Content pages are the bread-and-butter of our website. They can be used to present all kinds of information to our audience including everything from application guides to our international agents in Zimbabwe.
The good thing is that once you know how to edit and build a content page, you will have the fundamental skills and understanding of how Contensis works to deal with all the other content types you’re likely to encounter.
Overview
Anatomy of a Content Page
On Contentsis, a content page is made up of a series of sections and components. To create a page, you need to add content to a number of these sections – such as text and imagery. Most sections and components, however, are optional meaning that you don’t have to use them if you don’t need to.
The process of building a basic content page is very simple: You start at the top and work your way down through each section, adding text, imagery and components where you need them, until you reach the bottom. All of the required elements to a page are highlighted in Contensis; everything else is optional.
Who can build and edit Content Pages?
We use content pages to display the majority of the day-to-day content on Contensis. They are used by:
- Central Marketing team
- School and Faculty marketing and ops teams
- Student communications editors
- Research and academic teams
Create a content page
Video tutorial
[insert video here]
Here, we have laid out the main sections you will encounter when you need to build or edit a content page. These are in the order you will find them - top to bottom - and a brief explanation of what they are, as well as links to relevant training on how to use them.
Title
Quite simply, this is the title as it will appear on the page when it goes live. Click into the text box and type to create a title.
Summary
This won’t show on a live page but can be used to explain what the page is about. It does get displayed if you link a content page via a card - such as in a card row - so ensure it is punchy and uses proper English. Simply click into the text box and type.
Lead-in
This is the introduction to the page content and should be short and punchy. It is the first text a page visitor will read. You can use heading types and basic text styling just like in other software like Microsoft Word. Here's a full guide to editing text in Contensis.
Image
This is where you can add the image that can be found at the top of the page when it is published. It should be relevant to the theme, less than 10Mb in size but at least 1920 by 1080 pixels. We try to use images that are reflective of real-life and real people so if you are unsure as to whether an image is suitable, contact Marketing Services.
You can select from an image already in the library by clicking 'Select an image' or upload using the 'Upload' link.
Background image config
This can be used to centre the header image on a particular part of the overall image. Leaving these boxes unchecked will leave the image centre justified.
Primary CTA button
This will appear as a button in the header which can take visitors to another online location. Simply add relevant text and then either an existing link, or create a new one. Here's a guide.
Sticky nav
You can add a navigation bar that is always visible to a page visitor as they scroll (hence the term 'sticky') and promotes another page on the website. You can select an existing sticky nav or create a new one.
Apply now
This should only be used on postgraduate research pages so you can ignore this function.
Engagement bar
An engagement bar is usually used to host a form on a page, such as a contact form or application form. A maximum of three items can be added here. These should be built in Contensis as separate entries [LINK TO TRAINING] before being added to a content page.
Remember: Some components, such as those in the engagement bar, main content, full width content, and sidebar content, can appear on multiple pages across the website. If you edit one by accessing it from a content page, the changes you make will be reflected across the other pages where it has been used. If you are in any doubt, check with the marketing team first!
This is where you’ll locate the bulk of the content you want to display. Various components can be used to display text in different and creative ways, images or even YouTube videos. In Contensis, the Main Content area looks like the below.
Components
Components are added to a page to provide the means by which we add content and make it look attractive. Think of them as page building blocks. The following are the most commonly used components in Main content.
There are more components available than this, but it is unlikely that you will need to use them. If you have a business need to know more about a component that isn't listed here, contact Marketing Services with a brief explanation of what it is you want to display.
You can use this to display content that will appear on the right-hand side of the page using different components depending on the content and how you want it to look. In Contensis, the Sidebar area looks like the below.
Components
These are the most commonly used components in Sidebar content.
As with components in the main content, we have kept this list to the most common components which should cover the majority of most users' needs.
This content will sit below the Main content and can be used to augment it with further information. Various components allow you to display the content creatively. In Contensis, the Full Width content area looks like the below.
Components
These are the most commonly used components in Full-width content.
Theme
This can be ignored in most cases, however, various options can be selected to add different colours or styling to the page for postgraduate or business-related pages, for example.
Meta component
This content is added so the page is searchable on our website and externally. It requires a description of what the page is about and an image – usually the same as the one at the top of the page - as well as relevant keywords which help people find it when searching on our site. Keep descriptions and keywords relevant to what's actually on the page, otherwise users might find content which is irrelevant and negatively impacts their browsing experience.
Most of the work you are likely to do on Contensis will be editing an existing page, and most of this will be using various text functions. Essentially, if you can use Microsoft Word, you can use the Contensis text editor.
When writing for the web on behalf of the university, we recommend you familiarise yourself with the style guidelines on the intranet.
Editing other elements of a content page is most likely to involve accessing and changing individual content types and/or components. Refer to the individual guides for guidance on doing this.