Turning Your Site Over to a Student
It's tempting to transfer the task of website administration to a summer student. Don't do it...unless you budget time in the fall to untangle and decode what's been done.

Linkmania
Don't create links that just go to pages of other links. If you're doing this, it usually indicates that you don't have enough original content on your site.

Too Many Options
Local navigation options (the links contained in the left-hand menu) should be kept to a minimum. Good navigation is about helping people find what they're looking for, not providing them with an overwhelming number of choices. As a rule of thumb, your site should have three major navigation categories or fewer, with a maximum of seven links per category. You don't like reading long menu lists and neither do your users.

Link Surprise
If your link goes to a PDF file or other file type which requires plug-in software which the user may or may not have installed, warn them first by including the file type in parentheses.

Near-Empty Pages
Web pages which have only one or two sentences on them don't contain enough information to warrant a stand-alone page. Incorporate those one or two sentences into another page.

Content Re-creation
Unless there's a compelling reason to do so, don't copy and paste content from another website into your own. If you do, you're eliminating one of the web's best features...the ability to point to a site that someone else is maintaining. Also, when you recreate content found somewhere else, you obligate yourself to maintain your version and ensure that your site is in sync with the original.

Animated Graphics
These were popular at the dawn of the internet age, but are now regarded as signs of an amateur site.

Hyperemphasis
Emphasize only those parts of your page which are truly critical or important with bolding, italics or other special decoration. If everything is emphasized, nothing is.

Don't Shout
In the on-screen world, anything that's in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS is interpreted as screaming. Draw attention to especially important content by using italics or bold lettering. Use special formatting sparingly (see "hyperemphasis" above).

Hot News!
Unless you're prepared to update any section of your website called "Hot News!" on a regular basis, e.g., daily or weekly, don't even bother adding such a section. If the news that you're billing as "hot" is obviously stale, users will conclude that the site is poorly maintained and will question the timeliness of all of your content.

Window Popping
Don't force a new browser window to open from a link for no reason. Pop-up actions should be used sparingly or reserved for links that point to sites outside of Brookhaven.

Subspecialized Identity
If your organization or department already has an established website header graphic, don't create a separate visual identity for your subgroup; use the existing identity.

Things that Are Easily Found Elsewhere
In keeping with the idea that users are coming to your website for information specific to your program, don't include links to common information that is easily found elsewhere, for example, links to Google, Yahoo or the schedule for the Long Island Railroad.

"This Site Under Construction"
By their very nature, websites are always under construction. Don't bother with providing an empty link which is labeled "under construction" or "coming soon"; it doesn't get users to check back later, it causes them to go away and never come back. Advertise content, not a lack of it.