Hi All,

University Relations is getting back to updating the standard headers and
footers for U websites, which will then be rolled into an updated version of
the web templates. We'll be using HTML5 and CSS3 (very sparingly for the
headers/footers, given the design). Since most or all of you have had some
experience with the U's header and footer, or full-fledged templates, we'd
like to get some input on your experiences with the current setup so we can
improve on it while also figuring out what the big wants and needs are.

Note that the standard appearance of the headers and footers won't be
changing, though keep in mind that you have flexibility in background colors
for the header and footer and some flexibility in link styles/states. For
the moment we'd like to keep this primarily focused on the header and footer
and from there move on to the templates.

Some notes and questions:

   - We'd like to standardize the header/footer code and keep it in sync
   with the templates.
   - We'd like to use HTML5 Boilerplate <http://html5boilerplate.com/>
(HTML5BP)
   with the templates, and possibly as a starting point for the header and
   footer itself. This would imply a standard CSS reset (now "normalization" in
   HTML5 Boilerplate 2). You could use another reset in addition to what's out
   there if you were so inclined, or replace the standard reset (normalize)
   with your own preference if it maintains consistent rendering. Whaddaya
   think?
   - What options, if any, are you interested in for site widths? 960 has
   been our standard and we expect will continue to be, for now.
      - Are their other widths that would be useful? (i.e. 974 for YUI
      grids)
      - Fluid width (non-responsive)?
      - Responsive<http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/>
      ?
   - What else?
      - Biggest desire?
      - Distribution? SCM users (Git or SVN)? Would a public repo be helpful
      for anyone, in addition to straight downloads? It'd certainly be
helpful for
      UR as we make changes over time, but would it be helpful for you?

All of this is open for now and we'd like to know what would be useful
before we dive in. Throw it out here for discussion, or off-list to
[log in to unmask] We'd like to keep this at a high level for now.

Also, there are some HTML5 elements in the new header and footer for the
home page, but pay no attention to the coding itself, that's certainly going
to change. That said, if you've taken a stab at redoing the U's header and
footer in HTML5 yourself we'd love to see your approach.


-- 
Peter Wiringa, Electronic Communications Specialist
University Relations, University of Minnesota
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