Adding content to new site
How do I change my profile information?
Go to the footer of the website and on the bottom right side click on “My Account” and login with your ONID. Once there you can click to edit your Profile. You can upload a headshot photo, add your bio, and select topics that fit your expertise.
This profile will show up when people search the website, in the Find Us – Faculty/Staff Directory on the website top menu, on the Faculty and Staff program and county subpages where related, and on the topic pages under Meet the Experts if topic(s) were selected in your expertise field.
For changes to your title or to other staff (e.g. no longer with Extension), please contact Kaylyn Hymes.
How do I add content to the new site?
See the Training and Support page for details. There are useful how-to guides there for the different groups
Permissions/Groups
If one of our programs, offices, etc. is not listed in “My Groups,” how do we go about adding it?
Send that question via the web support form. Currently there are groups set up for all content teams, all programs, and all counties/combined stations. We will work with group managers to ensure all necessary individuals are added to the groups. When you log into the site, the “My Groups” page shows all the groups you are a member of, and are able to manage content for.
How do I know if I am a member of a group?
You can access My Account (bottom of the website and log in with ONID) and search for profile for Groups you are part of on the Extension website. You can also see lists of members of each group on the Content Team page.
How do we ask to be added to a group to update info if needed?
If you see content that needs edits, but you aren’t able to do so, contact us via the support form. We can connect you with whoever added it, or add you to that group – whatever is appropriate. For county-based faculty adding educational or program content, this needs to be added through a content/program group, and not as a county group.
If a county is “tagged” by another county or program, how can the county “untag” that content?
The web contact lists for the content/program team leaders and county offices site managers are available under Content Teams. Reach out to the county or program that created the content (e.g. event, announcement) and talk about reasons for it to be displayed or not. Only the group that created the content can add or remove a tag. If you’re not sure who uploaded it search in content overview.
How can we modify/remove a particular document (e.g. enrollment form) from statewide resources if we need to do so?
Contact the statewide program leader who creates content on the website, which can be found on the Content Teams page, to discuss your concerns and the process.
The statewide content leader can remove the tag for your county from an enrollment form. However, for some programs, the statewide form should not be downloaded, modified, and uploaded at the county level. For example, the state 4-H forms may be updated later for legal or other purposes, and this may lead to any modified forms not having the correct revisions.
Events
A Forestry faculty at an Extension office asked us to select forestry in the “additional calendar” field so their events show up on the Forestry program site. Can we do that?
We have functionality to export events from the Extension website to several websites, such as the Forestry website. If you want an event entered in the Extension website to show up on the Forestry department’s events page, you should select “Forestry and Natural Resource” in the event’s additional calendar dropdown field.
Other programs can also request a term to be added to the drop-down list if they want to segment out particular events marked with that term to be fed to another website.
Is there a way to get events from another OSU program website linked to the Extension site?
Events should be entered on the new OSU Extension website. There is a “feed” of those to the new OSU calendar but not the reverse.
How often do events get fed to the OSU calendar?
Events are fed to OSU calendar each morning. Any changes to events will also be updated at that same time. If you delete an event in the Extension website it will show up as “cancelled” in the OSU wide calendar, so if this isn’t the case (e.g. you just were deleting a duplicate event) then contact us via the support form to fix it.
Is there integration feature for plugging in Ideal-Logic registration info into new template?
When entering events, there is a field for the registration link. That’s where you put the Ideal-Logic link.
If the event has a deadline to register should you put that date as the end date?
The dates in the event should be the actual dates. If there is a deadline, that should be part of the description. You can create an announcement to emphasize the registration deadline. To remove a registration button for an event that is full: edit the event, go to “Registration” section, check the box for “Registration closed.”
Can people look up past events, because sometimes folks want to see what already happened?
After an event is over, it won’t display to the public in the list of events. But the actual event still exists. It will also remain on a page if it is “featured content”. We don’t currently have a “past events” page.
The group who entered it can access it from the “My Groups” content view. You can change the event to “archived” to unpublish it until next year when it comes around, or you can delete it.
