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LibGuides Best Practices

Standards for creating useful, usable, and accessible guides.

Pages

Organize your guide and make it easy to navigate.

Quick Reference for Pages

  • Top-Level Pages — 
  • Sub-Pages — If your guide has a lot of content, you can create sub-pages under your top level pages. Just make sure that the content of your sub-page makes sense under your top level page.
  • Edit Your Page Settings — 

General guidelines:

  • Keep pages relatively short — In general, it is best to avoid long scrolling pages. Consider breaking your content up and creating additional pages based on topic or resource type.
  • Match your page name with the first H2 on your page — This will help orient users and assure them they are on the right page of your guide.

Getting There

  1. Log into LibGuides https://usfca.libapps.com/libguides/.
  2. Select  Content > Guides and click the Edit  icon for the guide you want to edit.
  3. Click the Add new page  icon to add a new top-level or sub-level page to your guide.

Top-Level Pages

A top-level page appears in your guide’s side navigation menu.

Use top-level pages for broad topics or main sections. Each should cover a distinct area of content that stands on its own while supporting the guide’s overall theme.

Best Practices

  • Provide orientation — Each top-level page should include an introduction or overview so users understand its purpose right away
  • Limit the number — Aim for 5–7 top-level pages to avoid overwhelming users with too many choices
  • Use clear, concise labels — Choose brief, descriptive titles (e.g., “Find Articles” instead of “Resources for Finding Journal Articles”)
  • Order logically — Arrange top-level pages in a way that reflects a natural workflow or learning sequence, especially when guiding users through a process
  • Keep content broad — Reserve top-level pages for broader themes; use sub-pages for more specific or related content

Springshare Documentation

Sub-Pages

A sub-page is nested under a top-level page and appears when the top-level page is selected.

Use sub-pages to organize supporting or related content that expands on the main topic. They help reduce clutter by breaking up detailed information into manageable sections.

Best Practices

  • Avoid over-nesting — Keep sub-pages to no more than 5–7 per section; too much navigation is disorienting
    • Important! — Avoid combining sub-pages and box-level navigation within the same guide
  • Use clear, concise labels — Choose brief, descriptive titles for sub-pages
  • Surface important content — Don’t hide essential or high-use content deep in sub-pages; if it's critical, consider moving it to a top-level page
  • Group related content logically — Use sub-pages to break up complex or detailed topics into manageable, related sections.
  • Ensure consistency — Apply a similar layout and style across all sub-pages to support user familiarity and ease of use.

Springshare Documentation

Edit Your Page Settings

  • Edit the name of your page
  • Change the visibility of your page
  • Reorder or change the position of your page

Springshare Documentation