Provide metadata for both human users and computer applications.

Provide metadata that describes the overall features of datasets and distributions.

Provide metadata about locale parameters (date, time, and number formats, language).

Provide metadata that describes the schema and internal structure of a distribution.

Provide a link to or copy of the license agreement that controls use of the data.

Provide complete information about the origins of the data and any changes you have made.

Provide information about data quality and fitness for particular purposes.

Assign and indicate a version number or date for each dataset.

Provide a complete version history that explains the changes made in each version.

Identify each dataset by a carefully chosen, persistent URI.

Reuse other people's URIs as identifiers within datasets where possible.

Assign URIs to individual versions of datasets as well as to the overall series.

Make data available in a machine-readable, standardized data format that is well suited to its intended or potential use.

Make data available in multiple formats when more than one format suits its intended or potential use.

Standardized terms should be used to provide data and metadata.

Use terms from shared vocabularies, preferably standardized ones, to encode data and metadata.

When reusing a vocabulary, opt for a level of formal semantics that fits both the data and its applications.

For data that is not open, provide an explanation about how the data can be accessed and who can access it.

Enable consumers to retrieve the full dataset with a single request.

If your dataset is large, enable users and applications to readily work with useful subsets of your data.

Best Practice 21: Use content negotiation for serving data available in multiple formats

Use content negotiation in addition to file extensions for serving data available in multiple formats.

When data is produced in real time, make it available on the Web in real time or near real time

Make data available in an up-to-date manner, and make the update frequency explicit.

Offer an API to serve data if you have the resources to do so.

When designing APIs, use an architectural style that is founded on the technologies of the Web itself.

Provide complete information on the Web about your API. Update documentation as you add features or make changes.

Avoid changes to your API that break client code, and communicate any changes in your API to your developers when evolution happens.

Assess the coverage of a dataset prior to its preservation.

Best Practice 29: Use a trusted serialization format for preserved data dumps

Use a well established serialization when sending a data dump for long term preservation.

Link preserved resources through URIs with their "live" counterparts.

Provide a readily discoverable means for consumers to offer feedback.

Make consumer feedback available to both human users and computer applications.

Enrich your data by generating new data from the raw data when doing so will enhance its value.

Enrich data by presenting it in complementary, immediately informative ways, such as visualizations, tables, Web applications, or summaries.

Let the original publisher know when you are reusing their data. If you find an error or have suggestions or compliments, let them know.

Find and follow the licensing requirements from the original publisher of the dataset.

Acknowledge the source of your data in metadata. If you provide a user interface, include the citation visibly in the interface.