This guide is for you who will be publishing an article on www4.uib.no. It covers editorial guidelines for content quality and universal design, as well as practical help for filling in the fields in the publishing tool.

Part 1: Editorial guidelines
Here you’ll find requirements and recommendations for content quality, images, video, and text structure. These apply to all articles.

Universal design

We are legally required to ensure that our websites are universally designed. Some of this is solved technically, but much depends on how you publish your content.

  • Always write in the correct language for the correct language version. English content on Norwegian pages (or vice versa) breaches universal design requirements.
  • Link texts must be descriptive – the user should understand where the link leads before clicking.
  • Avoid images containing text, especially as a main image.
  • Video must have audio description.

Images

  • Consider whether the page actually needs an image.
  • Choose images that are relevant to the content of the text.
  • Use images from UiB’s own image archive.
  • Use new and up-to-date images.
  • Avoid stock photos.
  • Do not use images generated by artificial intelligence.
  • Do not use images or illustrations that contain text.

Always add alternative text (alt text) for images that convey meaningful information. Leave the alt text empty only for purely decorative images.

See UiB’s graphic profile for more guidelines on image use

Video

You can add videos from Panopto, Vimeo, and YouTube. All videos must meet the requirements for audio description.

Note: We recommend Panopto or Vimeo for videos with traditional audio description, since YouTube currently does not support uploading a separate audio track.

Text structure and formatting

Good structure makes it easier for the reader to understand and navigate the content

Headings

  • The article title is automatically Heading 1.
  • Use Heading 2 for the main level in the text, Heading 3 for the level below.
  • Don’t skip levels (e.g. from Heading 2 directly to Heading 4).
  • Headings should be short, precise, and informative.

Lists

  • Use bullet points or numbered lists to highlight individual points.
  • Keep the points short and concise.
  • Avoid nested lists (lists within lists).
  • Limit the number of points per list.

Links

  • Don’t include more links than necessary.
  • Minimize links leading away from uib.no.
  • Only link to pages that are relevant to the content.
  • The link text should always describe the destination of the link – avoid “click here.”

 

Part 2: Publishing tool
Here you get an overview of all the fields you can fill in when creating or editing an article in the publishing tool.

Page settings

Version log

Write a short summary of what you changed in this version, e.g. “Updated images and contact info.” This is used for internal tracking only.

Placement in structure (required)

Choose which parent page this article should be placed under. This controls the site’s hierarchy and navigation.

Validity period (required)

Choose how long the article is relevant: 1 year, 3 years, or 5 years. If you don’t update the article before the deadline, it will be automatically unpublished.

Notification email (required)

Provide an email address that should receive a notification as the update deadline approaches. You’ll receive the notification one month before the deadline.

Original publication date

Shows the date the page was first published. You can override the date manually if you need to set an earlier publication date. Note: the date cannot be set forward in time. Use “Schedule publishing” for that.

Schedule publishing

Fill in the date and time, and select “Save as draft” to schedule publishing. Leave the field empty for immediate publishing.

Metadata (SEO)

Add a meta title and meta description if the title or lead text is long. These texts appear in search engines and help Google and users understand the content.

  • Meta title: shown in search engines (max 60 characters).
  • Meta description: shown in search results (max 160 characters).

Main content

Title (required)

Write a short, descriptive title. The title automatically becomes the page’s Heading 1 and appears in search results and the browser tab.

Lead text (required)

Write a short lead text that summarizes the article (max 900 characters). The lead text appears in search results and is the reader’s first impression.

Authors

Click “Add author” to add one or more authors. Both internal and external authors can be added.

Main image (required)

  • Upload a main image via the media library.
  • You can choose whether the image should be shown in the article or only in previews.
  • Check “Hide image in article” if you don’t want it shown directly in the text.
  • Always fill in alternative text for accessibility.
  • The image will always be shown in the news archive, regardless of the setting above.

Main content (required)

Write the main part of the article here. Use the formatting tools: headings (Heading 2/Heading 3), lists, links, and images. Follow the editorial guidelines above when structuring and quality-checking the content.

Fact box

Click “Add fact box” to add one or more fact boxes. Each fact box must have a title and content. Use the arrows to change the order.

Related content

You can add up to 10 links to related content. Write a short, descriptive text (max 350 characters) that appears under the heading “Related content.” For each link, enter both the URL and the text it should be linked with.