The following November Drupal Newsletter contains the latest user-related updates to Kent State University's content management system (CMS) Drupal - some updates mentioned are time sensitive and may need your attention. Additional information on editing sites in Drupal, can be found in the Drupal Training Manual. Training in the CMS is available, in addition to training on other topics.
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Topics found in this edition
- Profile creation after Nov. 2
- Form creation after Nov. 19
- New Formatting Options
- Confirming web contributors
- Internet Explorer 8 upgrade
- Important dates to remember
Profiles
There is a new method to adding a profile to your group’s listing:
- A two-step process – involving Profile and Extended Profile - are now involved to improve display.
- Both must be created for a profile to appear in a profile listing.
Profile
- A Profile contains the basic information about an employee.
- Only one is needed per person.
Extended Profile
- An Extended Profile contains department specific information.
- A person can have multiple Extended Profiles.
- One is needed for each department listing.
Profiles Created After Nov. 2
The change went into effect with a code promotion on Tuesday, Nov. 3, therefore, any profiles created after Nov. 2 must have an Extended Profile created to merge them for displaying in site listings.
Review complete instructions on Profiles and Extended Profiles
Forms
Google Forms have not tested as well as anticipated with web accessibility, therefore, we are changing our source for creating forms from Google Forms to Qualtrics. Web team will be converting all existing forms from Google Forms to Qualtrics. A notification will be sent once the conversion is ready to be implemented on your site.
Forms Created After Nov. 19
All new forms that you create to embed in Drupal should be now be created with Qualtrics because of accessibility requirements.
Access Form Creation Instructions
New Formatting Options
The following news styles have been added to the Styles drop down list in the WYSIWYG:
Pull Quote
Use to highlight a quote inside an article.
Footnote
For adding footnotes only. Not to be used as an additional formatting option.
Drop Caps (coming soon)
Who Is in Charge of Your Departmental Website?
To verify that the appropriate individuals have access, please take the time to review the Drupal Web Contributors List. Be sure to search for your department name exactly as it is displayed in the header on the website. You can also search by FlashLine user name to see a contributor’s group memberships.
Removing and adding Users
If you find a user(s) needs to be removed from the list, please submit a support ticket with instructions indicating access should be revoked. Be sure to provide their FlashLine user name. If an individual needs added, please ask them to register for Drupal Training. Once they attend training, they will be added as a site contributor.
Training Update
Open Labs now include Drupal. Register to attend an open lab if you need assistance with Siteimprove, Google Analytics or Drupal. The next training session will be is Thursday, Dec. 3, from 9:30-11:30 a.m.
Reminder: Ditch IE8!
Remember, it is time to ditch your IE8 browser and upgrade to a more current browser to enrich your web site experiences.
Mark Your Calendars
Site Maintenance
The migration is complete and now is the time to plan proper site maintenance.
Annually
Identify Goals
Determine the priority pages and actions you want visitors to view and execute respectively.
Improve Conversion
Review findings from conversion reports and usability tests to identify improvement opportunities. Track go-live dates for before-and-after comparisons.
Test Usability
Identify the principal scenarios visitors should be able to achieve on the site. Reach out to new or infrequent users and test their ease with running the scenarios. Use the results to identify areas for improvement.
Semi Annually
Audit Content
Over time content gets out-of-date. A periodic page-by-page review of the site content helps ensure errors and omissions that cannot be detected by Siteimprove are addressed.
Monthly
Monitor Analytics
See traffic volume coming into the site and its sources. Measure effectiveness of external marketing and social media activity. View destination pages to see relative interest in upcoming programs and events. Review activity as it relates to identified conversion measures.
Weekly
Control Quality
Siteimprove reports pinpoint web pages with bad links & misspellings. Pages with the most issues go to the top of the Priority Pages list for handling. Pages are also validated for accessibility compliance.
Drupalites Night Out
Join Web Team at Ray’s Place for a long overdue Drupalites get together. An Outlook invitation will be coming separately. Please RSVP so we will know how many seats to try to hold.
- Date: Thursday, Dec. 10
- Time: 5:15 p.m. or after
- Place: Ray’s Place (probably upstairs)
- FYI: Individual checks
Questions, comments?
Email Lin Danes for triage with UCM web team and Information Services web presence group.