Beyond CMS 101
CMS Common Conundrums
The following are some issues which our CMS users often experience. Take note of these easy fixes if you find yourself in the same situation. If these solutions don't fix your problem please fill out the Web Request Form to get help from the web team.
When I go into Page View or Preview mode, certain pages don't show up in the left navigation or don't preview at all.
Make sure that you've checked the "Show All Pages" box at the top of your Dashboard. Conversely, if pages or components that have been archived or hidden are displaying, make sure to un-check the "Show All Pages" box.
I keep resizing my photos, but no matter what I do, the dimensions keep getting thrown off.
The photo editor in the CMS is not a reliable means of resizing photos; we recommend that you use a program like Photoshop or Picasa, or online photo editing websites like Pixlr.com and Fotor.com, to resize your images before uploading them into the CMS.
I want to jazz up our program's page; are colorful scripts and creative fonts allowed?
Part of the purpose of a University-wide CMS is to keep a consistent look throughout the university website. There are many ways to customize your program's page while adhering to the "Pacific Look," and we are glad to walk you through those options.
I need to edit a certain page, but I cannot check it out or advance it in the workflow. What's going on?
Several things could be going on here:
- You sent a page to an Approver for review, in which case you will not be able to edit the page until it is assigned back to you by the reviewer, or until the page is published, at which point you can check it out again.
- You have not been given permission to access this page; contact the Office of Marketing and Communications for further assistance.
- The page was not assigned to a workflow when it was created; contact the Office of Marketing and Communications for further assistance.
- Someone else has checked out the page, and it will need to be checked in again before you can advance it through the workflow.
I've published my page; why isn't it displaying on the live site?
It can take five to ten minutes for changes to appear on the website. If, after ten minutes, your changes do not appear, please contact us.
Drop-in Session Topics
If you would like to know more about a particular topic, you can attend a CMS drop-in session to receive additional training from the web team. Possible topics include:
- Header bar components
- Contact components
- Promotional components
- Text expansion components
- Anchor links
- Photo resizing
- SEO best practices
Web Content Tips
These resources will help you improve your web content to attract more visitors and keep more on your page.
Writing for the Web - multiple articles about improving the written content on your website
Beginner Guide to SEO - Learn how a search engine interacts with and judges your web page
10 Guidelines for Writing Usable and SEO Friendly Content - Tips for making your content more readable for the web
The Periodic Table Of SEO Success Factors - Elements of a successful web page
Finding and Using Images from the Web - Basic information on image copyright
How To Properly Optimize Images for Web...In Photoshop - How to save an image in web quality