This page is part of the California Department of Education (CDE) Web Design Standards, which only apply to specific CDE Web sites. Visit the CDE Web Standards to determine if these standards apply to a specific Web product (Web site, Web page, Web document, or Web application) that has been developed by or for the CDE.
Most Web pages (not including Web applications) on all CDE Web sites are created using Adobe's Contribute software templates. WebNETS, which is a custom software application that was created by CDE staff, is also necessary in order to create and process most Web pages on the CDE's public Internet site. Portions of these standards, where noted, apply only to CDE users of Contribute or WebNETS software; or to Web application developers.
Special characters that are not entered into a Web page correctly will prevent a page from validating. When the following characters are used in body text, or in links, please use the character entity for the special character:
Special Character Name |
Special Character Symbol |
Character Entity |
|---|---|---|
Ampersand |
& |
& |
Non-breaking space |
|
|
Less than |
< |
< |
Greater than |
> |
> |
Section sign |
§ |
§ |
Copyright |
© |
© |
Plus or minus |
± |
± |
There are many other character entities that can be referenced in any comprehensive HTML guide, or on the Web. Simply search for "HTML Character Entities.”
For Contribute Users
Contribute handles the inclusion of most special characters without needing to work with character entities. However, there are two instances where Contribute users will have to consider special characters.
Special Characters in Links
When special characters are included in links (URLs), validation errors will occur. Contribute users must replace each instance of the special character with the corresponding character entity. Most often that means replacing each:
"&" with "&"
Pasting From a Word Document
The use of the following special characters will prevent pages from validating when they are pasted from a Word document. Do not paste them from Word into Contribute, because they will cause errors and will need to be replaced manually.
Smart quotes (“ ”)
En dashes ( – )
Em dashes ( — )
The Trademark symbol ( ™ )
The ellipsis ( … )
The single opening quote ( ` )
When working in Contribute, all special characters that are inserted from the "Insert" menu do not cause validation errors because Contribute adds them as character entities.
Additional Information
| Link | Description |
|---|---|
| Text Styles | The Text Styles section of the Design Standards is comprehensive with regard to the type, size, color, and placement of text in Web pages and applications. |
