Getting started with the CMS

What are you looking for?

Once you have completed training and been given permissions to use the content management system, go to https://cms-uon.cloud.contensis.com to log in.

The left-hand side section of the screen is the navigator, which will enable you to view the University of Nottingham website folders, and the large, central section of the screen is the dashboard. When creating or editing a page, the dashboard will become the content area.

Different positions carry different permissions within Contensis, and so you are encouraged to read about our permissions and roles in order to understand what you can and cannot do with the CMS with your current status. To request the relevant permissions for you, please ask your unit web coordinator to complete our permissions request form.

Brand style

The University of Nottingham maintains a consistent online identity through the branding and styling of web pages.

There are steps you can take that will result in consistent presentation, and many of these steps can be found in our Contensis CMS support pages.

Contensis uses a WYSIWYG editor, meaning that what you see in the interface is a visually accurate depiction of what the web page will look like when live.

Style guide

Our style guide helps make our websites look professional and consistent. Please familiarise yourself with the style guide and follow it for all your content.

Here are a few main things to look out for when editing web pages:

Use 'and' instead of '&'
Dates should be written out, for example, '17 September 2023', but not '17/09/23' or 'the 17th September 2023'
Numbers should be written out for numbers one to nine and in figures for 10 onwards
When writing 'the school', school should be lowercase unless referring to the full school name, the same with university

Images

You should follow the image sizes set by the web team where possible
Do not upload huge image files – if you need an image optimised for the web, use image editing software to resize it first or contact your unit web coordinator if you need help to do this
Consider how your image will display on different screen sizes
Make sure your images follow brand style

Uploading images and alt text

When uploading an image remember to edit the alt text for accessibility
Alt text is text that describes the image, so if someone couldn't see the image they would get an idea of what it shows, for example, 'student studying on a bench outside' rather than 'student'
You don't need to put 'image of…' before your description

Free image software

Adobe Express - a free online image resizing tool
GIMP - this is installed as standard on University of Nottingham computers, you can find it in your programs list

Basic image editing

Use the image resize tool to change the width or height of your image to the exact size you need for that side
The image will automatically resize the width or height in proportion
Use the crop tool to change the remaining side to meet the exact dimensions your image needs

Creating a page

You should consider if you have enough content to require a new web page and where in the website structure it makes sense for it to appear. Check with your unit web coordinator for guidance on this.

How to create a new page:

Click on the folder you wish to save the page under and select 'New Content'
You will then be asked to choose a template - you should choose the same template the rest of your site uses, for example, 'School Page'
After you have done this, click 'Next'
After you have named your page, click 'Finish'

Now that your page has been created, you will be able to edit it. In order to edit newly created or pre-existing pages, right click a page in the left-hand navigator and select 'Edit'.

Filenames

Filenames should be written in lowercase and use hyphens between words
There should be no punctuation in filenames
Filenames should be kept as short as possible, while retaining meaning, because the filename will become part of your page URL

Editing a page

Headings

All pages should have only one Heading 1, which is the main purpose of your page – some pages create this automatically from your page title and some don't depending on the template used
Headings should be used in a logical order - don't use a Heading 3 because you like how it looks, only use it if it's subheading for a section that has a Heading 2, for example, in this section 'Editing a page' is a Heading 2 and 'Headings' is a Heading 3 as a sub-section of that section

Text

Do not use 'click here' for links – use text that describes where the link goes to so it makes sense out of context
Link the relevant text in the page rather than adding the full web address typed out in the text
Break up chunks of text into shorter paragraphs, making use of bulleted lists and headings to separate text so it is more scannable and readable and accessible
Do not centre or justify text, or bold or italic huge chunks of text, or put text all in uppercase – this all makes it harder for people to read

Downloadable files

Convert Word files to PDF unless there is a real reason not to (ie a form)
Show users that a link is a downloadable file, ie put (PDF) after the link or use the CMS built in PDF icon as detailed on our WYSIWYG page under background classes

Mini templates

Mini templates are a simple and efficient way to create interesting page layouts
To use a mini template, click and drag a template from the shared resources folder (located in the navigator) onto your page

Layouts, features and formatting

User guides