If we don’t like to give the address of the event until people register, what do you recommend?
In the street address field, write in “To be provided to registrants”, and then fill in the city, state, and zip code fields.
If we want events to display on our main county page, as well as a county program page – how do we tag it?
To get an event to show up on both a main county page and a local 4-H or Master Gardener program page, either create the event through the county group and tag it with the program in “Step 2” or create the event through the program group and tag it with the county.
For creating events, is there a way to move photos to the top?
The photos associated with events display underneath the title in the teasers that appear on pages for which the event was created or tagged. Once on the event page, the photo does appear at the bottom and this cannot be changed. We will note the request as we work to stylize the event pages in the future.
Documents/Files
What is the best way for counties to share documents or files?
For documents that are not event flyers or newsletters, such as advisory meeting minutes, the current practice is to upload them to Box, and through the Box “share” button make the document available to anyone in the public who has the link. Then link from Extension website (e.g. from a county page or announcement) to the Box document. This is also a good option if you want restricted access to who can see or download a document. Educational documents can be uploaded by a content team, and counties can select these as “featured resources”.
How many documents can you upload in a Program Resource?
Each program resource is intended to be a single document, but there is space to upload alternate versions of the same document (e.g. in both Word and PDF formats, in Spanish and English, etc.).
It would be nice to be able to keep archived lists of things, like newsletters or plant clinic calendars. Will that be possible?
Program resources can be tagged with a “program resource category” which can be used to display certain documents together in a list. For example, if you have a category for “plant clinic calendars” you can display all of them together on a sub-page. Main newsletter pages also show any newsletter issue that has been associated with that newsletter.
There are several different Resource boxes on a program page. How do I know which one to upload my documents to?
Program groups (e.g. Master Gardener, 4-H, etc.) are able to upload “Program Resources”. They are then displayed automatically in Program Resource layout sections that are on Master Gardener pages.
This is illustrated in the final part of the June 12 webinar. Each of the “boxes” are layout sections that will display program resources tagged with the “category” selected in the section’s drop-down field.
For example, “class materials” is a category that can be selected. You do not need to manually upload documents to the page. Program resources your group creates that are tagged with the category “class materials” will automatically show up in that section.
You can create new sections on the page by clicking on the gray buttons at the bottom of the page edit screen, and selecting a different “category” for it.
There isn’t a limit to how many can be displayed on a page, but you can narrow down which Program Resources show up by limiting it to those tagged with certain “categories.” To add more categories, talk with the program statewide leader.
Why isn’t my text that I typed up not showing up on my page?
You may have added text in the description field of one of the program resources sections on the page. If there’s no program resources, then this section does not show up.
It is better to either add text in the content field at the top of the edit screen. Or to add text further down the page, you need to add a “text” field which is one of the gray buttons at the bottom of the edit screen.
Why can’t I reorder my items I added to a collection page?
Content teams can create collections. You may have added a “collection item” and continued to use the same “select” button to add all the content. In this case, they are in the order you uploaded them.
If you want to rearrange them, then you need to begin again by adding “collection item” (gray button) for each item you want to add. Then each is separate and can can be dragged up and down the page.
Why can’t I find the article I want to add to my collection?
It is likely because the article is not yet published. Once it is then you will be able to see it when you click on “Select Content” in a collection page.
How do I untag items in my collection if the collection has a tag instead?
We want to make sure that our audience can read the results of our research easily and for free. Why can’t I upload the journal article as PDF?
If it is published elsewhere, then it is entered as an “online resource” with link to the external website. It is less than ideal to have a link to a restricted article, however, copyright and fair use need to be considered. Scholar Archives @ OSU have linked to good information about this, and if you decide to have it available through Scholar Archives then you could potentially link to it there.
If the journal where you submitted your article provides it through open access, then this would allow for it to be shared. This is usually explained somewhere in the journal. If it’s unclear, then you would need to make determinations under fair use, and you could likely provide to individuals on request for educational purposes but providing it through a website would not typically pass for fair use. There may be other ways to repurpose the information that you provided in these research journals to create separate web content that would be useful for the web audiences too.
