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Recap: Hello Omni CMS, goodbye Web Press!

March 14, 2023 by Web Strategy and Development

Students using a computer lab in Meyer Library.

During MarCom Training Week, the office of web strategy and development presented “Hello Omni CMS, goodbye Web Press!”

The goal: Help all web editors become familiar and comfortable with using the university’s new content management system (CMS), Omni CMS.

A summary of the presentation is detailed below. You can also download the full presentation (.pdf).

What’s changed and basics

Compared to the old system, Omni CMS is easier and quicker to use.

Key takeaways:

  • To log-in, just go to the page you want to edit and scroll to the very bottom. Look for the little copyright-looking symbol (c). This is the DirectEdit link. Click it.
  • To start editing your page, select the green rectangle icon labeled “Main Region.”
  • To navigate between pages or sections of your site, select Content->Pages. All pages are saved as .pcf files. Your “homepage” is always default.pcf.
  • WYSIWYG Toolbar: Where all the editing magic happens. This is where you add, edit or enhance your content.
  • Dashboard: The command center for all your editing activities.
  • Global navigation links are displayed site-wide. Local navigation links are limited to a specific page.

Design system

The web design system is the foundation for building your pages.

Key takeaways:

  • Everything comes from snippets (puzzle piece), components (atom icon) and assets (box with arrows).
    • Snippets: The starting point for building your page. Grids are the most common. Grids “hold” your content.
    • Components: Where you showcase or highlight your content. Examples include touts, call to action (CTA) and more.
    • Assets: Specialized, frozen content. Maps, catalog content and policies are the most common.
  • Use the elements guide for determining how these items should be used.
  • Make sure your content is accessible and legible to all.

Access and support

How to get access or request help for updating your website.

Key takeaways:

  • Know the steps for becoming a web editor.
  • Contact us or review our documentation if you need help.
  • Common support questions:
    • Directory and profiles: Profile details are updated by our office. Office location and phone number can be updated by the individual person.
    • Broken images in preview: Unpublished images won’t display in preview. You must publish the photo(s) for them to display in preview mode.
    • Forms: A work in progress. Minor edits to frozen forms can only be made by our office.

Download the full presentation: Hello Omni CMS, goodbye Web Press! (.pdf)

Filed Under: Accessibility, News, Omni CMS, Technical, template, Training, Web Support Tagged With: editing, Omni CMS, Omni CMS training, Training, websites

Improve your Omni CMS skills at this free training

February 21, 2023 by Web Strategy and Development

A computer lab worker in Meyer Library helping a student.

Learn how to make your web content shine using Missouri State’s new content management system (CMS), Omni CMS.

During MarCom training week, the office of web strategy and development will be hosting two free training sessions (Hello Omni CMS, goodbye WebPress!) on Omni CMS.

Whether you are a new editor or seasoned user, you’ll learn about the tools available to get the most out of Omni CMS.

At the end of the presentation, we’ll have an open lab to address individual questions or issues you need help with.

Key details: Hello Omni CMS, goodbye WebPress!

  • What: Omni CMS training, as part of MarCom Training Week.
  • When: Monday, Feb. 27 and Wednesday, March 1, 1-3 p.m.
  • Where: Glass Hall 486
  • About: You only need to attend one session. The same information will be covered in both sessions.

How to register

Registration is required in My Learning Connection at my.missouristate.edu.

  • Go to your profile tab.
  • Find the Professional Development box.
  • Select My Learning Connection.
  • Search for this session.
  • Sign up.

Other ways to enhance your skills

MarCom Training Week will also offer free sessions on design, social media, writing, videography and more.

Explore the MarCom Training Week schedule

Filed Under: News, Training, Web Support Tagged With: Omni CMS, Training

Celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on May 19

May 16, 2022 by Web Strategy and Development

Missouri State students in computer lab.

The world celebrates digital access and inclusion with Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD) on the third Thursday of May every year. More than one billion people worldwide have disabilities and impairments. GAAD gets people talking, thinking and learning about digital access and inclusion.

Creating accessible digital content is a must at Missouri State University. We know it can be a lot to think about, so here are some tips to keep in mind. We’ve also included some ways to join in virtually.

Find a GAAD virtual event

#SpotlightAccessibility – Spread positivity around accessibility by highlighting a great feature or product and learn about what others are using.

People with disabilities say these issues come up most often.

