SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page

khanse2 — Fri, 22 Jul 2022 18:53:08 +0000

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page khanse2 Fri, 07/22/2022 - 14:53

Whether it’s called a landing page, lead capture page, single property page, or squeeze page - the purpose of a marketing landing page is the same - prompt a visitor into completing a specific action, or ‘conversion’.

Building a marketing landing page within SiteMasonry is as simple as building a regular page. In her Quick Start Guide to Marketing Landing Pages, Kristin Heydt, OUB's Digital Strategist, explains the basics and walks through a sample SiteMasonry marketing landing page layout.

Topics

Marketing Landing Page

SiteMasonry

Marketing

SiteMasonry Tutorial

For Web Managers: Create a Content Editor Account

khanse2 — Tue, 05 Apr 2022 15:09:03 +0000

For Web Managers: Create a Content Editor Account khanse2 Tue, 04/05/2022 - 11:09

Use Expressive Alt Text on Images

Add Sizzle to News Items

Web Manager may create Content Editor accounts on the sites they manage. managed and are also responsible for training and supporting Content Editors.

To create a Content Editor account, log in to your SiteMasonry CMS site, then:

Click the ‘People’ tab in the admin navigation bar
Select ‘Add User’ from the dropdown menu

Fill out the form on the ‘Add User’ screen

Email Address - SiteMasonry only accepts @gmu.edu Mason email addresses
Check the box that says 'Allow User to Login via CAS'
CAS Username - Enter the user's Mason username/NetID. This will be the first part of their email address (NOT the entire email address).

QUALITY ASSURANCE MOMENT

Double check the accuracy and spelling of the CAS username and the email address!

These two fields are what allow the user to login with their GMU credentials, and must be accurate.

Username: Enter the user's first and last name. (eg: Jessica Mason)
Password: This is a temporary password used only by the system to create the account and will never be used again. DO NOT give this password to the content edit.

All SiteMasonry CMS accounts are accessed with the user's Mason ID and password

Status: Select 'active.'
Roles: Select the 'Content Editor' box.

All other form options (contact settings, locale settings, and URL alias) are used by SiteMasonry Platform Managers. Please ignore these options.

Click 'Submit' to create the account.

Topics

SiteMasonry

Site Owners

SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to… Understand Versioning and Publication States - Draft, Published, and Archive

khanse2 — Wed, 02 Feb 2022 19:21:28 +0000

How to… Understand Versioning and Publication States - Draft, Published, and Archive khanse2 Wed, 02/02/2022 - 14:21

What is Versioning?

SiteMasonry's versioning workflow allows content to be modified in an unpublished Draft state without changing the publically viewable Published version of the page or content item (news item, profile, or program).

When an Editor makes content changes, SiteMasonry creates a previewable Draft version of the page or content item alongside a copy of the currently published page or content item. Each version can be viewed or retrieved on the page or item’s Revisions tab.

SiteMasonry's Publication States

SiteMasonry utilizes three publication states - Draft, Published, and Archive. The Publication State selector is located near the bottom of the page or item's 'Edit Settings' screen.

Draft

The Draft state allows an editor to make changes to a page without making content visible to site visitors. This acts slightly differently depending on whether or not an item has ever been published before. However, all drafts require a user to be logged in to view or edit. This means that should you wish to send a preview of edited content to another person, you'll need to either make sure they have an account on the site you are working on or rely on screenshots to show the changes.

New Content

If you are working on a new page or piece of content, setting a page in draft mode will let you see the page if you are logged in. However, you and visitors will not be able to see or visit the page until it is published.

Existing Content

If you are modifying currently published content, you can save changes as a draft. This will add a tab to your page labeled "latest version." The latest version will reflect your changes, while the current version is still public and viewable on the View tab. Once the page is re-published from Draft mode, all changes will become live and the old version will only be viewable via the revision log.

Published

A Published page is the most recent version of a page. It is 'live' and viewable to site visitors. You can make changes and push them as published immediately.

Topics

SiteMasonry

SiteMasonry Basics

Content Hub

Best Practices Tutorial

SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Add Alt Text to Images

khanse2 — Mon, 13 Dec 2021 21:51:40 +0000

How to...Add Alt Text to Images khanse2 Mon, 12/13/2021 - 16:51

911�� is committed to ensuring an inclusive digital experience. One essential practice to maintain accessibility is adding descriptive alt text to images.

What is Alt Text?

Alt text, or alternative text, is a brief description of an image that allows screen readers to convey the image’s content to users with visual impairments. It ensures that images are accessible to everyone, providing essential context for those who cannot see them. Alt text also improves SEO, as search engines favor pages that provide meaningful alt text for images.

