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What name should I give to a file that I want to publish on my web site?
Here are a couple of simple guidelines for naming files that you intend to publish on your web site.
Before you send a file to your web team to publish on your web site:
- Choose a simple and descriptive name for the document. "SmithSchoolReport-11-2-2007.pdf" is better than "Smith.final.updated.JM 11-2.pdf". The first file name is simple and descriptive, while the second is a little cryptic and reveals perhaps too much of the internal editing process.
- These days it is possible to use spaces in file names, but I recommend against it, because a web browser will fill in a space with the characters "%20", so that a file named Education Report April 2007.doc becomes Education%20Report%20April%202007.doc. That file name is a little hard to read and recognize. Therefore, when you name a web site file, you should omit spaces.
- To summarize, keep a file name simple and descriptive, add a publication date in the file name itself, and omit spaces. These practices will help you to organize and your web site visitors to find your documents.