Web Policy Guidelines for External Websites

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When is an external website permitted, how is it approved, and what requirements apply to its commissioning and operation?

Site Map

Principle

All University of Kassel websites are generally managed centrally through the university’s own content management system, TYPO3. For ongoing external management: The online editorial team must be granted access to the website.

Planning an external website with an external agency is only considered in exceptionally justified cases.

Requirements

An external website can be planned for research projects that meet the following criteria:

1. Project duration
The project has a documented total duration of at least four years.

2. Large-scale research project or collaborative initiative
The project is a large-scale research project or collaborativeinitiative that contributes to structural development and is funded by third-party grants.

These include, in particular:

  • Clusters of Excellence, Collaborative Research Centers (SFB), and Graduate Colleges (GRK) of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
  • Excellence projects of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD)
  • Käte Hamburger Colleges and comparable high-level funding programs
  • Collaborative projects involving multiple universities and non-university research institutions

3. Funding Agency Requirement
The funding agency requires that a project website be operated within other systems and/or independently of the university’s website.

4. Ongoing Responsibility
The total funding for the project includes an administrative coordination office or a comparable function for the entire duration of the project. The project management ensures that this office assumes ongoing responsibility for maintaining the website and ensuring its timeliness and quality.

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Approval

  1. Coordinate the project The planned external website will be coordinated with the Communications and Marketing Department.
  2. Obtain approval Approval is granted by the head of the Communications and Marketing Department.
  3. Review the contract The contract with the external service provider is reviewed by the Communications and Marketing Department before it is signed.

What are the terms and conditions for the contract?

The conception, design, and technical implementation of external websites may be awarded exclusively to agencies listed on the official pool list maintained by the Communications and Marketing Office.

The agencies listed in the pool have the necessary expertise regarding the university’s corporate design as well as the applicable guidelines on accessibility, data protection, and IT security.

The total costs must be calculated over the website’s entire lifecycle.

In addition to development costs, all ongoing costs—such as those for long-term support contracts, technical updates, and hosting—must be fully covered by the project budget.

  • The website is hosted within the European Union.
  • The domain name must be approved in advance by the Communications and Marketing Office.
  • The University of Kassel logo must be included with a link.
  • The connection to the University of Kassel must be clearly stated in a prominent location within the text.

A page with an overview of the research project or research consortium will be created on the University of Kassel’s website. A link to the external website will be included on this page.

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Requirements for External Service Providers

The following technical and organizational requirements must be specified in the contract:

The agency must commit to providing technical maintenance for the website throughout the entire project period, ensuring it remains fully functional and receiving the necessary security updates.

The agency must implement search engine optimization in accordance with current standards.

Content must be consistently semantically enriched using structured data, such as Schema.org markup for research projects, publications, or individuals.

The goal is to ensure that research results from the University of Kassel are easily discoverable and machine-readable, even in AI-powered search environments.

The service provider must contractually guarantee that the programming and design comply with the requirements of the Accessible Information Technology Ordinance (BITV) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).

  • The website must be secured in accordance with the current state of the art.
  • The guidelines issued by the Federal Office for Information Security for web applications are binding on the agency.
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Personal Responsibility in Legal Matters

Compliance with all legal requirements is the sole responsibility of the contracting organization or the respective project management.

When working with external service providers, you are responsible for ensuring that all legal requirements under the General Data Protection Regulation and the Digital Services Act are met.

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Checklist

  1. 1.Before Placing an Order

    • The requirements for an external website have been reviewed.
    • Approval has been granted by the management of the Communications and Marketing Department.
    • The agency is listed on the official pool list.
    • All costs for development, hosting, support, and technical updates are included in the project budget.
    • Hosting and the domain have been finalized.
    • The logo, links, and textual references to the University of Kassel are planned.
    • The profile page on the University of Kassel’s website is planned.
    • Support, SEO, structured data, accessibility, and IT security are contractually regulated.
    • The project management team will ensure compliance with legal requirements.
    • Access for the online editorial team is planned.
    • The contract was reviewed and approved by the Communications and Marketing Office prior to signing.
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