Setting up pages

Pages are the building blocks of your website, containing text, images, buttons and more. The information below will help site builders create pages in Sitefinity

Types of pages


There are four types of pages in Sitefinity. Top level pages and child pages are standard options and are used to decipher page location. Group pages and redirect pages are used as placeholders in the navigation to divert site visitors to content on other pages. Standard top level or child pages can be converted to group and redirect pages by site builders in the page properties. 

Top level pages 

They are also known as parent pages. These pages should be created first. Top level pages usually consist of the homepage and the pages that are listed in the top navigation.   

Navigation and all page properties should be set on these pages. These settings will be inherited properly by child pages. 
 

Child pages 

These pages automatically inherit properties from the parent page unless otherwise specified in their page properties. If you break  inheritance, the new properties trickle down to any new page built under it.

Group pages

These pages are mainly used for site organization. These pages have no content of their own so there is no landing page when site visitors click on them.

Users can think of these pages essentially as folders to group pages with similar content. Again, there is no content on a “group page”. Content only exist on pages that are in the “group” or folder. For this reason, when site visitors click on group pages, they are directed to the first subpage that exists in the group. 

Redirect pages 


These pages also have no content of their own so there is no landing page. When clicked, these pages will redirect site visitors to another page immediately. Pages can be internal to the site or external. 

Creating a standard top level or child page

  1. On the dashboard, choose Pages at the top of the screen.
  2. Select Create a Page.
  3. Enter a name for the page.
  4. Choose whether the page is top level or lives "Under a Parent Page" and select the location.
  5. Enter a page title, which can be the same as the page name.
  6. Select a page template. (Learn more about templates and setting up your site.)
  7. Enter a description and keywords to help search engines find your page.
  8. If the page is top level, fill in the following section information to setup inherited properties:
    1. Page Navigation
    2. Footer Navigation
    3. Site Settings
    4. CTA in local header (optional)
  9. If it's a child page, there is no need to fill out these sections unless the is a specific change needed. 
  10. Fill out Description, Keywords and Social Sharing for top level and child pages.
  11. Hit Create.

Creating a Group Page 

  1. On the dashboard, choose Pages at the top of the screen.
  2. Select Create a Page.
  3. Enter a name for the page.
  4. Choose whether the page is top level or lives "Under a Parent Page" and select the location.
  5. Select the option "". 
  6. If the page is top level, fill in the following section information to setup inherited properties:
    1. Page Navigation
    2. Footer Navigation
    3. Site Settings
    4. CTA in local header (optional)
  7. If it's a child page, there is no need to fill out these sections unless the is a specific change needed. 
  8. Fill out Description, Keywords and Social Sharing for top level and child pages.
  9. Hit Create.

Creating a Redirect Page 

  1. On the dashboard, choose Pages at the top of the screen.
  2. Select Create a Page.
  3. Enter a name for the page.
  4. Choose whether the page is top level or lives "Under a Parent Page" and select the location.
  5. Select the option "This page redirects to another page" and click "Set page to redirect to". 
  6. Choose an internal webpage or type in the external site address.
  7. If external link is going to a non-university webpage, choose open in a separate window .
  8. Hit Done. 
  9. If the external link is going to a password protect site, check the option "
  10. If the page is top level, fill in the following section information to setup inherited properties:
    1. Page Navigation
    2. Footer Navigation
    3. Site Settings
    4. CTA in local header (optional)
  11. If it's a child page, there is no need to fill out these sections unless the is a specific change needed. 
  12. Hit Create.

Inherited website settings


Certain sections within page properties inherits all its properties to child pages. These sections only need be setup on top level pages but can be setup on a specific child page in needed. Below are the properties you'll find in this area and how to use them.  

Page navigation

Navigation is like a table of content for the website. Navigation can live at the top or side of every page, as well as the bottom of every page, which is called a footer. Navigation offers the user a list of all the sections within a website. Learn more about navigation.

Instructions for top navigation:  

  1. On all top level pages, click “Break inheritance”. The default selection is “Top level pages (and child pages if template allows); this is our recommendation. 
  2. Choose the level of pages you would like to show; our recommendation is 2. 
  3. Select your navigation template; our recommendation is “Enhanced”.  

