Web site handbook > Development standards > XHTML document structure
XHTML document structure
This is an explaination of XHTML document structure. Do NOT copy the code on this page to create Web pages. Instead, use a template to create a new Web page. Documents must be validated and all errors corrected before posting to the public Web site.
- Document type declaration
- HTML element XML namespace declaration
- Head element
- Meta information
- Document title
- Stylesheet
- Javascript document
- Body element
- Frame div
- "Top" anchor and skip navigation link
- Global navigation div
- Content anchor
- Content div
- Sub-navigation div
- Footer div
Document type declaration
Do NOT edit this element.
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd">
HTML element XML namespace declaration
Do NOT edit this element.
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
Head element
The head element is closed before the body element.
<head>
Meta information
Content type
Do NOT edit the http-equiv-"Content-Type" meta element.
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" />
Author
Enter the document author's name in the content attribute of the meta name="author" element.
<meta name="author" content="Author Name" />
Document title
Refer to the style guide for document title guidelines.
<title>Document title - Multnomah County Library </title>
Stylesheet
Javascript document
Do NOT edit this element. This links to the base Javascript document for the entire site. It must be included in every XHTML document.
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/JavaScript" src="/_scripts/base.js"></script>
Body element
The body element follows the head element. There are no attributes or event handlers.
</head>
<body>
Frame div
Included in every Web page, the frame div is essential for correct page layout.
<div id="frame">
"Top" anchor and skip navigation link
These are included in every Web page.
<a name="top" id="top"></a><a href="#content" id="skipnav">skip navigation links</a>
Global navigation div
Do NOT edit the contents of this div. Global navigation is included on every Web page.
<div id="globalnav">
<div id="logo"><a href="/"><img src="/images/logo-blue.gif" alt="Multnomah County Library home" width="112" height="50" /></a></div>
<div id="globalactions">
<div id="search">
<form action="http://catalog.multcolib.org/search/a?a" method="post" name="search">
<input type="hidden" name="searchtype" value="Y" />
<input type="text" size="25" maxlength="75" name="searcharg" class="terms" />
<input type="hidden" name="SORT" value="R" />
<input type="hidden" name="searchscope" value="1" />
<input type="submit" value="Search catalog" name="submit" class="searchbutton" />
</form>
</div>
<ul class="col">
<li class="gna1"><a href="http://catalog.multcolib.org/patroninfo" id="gnaccount">Log in</a></li>
<li><a href="/search.html" id="gnsearch">Search this site</a></li>
<li><a href="/libros/" id="gnlibros">Español</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="col">
<li class="gna1"><a href="/hours/" id="gnhours">Hours & locations</a></li>
<li><a href="/about/" id="gnabout">About the library</a></li>
<li><a href="/contact/" id="gncontact">Contact us</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="mainnav">
<ul>
<li><a href="http://catalog.multcolib.org" id="gncatalog"> CATALOG </a></li>
<li><a href="/ref/" id="gnresearch"> RESEARCH </a></li>
<li><a href="/services/" id="gnservices"> SERVICES </a></li>
<li><a href="/books/" id="gnreaders"> READERS </a></li>
<li><a href="/kids/" id="gnkids"> KIDS </a></li>
<li><a href="/teens/" id="gnteens"> TEENS </a></li>
<li class="nobg"><a href="/events/" id="gnevents"> EVENTS & CLASSES </a></li>
</ul>
</div>
</div>
Content anchor
<a name="content"></a>
Content div
All page content is placed inside the div with id "content". Custom classes may be applied to the content div if needed.
<div id="content" class="fullscreen">
</div>
Sub-navigation div
Refer to navigation system for sub-navigation editing instructions.
<div id="subnav">
<h2><a href="/agcy/cen.html" id="central">Central Library</a></h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="/agcy/cenflrpln.html" id="cenflrpln">Floor plans</a></li>
<li><a href="/events/collins/index.html" id="collins">Collins Gallery</a>
<ul id="sncollins">
<li><a href="/events/collins/policy.html" id="policy">Policy</a></li>
<li><a href="/events/collins/collins-app.html" id="collins-app">Application</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/about/mcl-wilson.html" id="wilson">John Wilson Room</a>
<ul id="snwilson">
<li><a href="/about/mcl-wilsonfw.html" id="mcl-wilsonfw">Featured works</a></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><a href="/about/mcl-sterling.html" id="sterling">Sterling Room for Writers</a></li>
</ul>
</div>
Footer div
Do NOT edit the footer. The footer is included on every Web page.
<div id="footer">
<ul class="inline">
<li><a href="/index.html">Home</a> <span>|</span> </li>
<li><a href="http://catalog.multcolib.org/patroninfo">My account</a> <span>|</span></li>
<li><a href="/search.html">Search this site</a> <span>|</span> </li>
<li><a href="/contact/">Contact us</a></li>
</ul>
<ul class="inline">
<li><a href="/privacy/">Privacy policy</a> <span>|</span> </li>
<li><a href="http://www.co.multnomah.or.us/">Multnomah County</a> <span>|</span> </li>
<li>Last updated:
<script language="JavaScript" type="text/javascript" src="/_scripts/timestamp.js"></script>
</li>
</ul>
<ul class="inline">
<li>©2007 Multnomah County Library</li>
</ul>
</div>
<!-- footer end -->
</div>
<!-- frame end -->
</body>
</html>