Web Resources

dotCMS Documentation: "dotEvergreen"

 

Getting started

dotCMS is our Content Management System used to create, maintain and organize the main UA website.

Content

Content in dotCMS is component of a webpage that can be created, edited, moved to multiple pages and is stored in a large database for future use.

Pages

A webpage is a collection of content items organized by a template.

Files

Files are stand-alone items added to a site that can be displayed on pages (images) or linked to for viewing/download (PDF, Word, Excel, etc.)

Bios

A bio is a custom type of content used to create and organize biographical information on members of the UA community.

RSS Feeds from Handshake

The RSS feeds Handshake widget takes an RSS feed produced by the Handshake application and reformats it to be presented on our website.  Before the widget can work, a RSS feed has to be already configured on the Handshake website here.

Advanced

Note:  The Apple Safari browser is not support for dotCMS editing.  Please use an alternate browser - like Firefox or Chrome - to access the editor. 

MailAll - Bulk Emailed Newsletters

MailAll is our application for bulk emails to members of the campus community - including the Email Digest, Zipmail and the International Newsletter.  Authorized users can create Articles, add them to Editions, and send out emails via the listserv - with unique customizations for each Publication.

  • To get started, contact the web-team@lists.uakron.edu.  We'll create a new Publication and a Listserv - and provide access and training to you and your team.
  • Already using MailAll?  Refer to the documentation if you have questions - or reach out to the Web Team for help.

What is the Content Delivery Network (CDN)?

A CDN is a system to make copies of an existing website and store those in separate geographic locations.  Visitors to the site will be directed to the nearest copy - providing a faster experience - and any attacks on the site (like a DDoS) will be partially mitigated by being spread out over a larger area and multiple copies. 

Most visitors to the website won't notice a difference - other than the occasional notice of processing - but editors will need to be aware of a potential delay as the copies update.  Page and content updates will appear on the live website within 10 minutes. (Brand new pages will appear immediately.)   For updates to PDF files, this may be as long as 30 minutes.

Using the Preview while editing a page will show how the page will look once it is published.   If you need to see how this will look in the live site once the CDN catches up, you can add this text to the end of the URL in your browser:

?cdn=false

This will bypass the CDN temporarily until all the copies are updated.

In an emergency, the webteam can reset the CDN and force all pending changes to show immediately.  

Additional Resources

Link tools:

Google Analytics: Offers stats on visits to our site

Sitemaps:

See also:  The rest of the internet

Using Forms

The UA Web Team has use a custom-built tool to collect data in forms - but are moving towards Microsoft Forms as a replacement. If you already have a form set up, you can use the Forms PROcessor notes to access your data. If you need a new form, contact the Web Team at web-team@lists.uakron.edu for help in getting started with MS Forms.