Instructions for side navigation:

  1. On all top level pages, click “Break inheritance”. The default selection is “All sibling pages of the currently opened page”; this is our recommendation. 
  2. Choose the level of pages you would like to show; our recommendation is 2. 
  3. Select your navigation template; our recommendation is to use “Vertical” if you only have a few child pages and “Accordion vertical” if you have a lot of child pages.  

Instructions for breadcrumb navigation:  

  1. On all top level pages, click “Break inheritance”. The default selection is “Full path to the current page”; this is our recommendation. 
  2. Under Show options, our recommendation is to include the home page link and the current page in the end of the breadcrumb.
  3. There is only one template so no changes need to be made. 
  4. Note: builders usually leave this off of the homepage due to redundancy. Check the box to hide this in your homepage properties.

Back to Top Button

Back to Top Button

For increases user experience and accessibility, a back to top button will be automatically applied to all pages longer than four screens and will hover on the bottom right of user’s screens. This is turned on by default. It is our recommendation that every page has this option. You can uncheck it if you need to disable the function.

 

    Local Footer


    The local footer is located right above the global footer, which is the same university wide. The local footer is customizable for site builders. It can consist of a parent breadcrumb, a physical address, social media icons, and up to four columns of helpful links for site visitors. Learn more about local footers. 

    Parent website breadcrumb

    Site builders can select their homepage breadcrumb here which will allow users to click back to the homepage from the local footer. To use this feature: 

    1. Click Select 
    2. Find and select your homepage
    3. Hit Done 

    Physical address

    Site builders can select their address here and should submit a ticket if the information is not here or correct. This information is displayed in the local footer. To use this feature: 

    1. Click Select 
    2. Find and select your department
    3. Hit Done

    Social Media

    Social media icons can be displayed in the local footer. This is a reusable content type and should only need to be created once. User can create the content type in this area by hitting select and “Create a new item”. They can also create it in the content tab area on the dashboard. This content type can be maintained/edited in both places. To use this feature: 

    1. Click Select
    2. Choose Create new item
    3. Give the item a title and fill out all applicable fields
    4. Hit Publish.  

    Please note: you only have to create this group one time as it is reusable content. Site builders can reuse the same item on all other pages.

      Column footer links

      This is also a reusable content type. Link groups can be created here as well as in the content tab on the dashboard in the same way as the social media icons. There can be up to four columns.

      NOTE: You can select the groups (link groups) you’ve already created at this time. If you choose not to create link groups in the content area first, you can create them at this time. This will allow you to create the groups only; users cannot add links here. This is more of a place holder. The groups created can be maintained and links can be added in the “Content” area in the dashboard. This is helpful if the users would like to setup their page footer properly but are unsure of the specific links at that time. They can setup the appropriate groups and maintain the links in the dashboard without the added stress of going into individual pages to make changes once they have the links figured out. 

      To use setup the groups in your page properties:

      1. Click Select 
      2. Choose Create new item
      3. Enter the office or unit name.
      4. Number them according to columns. For example: OIT wants to have 3 link columns total in their local footer. There should then be three link groups created, one for each column. The “office/unit name” for those groups might look like OIT 1, OIT 2, and OIT 3. These names are not public; they are intended to help site builders organize their columns.
      5. Provide a section label. This is the public label that appear above the links in the local footer. Site visitors can see this label and it should be descriptive of the links in this group. For example: resources, services, etc.
      6. Add a link if you want the label to be clickable and direct site visitors to an associated page.
      7. If applicable, choose whether you would like that link to open in a new window (external pages only).
      8. Publish the group.
      9. Repeat up to four times. 
      10. Once you see the groups listed, assign the proper group to each column. 

      Please note: you only have to create these groups one time as it is reusable content. Site builders can reuse the same item on all other pages.

      Later when you are ready to add additional links to your Link groups. You will be able to do so in the Content area of the dashboard.  

      1. Click Content at the top of your dashboard and select Link groups
      2. Find the name of the first group and click “Links” to begin adding links to that group (column).
      3. Click “Create a Link” and name the link as it will appear on the website and provide the link. This could be an internet page using the page selector or an external page by providing the URL.
      4. Number the link to create a sort/display order and publish.
      5. Repeat until you have all completed all your link groups.

