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IBM web standards ensure design excellence along with the technical and legal compliance.

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With over 20 million pages on IBM’s domain, governance and adherence to standards are paramount. The checklist herein provides access to more detailed mandatory standards for design and development as well as guidelines to help ensure the highest possible quality objectives are followed.

Mandatory Standards

Page layout & design

The page layout and design standards apply to all external facing IBM webpages to ensure consistency and adhere to the IBM brand.

Legal & compliance

These standards are required for externally-facing pages so that IBM is compliant with data privacy regulations and is legally protected from potential fines.

Tracking & tagging

Site Analytics, Cookie Consent and Tag Management are required capabilities for all IBM-owned web pages.

URLs & domains

IBM has a standardized navigation and URL structure to support and improve discoverability across our site.

Browser standards

The official list of browser type, level and devices for which all IBM Web applications should support.

Cookie standards

This is a technical standard establishing requirements for the creation, use, and format of cookies created in conjunction with IBM Web content and applications.

Third-party hosting

Prior to using a third-party hosting resource, you must involve your IBM brand or division lawyer to review the Terms of Use of the site.

Quality Guidelines

Social media

Social media enables users to share information, communicate and connect.

SEO

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) helps search engines understand page content and then rank pages according to that content as higher or lower than other similar pages.

Content & authoring

IBM content should be written with clear and compelling messaging and error free.

Contact module

The Contact Module gives users a variety of ways to contact IBM using features like Let's Talk, Schedule a Consult, or email.

Resources

Visit Carbon for IBM.com website
Join conversation on #carbon-for-ibm-dotcom
Sign up for Carbon for IBM.com Design Office Hours
Sign up for Carbon for IBM.com Engineering Office Hours

Inquiries

Web standards are reviewed and updated as needed annually. For inquiries about a standard or guideline, please open a new issue in our Github repository with relevant details about your question that will be directed to the Governance board.


Create a Github issue