New Drupal Workshops and Vital Drupal Info

The following are some important announcements regarding new Drupal workshops and new changes within Drupal that will effect your unit’s website:

Left-Sidebar for Navigation Only

Because of the way webpages breakdown in our responsive design, we need restrict what appears in the left-sidebar to your department navigation only. This will ensure a consistent experience across the UM-Flint website, especially for the mobile user. If you have non-navigation content in your left sidebar, move it to the right side-bar or the main (middle) column, based on its importance to your users. Later this fall we will push out an update that will remove any non-navigation content still remaining in left sidebars. 

Homepage Hero Images and Heading/Text

If you have not already done so, please choose a department hero image other than the “default” image option. These options are found by “editing” (not “customizing”) your homepage. Next to “Department Banner,” there is now a preview page that allows users to see what the hero image options look like, and there many new ones to choose from. If you would like some other image for your home page, send the original image to Andrea Eveslage in University Relations so it can be resized and added into Drupal by ITS.

We are also encouraging all departments to review and possibly change the message that appears to the right of their department homepage hero image (in desktop view). During the switch-over to Drupal, that default message was set to the old brand message “Expect More. Engage More. Experience More.” New homepages that are created will see the new brand message “Right Here. Right Now” as the new default—but departments can have any message that’s appropriate for their audience in that space.

Two good examples of how to utilize the new messaging tailored to unit-specific audiences are the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs. On your homepage, simply “edit” the page (not “customize”), and change the department heading and department text fields:

Changing your department heading and department text fields.

New Drupal Workshops

This academic year, in addition to the basic training all new Drupal users receive, we will be adding a series of workshops for new and longtime users alike that will focus on specific issues, best practices, and how best to utilize Drupal to meet your unit’s goals, as well as the goals of the university as a whole. Please plan to attend and enter these workshops into your calendar.

Drupal workshops will all be held in 431 French Hall at these dates and times:

Fall Drupal Workshop Schedule:

• Wednesday, September 16 9:00am-11:00am | Drupal Users Workshop: “Promoting Events & Announcements in Drupal”
• Monday, October 26 9:00am | Drupal Users Workshop: “Best Practices for Web Images & Content Widgets”
• Wednesday, December 9 3:00pm-5:00pm | Drupal Users Workshop: “Formatting for Clarity, Readability, and Accessibility”