SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page

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

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page Kelly Hansen 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 Area Page

Marketing Landing Page

SiteMasonry

Marketing

SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Create a Content Editor Account

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

How to...Create a Content Editor Account Kelly Hansen Tue, 04/05/2022 - 11:09

Use Expressive Alt Text on Images

Add Sizzle to News Items

A perk of being a Site Owner is having the ability to create Content Editors for your managed site. Site Owners are also responsible for training and supporting their Content Editors.'

To create a Content Editor account, log in to your SiteMasonry 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 Mason 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.

HOT TIP

This password will not actually be the one used, and so does not need to be memorable! Please open a text program, then type or generate a long (30+ character) string of random letters, numbers, and special characters.

Do not reuse passwords for more than one user. Always create a new one.

Status: Select 'active.'
Roles: Select only one role, 'Content Editor.' Other roles are being transitioned out of SiteMasonry.
Notify user of new account: Checking this box to send an automatically-generated email to the new Content Editor. If you are not yet ready for this user to log in and begin using their site, you may leave this box unchecked, and inform the user yourself later on.

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

Submit the form, and the new user will be created.

Topics

SiteMasonry

Site Owners

SiteMasonry Tutorial

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

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

How to… Understand Versioning and Publication States - Draft, Published, and Archive Kelly Hansen 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... Embed an Image with Expressive Image Alt Text

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

How to... Embed an Image with Expressive Image Alt Text Kelly Hansen Mon, 12/13/2021 - 16:51

Mason prides itself on its dedication to inclusivity. As such, every member of the SiteMasonry ecosystem is expected to support digital inclusion by adding alt text to the images they use on their sites.

What is Alt Text and Why is Alt Text Important?

Also known as an alt attribute, alt description, or alt tag, alt text is a written description of an image placed on the web. It is intended to help non-visual users (i.e. those who use screen readers) when they come across an image that they could not otherwise interpret. Describing images accurately in alt text ensures those who need it get an equivalent, accessible experience.

Meeting Standards for Accessibility

As a publically-funded institution, ��AV is required to meet WCAG 2.0 web accessibility standards. Adding alt text to images helps meet the WCAG 2.0 image description requirement, as well as supports Mason's dedication to inclusivity.

Mason’s Assistive Technology Initiative (ATI) office monitors Mason’s sites for Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 compliance - including the use of image alt text. ATI’s website lists information, resources, and tools to help web content editors keep their content accessible to everyone, regardless of their sight, hearing, or mobility status.

Add Alt Text, Boost Page SEO

Did you know that search engines deprioritize pages without alt text on images? If your images don't have alt text, your page will rank lower than a page with alt text on its images. Adding alt text is therefore an easy way to ensure your page stays high in the rankings.

Writing Good Alt Text

Good descriptive alt text should accurately and concisely describe the content and function of an image, without relying on visual cues. Alt text is primarily used to provide context and accessibility for individuals who are visually impaired or using assistive technologies like screen readers.

Here are some tips for writing good descriptive alt text:

Be specific: Use descriptive words to convey as much information as possible about the image.
Be concise: Keep your alt text short and to the point. Avoid overly long descriptions that may be overwhelming or distracting.
Focus on the content: Identify the main elements of the image that are relevant to its function and convey that information in the alt text.
Consider the context: Think about where the image is being used and how it fits into the overall content. The alt text should provide context and complement the surrounding text.
Avoid unnecessary details: Stick to the most important information and avoid including irrelevant details that may clutter the alt text.
Use appropriate language: Use language that is appropriate for the audience and the context. Avoid technical jargon or overly complex language that may be difficult to understand.

If the image contains text that is key information not provided elsewhere on the site, you should include all that text in the alt text. This ensures that individuals who are visually impaired or using assistive technologies like screen readers can access all the information in the image. If the text is formatted in a specific way, include that information in the alt text. For example, you might say "Bold text reads..." or "Italicized text reads..."

Ask yourself if the image adds any important information or function to the content. If not, it's likely that the image is decorative. If the image is decorative only and does not convey any important information or function, you should use null or empty alt text. This means leaving the alt attribute empty or using alt="". This tells screen readers to skip over the image and focus on the surrounding text instead.

Adding Alt Text in SiteMasonry

There are two occasions where you might be asked to add alt text to an image. One is when uploading an image that is going to be used in a Featured Image position or similar. The other is when adding an embedded image into a text box.

Adding an image via the Feature Image block asks you to add alt text for your image when you upload it. Embedded images do not, as they show up. You need to click "edit media" to see the setting to add alt text to an image.

If you are using an image that was already uploaded the alt text may or may not be set already, depending on how it was uploaded. You can always check by searching the image file name in the Media area, then editing the image's settings.

Additional Resources

Please read these excellent articles on how to correctly write alt text:

Topics

Image Management Tutorial

Accessibility Tutorial

Best Practices Tutorial

Content Hub

SiteMasonry Tutorial

SiteMasonry

How to... Add Files to Blackboard and Find the Web Permalink

Kelly Hansen — Tue, 23 Feb 2021 18:28:02 +0000

How to... Add Files to Blackboard and Find the Web Permalink Kelly Hansen Tue, 02/23/2021 - 13:28

Documents available to your site visitors should be stored in a Blackboard Organization space. A permanent URL is created for each file there, and you can control the permissions guests have when accessing the file.

Don't just copy a Blackboard URL from your browser toolbar. That URL is temporary. You must copy the permanent URL to have your file accessible to others.

This information and clip augment the Blackboard Upload and Permissions Management Guide created by Blackboard's managing department, Mason ITS department. Before you begin, make sure you have access to your unit or department's Blackboard organization space. Do not put documents in a personal Blackboard space. If you need an Organizational Blackboard space, contact ITS Blackboard support.

Uploading your File

To start, you'll need to log into Blackboard. In the navigation (left hand side on desktop, top left dropdown on mobile), click "Organizations" then find your organization in particular. This should open your organization's Blackboard space. There should be a grey sidebar on the left hand side of the window (it collapses with an arrow on mobile) that displays the contents of your organization. Click the section labeled "Content Collection" and then the top option. This should bring you to your organization's Blackboard storage space. The ability to upload a file should be one of the first buttons on the page.

Setting Permissions

If you have not already, upload your document to the folder you wish it to reside in. From the folder view, right-click on the file you uploaded and select "Permissions." This will bring you to the general permissions screen.

Different folders may have different permissions levels. What you are looking for is to have "public" as a listed option, with at least "read" indicated as checked. If you do not see "public" listed, select "permit anyone" at the top of the table. Ensure "read" is selected and save.

Getting Permanent URL

Once you are sure the permissions are correct, you can get a permanent link to your document for the public to use. From the folder view, right click on the file you want the link for and select "edit settings." On that page, you should see two URLs, one of which is labeled as permanent. This is the URL you need to copy and use on your site.

Looking for a quick video showing how to get the permanent link? Check below.

Topics

SiteMasonry Tutorial

How to...Create a Marketing Landing Page

Topics

How to...Create a Content Editor Account

Use Expressive Alt Text on Images

Add Sizzle to News Items

To create a Content Editor account, log in to your SiteMasonry 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... Embed an Image with Expressive Image Alt Text

What is Alt Text and Why is Alt Text Important?

Meeting Standards for Accessibility

Add Alt Text, Boost Page SEO

Writing Good Alt Text

Adding Alt Text in SiteMasonry

Additional Resources

Related Tutorials

Topics

How to... Add Files to Blackboard and Find the Web Permalink

Uploading your File

Setting Permissions

Getting Permanent URL

Related News

Topics