  • Videos that are missing captions.
  • Motion, animations and cluttered pages.
  • Auto play videos and auto-advancing slideshows.
  • Walls of text (long paragraphs and large chunks of text).
  • Small font size
    • Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) does not specify a minimum font size requirement.
  • Zooming problems: sites frequently break when size is increased by user.
  • Low contrasts and image of text: scan of a page of text saved as PDF produces an image of text.
  • Bright color schemes: white backgrounds can lead to migraines.
  • Relying only on color: this has long been a no-no, but still prevalent.
  • Mouse-focused sites: not usable on touch screens and difficult for users with motor impairments.
  • Too small touch-targets: thhis is the reason Missouri State University’s 2019 web redesign is so spacious.
  • CAPTCHAS: Keep out a lot more than bots.

Here’s what you can do to make your content more accessible.

While some of these items are automatically handled by MSU’s web templates, you still have an impact on many of of these items.

  • Don’t create a wall of text. Keep paragraphs to 2-4 sentences.
    • Content styled as Intro format should be brief; one or two short sentences plus 1-3 bullets. Anything longer isn’t introductory content.
  • Use headings to make an outline of your content.
  • Avoid images of text. When necessary, the alt text should contain all text in the image.
  • Don’t use heading markup (e.g., h3, h4) to make an “important” statement; consider a Notice Block instead.
  • Don’t use bold or italics for an entire sentence.
  • Use meaningful text for links; avoid brief abstract terms like read more or click here.
  • For web addresses, write descriptive link text.

Make sure you’re following the style guide.

  • In time references, use figures with a.m. and p.m throughout. Omit :00.
    • Examples: Summer office hours are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Telephone support is available 2:30-4 p.m. daily.
  • In email addresses, capitalize each word. Example: BoomerBear@MissouriState.edu.
  • Preferred capitalizations, spelling and usage:
    • Phone numbers: use dashes, not periods. Omit parentheses around the area code. 417-836-5000
    • Most words beginning with “non” or “post” should be formatted as one word with no hyphen (ex. noncredit, nondegree, nondegree-seeking, postbaccalaureate, postdoctoral, postdoctorate). Post-master’s should be hyphenated.
    • Email, not e-mail.
    • Use only one space between sentences. Do not use a space at the end of a paragraph or bulleted list item.
  • Common Bear terms:
    • Bear CLAW
    • Bear Line
    • BearWear
    • BearFare
    • BearMail
    • BearPass
    • Bear Park North (South)
    • BoomerMeals
    • Bear Breaks

Resources

Editorial Style Guide

Web Accessibility Clinic

Omni CMS Documentation

Filed Under: Accessibility, Training Tagged With: a11ysummit, Accessibility, conference, gaad

New Content Management System Coming Soon

March 3, 2021 by Web Strategy and Development

A staff member works no their laptop.

The Web Strategy and Development team recently led the process to acquire a new content management system (CMS) for university websites. This means that all Web Press sites will have an entirely new and improved editor experience. The name of product is Omni CMS, offered by Modern Campus (formerly OmniUpdate). The Omni CMS platform was developed specifically for Higher Education and has many features that we will utilize.

Some of the many advantages this new system will bring, are:

  • Regular online training for editors and administrators.
  • Online knowledge base and other resources.
  • More seamless editing with a deep link feature allowing you to login directly from the live website page you want to edit.
  • WYSIWYG editor with drag and drop functionality.
  • A pre-publish accessibility checker within the system.
  • A cloud hosted platform.
  • A cost effective solution.

We are planning for website migration to take place in April and May of this year. When we are ready to migrate your site, we will reach out to editors and work together to complete site migration to the new Omni platform. Prior to that, we will be connecting with various departments and units to help ensure websites are up-to-date. Old and outdated content will need to be removed and cleaned up. This will result in a much smoother process and a more pristine website after migration.

We look forward to collaborating with our colleagues to usher all of our websites into this new platform. You’ll be hearing from us in April or May, but please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions at web@missouristate.edu.

 

 

Filed Under: Technical, Training, Web Press, web strategy and development

Meet our newest team member: Valerie Cummings

October 20, 2020 by Web Strategy and Development

Valerie Cummings headshot

The web strategy and development office is pleased to welcome Valerie Cummings to our staff.

Valerie comes to us from Missouri State Outreach, where she spent over 25 years as the Director of Marketing and Promotions. In this role, Valerie designed and managed the Outreach website.

She also managed various projects and marketing campaigns, and developed front end coding skills that she’ll be using in her position as front end designer/developer.

We are very excited have Valerie join our team, and look forward to all the experience and talent that she will bring.

Filed Under: web strategy and development Tagged With: marketing and communications, web strategy and development

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