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Office of Marketing and Communications

Web Branding Guidelines

Any website created on behalf of the university, including when grant funds are awarded to the university, must comply with the UAB website brand guidelines outlined below and digital accessibility standards.

  • UAB websites must be hosted an an official UAB-approved Content Management System (CMS), either Joomla or WordPress.
  • UAB will provide free hosting of your site on Joomla or WordPress.
  • Domain name registrations and transfers for all domain names held by users across campus are managed by MarComm and charged back to the appropriate GL account.
  • Current web guidelines do not allow outside vendors to perform web work for the university with the exception of Superpath and Shawn Wright. In addition, UAB has a defined process through our Master Service Agreements (MSA) when working with outside agencies.

Required elements for all UAB websites

Header

At the very top of UAB websites, you'll see a full-width green bar with the UAB logo. This bar is standardized for any website hosted by UAB, whether on Joomla or WordPress. This header must be visible and not manipulated.

Joomla Header

joomla header

Joomla Heersink School of Medicine Header

joomla hsom header

WordPress Header

wordpress header

Footer

All UAB-hosted website footers, whether Joomla or WordPress, must be the pre-built, standardized footer. This footer contains a UAB Logo, text-only link, links to our Privacy website and Terms of Use, and our copyright. There is also an Equal Opportunities statement required by law. This footer must be visible and not manipulated.

Joomla Footer

joomla footer

Joomla Heersink School of Medicine Footer

joomla hsom footer

WordPress Footer

wordpress footer

Fonts

UAB websites should use our standard UAB fonts, which are available in Adobe Typekit or licensed from Adobe Creative Cloud.

Colors

Our standard UAB colors should be incorporated into all UAB websites. For research websites, you may use additional colors that complement the UAB color pallet to help distinguish the research study. The color red should be avoided unless it has symbolic meaning related to the research study and should only be used as an accent color.

Accessibility

All standards outlined on the Digital Accessibility website must be met.

UAB research websites

For UAB research websites where UAB is part of a multi-site study:

  • The UAB standardized header (full-width green bar with the UAB logo) may be removed for research studies that are being conducted with other universities and institutions outside of UAB.
  • The UAB standardized footer containing the UAB logo, text-only link, links to our Privacy website and Terms of Use, our copyright, and Equal Opportunities statement required by law must be visible and not manipulated.
  • Fonts and colors are flexible on multi-site research study websites as long as web accessibility standards are being met.
  • If you are displaying a third-party logo of another university or institution outside of UAB on the website, you must receive written permission from the university or institution for their logo to be displayed on a UAB-hosted website.

Guidance for non‑UAB hosted content

All UAB content should live on an official UAB website. If your content is currently hosted outside of UAB’s two supported platforms, please contact the Web team at go.uab.edu/websupport to discuss creating an official UAB website.

FAQs

  • Why do I need UAB branding on my website?

    According to university web policy, all UAB websites are required to meet minimum brand standards. UAB branding communicates our image and identity; and proper branding affects our ability to recruit and retain the best students, faculty, and staff.  Additionally, UAB branding ensures that audiences are able to easily associate your work or services with the university.

    UAB's Web team is charged with maintaining an online strategy with a clear set of best practices to simplify access, navigation, and search; promote high-quality web design; incorporate social networking; and uphold security. Web content hosted on UAB platforms is copyright of UAB. Additionally, UAB website footers always include necessary legal disclaimers.

  • What can I change/alter on my UAB website?

    If you are using a UAB-hosted website, it must remain within UAB's brand standards outlined above. But as the manager of your UAB website, you have creative control over content, layout, navigation, user experience, etc. and may alter your site's:

    • Copy
    • Navigation / menu items
    • Images
    • Page design and layout

    If you are building out a UAB Joomla website, you can find more information for support and training on page updates on https://www.uab.edu/marcomm/services/web/joomla. This training can help you feel more comfortable and confident implementing different page layouts and design features on your website.

    To learn more on building out pages and content on a UAB WordPress website, go to https://www.uab.edu/marcomm/services/web/wordpress. WordPress also has great options and opportunities to customize your page layouts and give your site a custom and modern user experience design.

  • What can I not change/alter on my UAB website?

    Because UAB websites are required to meet the brand standards listed above, some elements of the page cannot be altered. These elements include:

    • Header at top of page*
    • Footer at bottom (includes required UAB logo, Privacy, Terms of Use, Copyright, and Equal Opportunities statement)
    • Fonts
    • Colors

    Additionally, altering the website's CSS to override required branding is not permitted.

    *Special initiatives comprised of multiple, non-UAB entities may be allowed to remove UAB branding from the header, though branding will be maintained in the footer. These special instances will be evaluated by the Office of Marketing and Communications on a case by case basis. Please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. about custom branding options for your website.

  • May I use UAB branding on a personal, non-UAB website?

    Launching a personal website presenting as an official UAB website is never permitted. To ensure authenticity and eliminate public confusion, only true sites hosted by UAB may feature UAB's brand elements. UAB funds cannot be used to launch unofficial or official websites outside of UAB approved vendors.

  • Is there an alternative to having the green bar at the top of my UAB website?

    Special initiatives comprised of multiple, non-UAB entities may be allowed to remove UAB branding from the header, though branding will be maintained in the footer. These special instances will evaluated by UAB Web team on a case by case basis. For these exceptions, a neutral grey UAB branded footer (below) may be used.

    alternative UAB footer
  • What if I don't think my website should be UAB branded?

    According to university web policy, all UAB websites are required to meet minimum brand standards. If the website is hosted on a UAB platform, UAB branding will be integrated by default. Websites for programs, projects, initiatives, studies, or campaigns supported by UAB funds - including 3rd party awarded funds - are still required to be UAB hosted and branded. 

  • How can I keep the content on my UAB website accessible?

    Please see our Digital Accessibilty website for more information on UAB's standards for web accessibility.

  • What are the branding parameters for sites built on the uab.edu domain but not within the UAB Joomla or WordPress platforms?

    Non-Joomla or WordPress sites built on the uab.edu domain require special approval from UAB's Web team prior to building. If approved, these sites must include the current university logo and avoid violating any UAB brand standards. Once built, the site must be reviewed and approved by UAB's Web team prior to launch to ensure branding is acceptable.