How do you get the cover page of the newsletter to show as a picture? Do you have to convert it to a Jpeg?
Documents uploaded as educational documents, program resources, or newsletters will automatically use the cover as an image with the “teaser” link if you leave the “thumbnail image” section blank. To use the cover image elsewhere (e.g. on a county landing page) you will need to convert the cover to a JPG or other image type and select it as a “thumbnail image”.
Visual Design
Do I have to use photos in the EESC Photo Archive?
There are 3000+ photos that Extension staff have permission to use and your county office manager should have this password to the photo gallery. We want to encourage people to use a model release form (download the forms in Box) for photos that have people in them.
If you want to use another photo (e.g., a scenic landscape), you just must have permission to use it. The photos in the EESC archive already have this approval, which makes it easier.
If you want training on using the EESC Photo Archive, you can contact Karen Zimmermann, digital asset manager.
How do we minimize the size of the map on the page?
There currently isn’t a way to manually customize the size of the map. We are planning to implement the functionality for counties to be able to edit their own contact and address information. When that is ready it may be possible to customize the appearance of the map to some extent. Remember also that size and position of items changes based on the screen size of the device someone is using (e.g., phone vs. desktop computer).
Miscellaneous
When I’m creating a county page focus area, what if I want to link to another OSU department webpage?
See if that website is already on the Extension website as an “online resource” and add it as custom featured content on the focus area. If it isn’t, then ask the related content team to add it as an “online resource” first.
Can you show how you get to your blog from the Extension website?
Go to the very bottom of the website and in the right corner click on the Employees link. This brings you to the Extension Employee Resources intranet. Under Popular Resources, click on the link for Navigator OSU Extension digital strategy. You can also get updates through the weekly Extension ConnEXTions e-newsletter. If you are logged in, the My Groups page also has a link to our support and training pages on the project blog.
I’m always nervous of duplicating information. Does the system let you know if it’s an existing title?
When you start to type in the title of a new piece of content, if it is similar to an existing piece of content the title link will show up on the right side of the page. You can click it to see if it is the same content you were about to add. We also encourage you to use the search field to look for duplicates too as sometimes the titles will be different. This blog post talks about what to do if someone else has entered the content already and you want it tagged or something changed.
Extension catalog pubs are all already in the system, so you don’t need to enter any of those. Over time, we will also work with the different content, program, and county teams on workflows and best practice guides.
Why can’t I find the document I know is online when I search?
First check that the document is published. Then consider making your search either more specific, such as adding the program or county name, or making it less specific such as just one key word in the title. The search function looks at all fields in the content and you need to double check that the word you are searching with actually is in the content somewhere. If you still can’t find it, contact the web team as if there’s a bug it can be quickly fixed.
General
What will be different?
Content from across OSU Extension are now housed in one web framework (not a network of separate sites) organized around topics. Educational content will be managed by programs via content teams. Internal content will be on a separate site.
See strategies at a glance for details.
How can I stay up to date and learn more about the project?
The Navigator blog is the primary resource for project information, FAQs, and status updates. See timeline and milestones for details on where we are in the process.
How can I share a question, comment, or concern?
Please contact the web and content strategy team, and we will reply as soon as possible.
If you have a question about particular content on an existing website, please connect with the appropriate content team.
Content teams
What is content strategy? And why do we need one?
Simply stated, a content strategy guides plans for the creation, delivery, and governance of content. (Source: K. Halvorson) Having a content strategy will provide a way to access and manage content locally, while sharing quality content more broadly and efficiently. Our new content strategy also relies on subject-matter experts (that’s you!) working in teams to assess, organize, prioritize, create, manage, and make decisions about content.
What does a content team do?
Please see the Content Teams page for an overview of what content teams do, the list of content teams and members, and status updates.
If your team has content spread far and wide and isn’t sure where to begin, a concept map might help. Here is an example from the Food Safety content team.