Best Practices for Writing Alt Text

Be specific and relevant: Focus on what the image represents and its function within the content.
Be concise: Keep descriptions short but informative. Avoid overly detailed or redundant explanations.
Describe the purpose: If the image contains information not provided elsewhere, include that key information in the alt text.
Use context-appropriate language: Tailor the description to fit the surrounding content, avoiding technical jargon or irrelevant details.
Handle decorative images appropriately: If an image is purely decorative and doesn't add to the content, use null alt text (alt="") to signal screen readers to skip the image.

Example of Alt Text in Action:

For a photo of a tree: “A large oak tree with green leaves in summer.”
For a chart: “A bar chart comparing enrollment data from 2022 and 2023, showing a 15% increase in enrollment.”
For decorative images: Use empty alt text (alt="").

SiteMasonry CMS – How to Add Alt Text to Images

SiteMasonry offers two main ways to add images: via the Featured Image block and by embedding images into a Text Block. Adding alt text ensures that images remain accessible and compliant with accessibility standards.

Adding Alt Text to a Featured Image

Featured images automatically prompt for alt text upon upload.

Navigate to your page and select the Featured Image block.
Upload your image and enter a brief, descriptive alt text.
Click Save to finalize.

Adding Alt Text to an Embedded Image

Embedded images require manual entry of alt text.

Place your cursor in the text block where the image should appear.
Use the Insert Media icon to upload or select an image.
After inserting, click the Edit Media icon on the image.
Add a descriptive alt text, then select alignment and size if needed.
Click Save to apply the changes.

Additional Resources

Topics

Image Management Tutorial

Accessibility Tutorial

Best Practices Tutorial

Content Hub

SiteMasonry Tutorial

SiteMasonry

Digital Accessibility

Working with Web Forms

khanse2 — Thu, 18 Nov 2021 02:19:48 +0000

Working with Web Forms khanse2 Wed, 11/17/2021 - 21:19

Back to the Knowledge Base

Attention:

Webforms created using the Drupal Webform Module are not appropriate for collecting sensitive information such as:

birth dates

test scores

application materials

payment processing

file uploads of any sort

social security numbers

personally sensitive information

any item that may become part of an official record.

Contact the Admissions Tech Team for assistance if you are creating a form for the purposes of collecting information for an admissions-related process.

Contact ITS for access to the Qualtrics secure form building tool, if your form requires file uploads or the collection of personally identifying information (PII) or FERPA protected information related to an academic or administrative process such as a fellowship or scholarship application, or other administrative process.

It is every Mason Web Editor's duty and responsibility to be good stewards of our website users' information.

Create a Webform

From the Admin toolbar navigate to > Structure > Webforms:

At the 'Webforms' page > Click ‘Add Webform’
Click ‘Add Element’ to add form elements

Of the many element options to choose from, email, phone, text field, and text area are the most commonly used field elements.

Webforms may be placed on any SiteMasonry page - Basic or Landing.

Want to learn more? Watch the recommended deep-dive webform video tutorials:

Conditional Elements

Multi-step Wizards

Pre-Defined List Options

Emailed Submission Confirmations

Submission Confirmation Page

Place a Webform

Navigate to and open the desired page:

Click the ‘Customize This Page’ tab
Locate, or create, the section to place the webform block in
- click ‘Add Block’, notice the fly-out sidebar admin menu
From the sidebar admin menu
- select ‘Webform' from the block list (will be close to the bottom of the list) to 'pop-up' the 'Configure Block' screen
From the ‘Configure Block’ pop-up
- Add a name for the block in the title field
- Use the type-ahead feature in the ‘Webform’ textfield to select form

In the unlikely event you need to modify the ‘Default webform submission data (YAML)’ or redirect the webform, please file a support ticket for assistance.

Click ‘Add Block’
Save the page

Topics

Site Owners

SiteMasonry Tutorial

SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page

Topics

For Web Managers: Create a Content Editor Account

To create a Content Editor account, log in to your SiteMasonry CMS site, then:

Fill out the form on the ‘Add User’ screen

Topics

How to… Understand Versioning and Publication States - Draft, Published, and Archive

What is Versioning?

SiteMasonry's Publication States

Draft

New Content

Existing Content

Published

Archive

Related Tutorials

Topics

How to...Add Alt Text to Images

What is Alt Text?

Best Practices for Writing Alt Text

Example of Alt Text in Action:

SiteMasonry CMS – How to Add Alt Text to Images

Adding Alt Text to a Featured Image

Adding Alt Text to an Embedded Image

Additional Resources

Related Tutorials

Topics

Working with Web Forms

Create a Webform

Place a Webform

Topics