Domain Name Guidelines

Domain names communicate Florida State University’s image and reputation to the public. To ensure that university-related domain names support the Florida State brand and align with university goals, Information Technology Services (ITS) and University Communications oversee the creation of university domain names. The following guidelines outline the approval and registration process for obtaining university domain names.

See Terminology below for website and domain name definitions referenced in this document.

Domain Name Requests

Units that support the university may apply for a domain name – such as unitname.fsu.edu – including:

• Academic units
• Administrative units
• Institutes, departments and centers
• Non-student organizations
• Enterprise applications (e.g. OMNI, myFSU portal)
• University-wide initiatives (e.g. capital campaign, presidential search) University-wide services (e.g. Webmail, news)

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Domain Name Guidelines

Before requesting a domain name, please make sure it fits the following requirements:

• Fits the format unitname.fsu.edu
• Is intuitive and accurately describes a unit’s affiliation with Florida State
• Is short and memorable
• Does not cause confusion with the name of another university unit or service Reflects the nature or purpose of the website
• Is not for a one-time purpose
• Consists of two or more letters
• Is the only third-level domain name for the unit
• Is approved by the requesting unit’s dean or director

Journal domains: The journal would need to be affiliated with a college/institution/department (for example, journal.cfa.fsu.edu). In this example, the journal exists under the College of Fine Arts (CFA) within Florida State’s website. The naming convention is journal.[unit’s short code/abbreviation].fsu.edu.

Request a Domain Name

To request a domain name, please follow the steps below.

1. Select a Domain Name
   Work with University Communications to select a tactical and brand-approved domain name.
   • Submit a case to:
     FSU Marketing > Web Addressing (Emails and Subdomains)
   • Provide the following information:
     • Domain name
       - If an acronym is being used, please spell out acronym.
     • Describe affiliation with Florida State
     • Details about what the service is for
     • Target audience
   • Brand Review meets Mondays to discuss the previous week's submissions. A follow-up meeting is held later in the week to review case issues.
2. Build a Domain Name
   Contact ITS Core Networking to build a brand-approved domain name.
   • Submit a case to IT Services
   • Provide the following information:
     • Domain name

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Non-FSU.edu Domain Name Registration

Units using Florida State funds to register non-FSU.edu domain names must register those domain names through IT Services. This includes domain names incorporating some form of “FSU” (such as FSUNews.com) and domain names for projects, event registrations, sponsored projects, etc., even if they do not incorporate any form of “FSU” in the domain name.

Register a non-FSU.edu domain name

1. Submit a case to IT Services
2. Provide the following information:
   • Domain name

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University Standard

Any domain name that includes “fsu.edu” or the name of a university unit or affiliated group is a trademarked asset of Florida State University and the material on the site is copyrighted.

Websites for university units should be organized as third-level domain names. To prevent the dilution of the overarching fsu.edu domain, Florida State University encourages the use of a subdirectory rather than a fourth-level domain. Websites for affiliations of university units and non-unit entities, including programs and events, should be hosted under an existing domain name as a subdirectory.

T	program.unitname.fsu.edu Top-level Domain highest level of hierarchy in a website address that groups pages under a common suffix
2	program.unitname.fsu.edu Second-level Domain part of website address that groups pages under a common domain. Second-level domains identify the overarching organization.
3	program.unitname.fsu.edu Third-level Domain part of website address that appears immediately to the left of the second-level domain. At Florida State, third-level domains are used for university colleges, departments and units, or a service that encompasses all of campus.
4	program.unitname.fsu.edu Fourth-level Domain part of website address that appears immediately to the left of the third-level domain. At Florida State, a subdirectory is encouraged over a fourth-level domain however there are technical instances where a subdirectory will not suffice.
S	unitname.fsu.edu/program Subdirectory part of website address that appears with a forward slash immediately to the right of the top-level domain. At Florida State, subdirectories are used for affiliations of university colleges, departments and units, and websites for non-unit entities, including programs and events.

Florida State’s hybrid solution for the organization of university domain names combines the use of third- level domains and subdirectories. While subdirectories are considered a website best practice, all websites organized as subdirectories must be hosted on the same server, or storage space. The vastness of the Florida State University website does not allow all university websites to be retrofitted to be stored on a single server. Therefore, Florida State follows other university best practices and uses third-level domain names for university colleges, departments and units, and subdirectories for affiliations of university units and websites for non-unit entities, including programs and events.

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Top-Level Domain

Florida State University has chosen “.edu” as the university’s official domain as it most clearly represents the mission of the university. Individual units are encouraged to use the “fsu.edu” domain as it provides several value-added advantages:

• Reinforces Florida State University brand
• Shows credibility that the website is an official site of Florida State
• Appears in fsu.edu website search results
• Shortens to a branded fla.st URL using Florida State’s URL shortening service

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Domain Extensions

Florida State strongly discourages units from using domain extensions other than “.edu” (e.g. .com, .science, .sports, .giving) as they deliver no real value. However, a university unit may choose to purchase relevant domain extensions to “squat” on a site to reserve the domain from adverse use by an unrelated party. If purchased, domain extensions are not intended to be operational. Domains are registered for a 10-year period, and units are responsible for all costs to register or renew.

Contact ITS Core Networking to register and purchase a brand-approved domain extension.

• Submit a case to IT Services
• Provide the following information:
  • Domain name
• An FSU P-Card is required for all domain name purchases

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Terminology

All websites have addresses, or domain names, that direct people where they want to go on the Internet. Florida State University’s domain, “fsu.edu,” takes users to the Florida State homepage. From there, thousands of other Florida State sites branch off for individual colleges, departments, units and services. Read the vocabulary below to familiarize yourself with website terminology and domain name hierarchy.