What if there is content that overlaps across teams?
Team leaders should discuss how they’d like to proceed when teams discover audiences or content that may overlap. For now, it is best to add content through the group the author is part of, so they can make updates to it. In the future, it might make sense to have cross-program area teams like with the Youth Development content team. Ultimately, it is up to content teams and program area leaders to decide how to best organize and work together.
Box logistics for content teams?
We’ve provided Box folders as a collaborative workspace for content teams. Here’s the main Content Teams Box. You can find links to the Boxes from the Content Teams section of this site. Work group leaders have edit access. Everyone has view access. Work group leaders can add people to your Box subfolder as needed, depending on how you choose to use it.
Why can’t I add someone to my group?
The list of people available to add to your group is based on the online OSU Extension directory. If someone was missing from the directory, they were not initially added to the site. To get someone added to the directory and new site, please contact the project team.
How do numbered Extension publications fit into the new website?
EESC imports content that we currently manage, including OSU Extension Catalog publications. No work is required by content teams for these.
Will there be a place for WordPress or other standalone sites?
Short answer, yes. We are asking content teams to collect this content and evaluate whether or not it is in the best place now or if it should eventually be moved to the Extension website.
New System Features
How are employee directories and profiles work in the new system?
Employee directories are managed centrally as before. Employees that are tagged with a county will dynamically be added to that county’s directory. In the new system, individuals have the opportunity to edit certain parts of their profile themselves, including uploading their photo, expertise, and bio. Title changes need to be sent to Kaylyn Hymes in Extension administration.
How will events work in the new system? Will they integrate with OSU’s calendar?
Events will be entered directly in our new website.
Since OSU has a new calendar system, we are working to have the events that are entered into the Extension website automatically import events into the OSU calendar.
If you currently manage a calendar in the OSU systems, you will continue to do so until the new Extension website launches. You do not need to “request a landing page” in the new OSU calendar system.
In the new Extension website, you will be able to upload flyers and other materials and links to register/pay for an event as well as associate an event with multiple counties. This will cause the event to dynamically show up on each of those county’s pages.
If we post something, will it automatically show in multiple places?
Yes, that’s the plan! When someone adds a piece of content (e.g., an article or event), they will be able to associate it with relevant counties, topics, and programs. This allows content to be shared more broadly and efficiently—without having to manually add the same thing to multiple websites.
Will we be able to connect Ideal Logic, Digital Measures, and other systems with the new website?
Eventually, yes. Digital Measures will allow you to choose what will show automatically on your Extension profile. The web upgrade is part of our comprehensive digital strategy. Over time, we will work to integrate or link to other OSU systems and databases.
How can we maintain connections to our respective college websites?
Based on initial conversations with content teams and program leaders, we anticipate that colleges will likely maintain webpages that explain their outreach, engagement, and Extension missions and link to relevant content. Some of these links can point to the new OSU Extension web presence, and some may point elsewhere.
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach, so it’s important for content teams, our project team, program leaders, and college communicators and web teams to work together on a sustainable plan for content from the variety of sites in the OSU Extension web family
Is content managed centrally and, will there be delays in making updates or time-sensitive changes?
No. Uploading and managing content in one central database does not mean that all content will need to be edited or reviewed centrally.
In most cases, content will be live as soon as the person responsible for it adds it to the system. Some content that comes into the system from a feed (e.g., Extension Catalog publications) will be updated daily. Some articles will be copyedited by EESC after they are published to improve their web readability, and any significant revisions will be reviewed by content team leaders.
Over time, content teams may develop their own workflows and review/approval processes.
How will decisions about what content is retained, created, and put online and how be “enforced” and by who?
Conversations about this project started with Extension leadership and then went to Program Leaders, who are ultimately responsible for decisions about content within their program area.
EESC hired a Content Strategist in spring 2018 who will be able to help content teams come up with workflows, policies, and strategies that will improve the efficiency and effectiveness of content creation and maintenance.
