or office with responsibility for approving such type of category of resource and/or content. 

Accessibility

CAES is committed to ensuring that all users, regardless of ability, can access and interact with online content produced by our college. OIT has created an in-depth digital accessibility handbook with resources to help you ensure your digital content follows accessibility best practices. This resource is housed on OIT’s website and can be accessed using the button below:

AI Guidelines

While CAES operates under UGA’s policies on artificial intelligence, these expanded CAES-specific guidelines emphasize the significance of our unique role to communicate with the public and support Georgia’s No. 1 industry of agriculture through our research, instruction and Extension. We understand that these guidelines originate during a time when AI tools are evolving rapidly. While the tools and their capabilities will change, the guidelines described in this document remain applicable despite these developments and will be updated as needed.

Editorial usage: the written word

No editorial text of any kind for any medium should be produced and published using only AI tools, which include but are not limited to ChatGPT, Copilot, Jasper and Perplexity. Any use of AI tools should ALWAYS be subject to thorough review and human oversight by CAES and UGA Extension professionals. Publishing any content that is not thoroughly reviewed and verified with reputable sources — AI-generated or not  — in association with CAES or any of its subsidiary units, including UGA Extension and Georgia 4-H, is prohibited.

Examples of permissible usage of AI tools in the editorial process include assistance during the interview process (such as drafting relevant interview questions), consolidating lengthy human-generated copy and assistance during distribution (such as SEO keyword research).

Examples of impermissible usage include using AI to draft copy for publication without human oversight or significant changes prior to publication and using AI to “research” during the drafting process without verifying information with a reputable source.

The publication of any AI-generated copy, regardless of length, must always be disclosed and identified. The following disclosure statement should accompany AI-generated copy:

During the preparation of this work the author(s) used [NAME TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication.

Using AI to check grammar and/or spelling is permissible and does not require the inclusion of a disclosure statement.

Media usage: photo and video

The publication of AI-generated media, including both photo and video, in association with CAES or any of its subsidiary units is strongly discouraged.

The use of AI tools for photo and video editing is permitted when the tool is used to enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of photo or video and does not meaningfully alter the subject matter. Examples of permissible uses include, but are not limited to, color correction and the removal of image elements that detract from the image’s overall quality and/or distract from the primary subject within the image.

The use of AI media in the conceptual and brainstorming phases is permissible and does not require disclosure. In instances where an AI tool adds to or expands the media to create elements that were not organically present in the original, its use must be disclosed using the following disclosure statement to be published alongside the enhanced media wherever a photo credit would be appropriately displayed:

This [IMAGE or VIDEO] has been enhanced using [NAME OF TOOL / SERVICE] in order to [REASON].

An example is included below:

This image has been enhanced using Adobe Photoshop to extend the background within this image to allow for a stylized header to be included above the subject.

This disclaimer is only necessary when an AI tool is used to ADD or EXPAND elements within media that were not organically present within the original, as the general editing of photos is decades old and not subject to these guidelines for AI usage.

Examples of permitted and encouraged uses of AI and AI tools

AI tools can be very helpful in the brainstorming and review phases, especially for those who do not consider communications to be a personal strong suit. When publishing information for the public, however, it is crucial to remember our roles in the advancement of agriculture in Georgia and beyond. The Georgia public trusts CAES and all subsidiary units to produce and provide reliable, research-backed information. We can ensure our editorial and media content is worthy of that trust and lives up to the expectations of our audiences by always ensuring communications are thoroughly proofed and properly vetted.

Email signatures

Use the email signature builder tool provided below to generate a custom signature that can be pasted into your signature settings in Outlook or another email client.