Website Content and Structure

The Lewis Middle School website consists of the "main" website (home page and supporting pages) and several linked "custom" or individual websites. The main website is being overhauled and is now based upon a template that provides an updated and standard user interface. Whenever the template is changed, all pages based upon it are also changed. New webpages that match the theme of the main site can be easily created using the template. Use of the tempate is encouraged as it promotes a common look across the entire site and facilitates maintenance.

Custom portions of the site are linked to the main home page through the navigation menu on the left. This consolidates links and makes it easier for users to find information. All links to custom content on the Lewis website are now opened in a separate window. This helps users navigate the main site and maintains the individuality of custom portions of the site.

The main website is located under the /webpages/ subdirectory of the SANDI.NET webspace for Lewis. Custom portions of the site should be hosted or located under a separate directory (folder) made at the same level as the root directory (/webpages/). This keeps the root directory uncluttered and facilitates overall website maintenance and development. For example, if a staff member desires to create a new website or custom set of webpages for a science project on the planet Mars, then he/she should create a directory called PlanetMars at the same level as the root website directory. Then all content related to the project should go in subdirectories or subfolders under the PlanetMars directory (e.g., /webpages/PlanetMars/images/).

Website Development

The main Lewis Middle School website was created and is maintained using Macromedia Dreamweaver MX 2004. A Dreamweaver template has been created to facilitate making web pages with a standard format. To make a new web page using the template follow the general steps below:

1. Open the Dreamweaver program.
2. Make sure that you have the Lewis website correctly configured; Site/Manage Sites.
3. Create a new web page; File/New/Templates.
4. Choose the starthereblankpage template file.
5. Make sure that the Updte page when teplate changes check box is checked.
6. Add a page title in the editable section at the top of the new webpage.
7. Add content in the editable section below the title.

General Guidelines

For individual websites, all content should go in a new subdirectory off of the main website directory. Image files should be kept in a subdirectory labeled images. The main page for individual websites should be called index.html for consistency purposes. Links back into the main Lewis website should be made to the home page, http://www.lewis.edu.

All HTML documents should have the extension .html for proper filing. Directory names should be in all lowercase letters.

When using the standard template, the standard styles should be used in order to maintain the look and feel of the rest of the site. Body Subtitle should lead a major section on a page, while Body Text should be used for text within a section.

Please do not modify the main website unless you are familiar with the content and layout of the site. Changing the main website should be done in coordination with the webmaster.

Office Webpages

General office (department/staff) webpages can be updated by changing a single HTML file. The files for each office are given in the table below. Each of these files is located in the SANDI.NET Lewis webspace under the following subdirectories:

Website Change History