       

        Site Settings


        Website Name

        This is usually the name of the department, division or website. Logos are no longer accepted in the top of webpages so this is a good way for site builders to let their audience know what site they are looking at. This name is inherited to all child pages unless specifically changed on a webpage’s properties.

        Website homepage

        Builders have the option to make the website name clickable to their site’s homepage. To use this feature:

        1. Click Select 
        2. Find and select your homepage and
        3. Hit Done  

        If nothing is selected, the website name is not clickable. Again, this is inherited throughout child pages and should be completed on all top level pages.

          Parent unit or approved partner

          A second line can be displayed below the website/unit name to show hierarchy or an approved partnership. This text is limited to a single parent unit or partner affiliation. This is also inherited. No taglines, promotional copy or other text may be used.  

          Parent unit or approved partner Url

          This allows site visitors to click to a parent unit’s homepage. To use this feature, insert your parent unit's URL in this area. If nothing inserted, the website name is not clickable. This is inherited throughout child pages.

          Examples with images below: Center for Midwifery, second line College of Nursing; Accounting Services, second line Finance Office.

            Sitewide Notification Banner

            This option allows site builders to display pertinent information to site visitors across the top of webpages. You can find additional details, an example and instructions here:  https://www.ucdenver.edu/atweb/learnsitefinity/widgets/sitewide-banner. 

            Campus

            Builders should select all appropriate campus tags. 

             

            CTA in local header

            Site builders have the option to include an action button in the local header area, which will display on the far right. To utilize this feature:

            1. Type in desired button text.
            2. Choose the link destination by selecting a page within your site or inserting a URL to an external website. 
            3. If applicable, please check link indicator boxes if the website is password protect, external or both.   

            The header CTA button inherit downwards, so if a Header CTA button is set on a top level page, any child pages will also display the button, unless selected otherwise on specific pages.

            How Top Navigation and the new Header CTA button work together

            The header CTA button is visible at the top of a page on desktop screen sizes. On mobile screen sizes, it will be combined with certain top navigation templates. Desktop example is below. 

            Example of top navigation CTA

            Logo/Mark

            This is the university logo chosen to meet brand standards. It is assigned base on campus affiliation. There is no logo currently for CU Anschutz or Dual units. CU Denver’s logo is “CU in the City”. Site builders cannot change this. 

             

              Global links

              This is usually Webmail, UCDAccess and Canvas. This cannot be changed by site builders but they can request this to be changed based on their audience needs via Cherwell ticket.  

              The global header links appear in the top right-hand corner of university sites next to quick links and search. By default these links focus on internal audiences but you have the option to request that these links be customized specifically for your site's audience. Send an email to websitehelp@ucdenver.edu to make a request to change your site’s global header links in Sitefinity.

              Desktop view shown below and mobile view is to the right. Click on the images to expand.

              Global Links in desktop

                Descriptions, Keywords


                Description

                Enter in a sentence to describe the type of content present on the page. It should be 150 characters or less. 

                Keywords 

                Enter in words related to the content of the page. Separate keywords with a comma and space. It should be 450 characters or less. 

                Default page description and keywords (for SEO)

                These descriptions and keywords are duplicates. Please use the "Description" and "Keywords" section at the top only

                  Google Tag Manager container id

                  All domains and subdomains will receive their own analytics properties and Google Tag Manager event tracking. Site Builders should add the proper Google Tag Manager container ID to all top level pages in page properties using the “Google Tag Manager container id” field. This can be accessed through the “Title & Properties” on any page. If the value is left blank, analytics will be tracked by the default CU Denver container.

                  DomainTag Manager ID
                  ucdenver.eduGTM-TJ3RC4
                  cuanschutz.eduGTM-PBKNXZ9
                  dental.cuanschutz.eduGTM-5KGTHSF
                  pharmacy.cuanschutz.eduGTM-5HBZQH9
                  medschool.cuanschutz.edu
                  GTM-5FPNTR7 

                   

                    Social sharing options

                    This option allows site builders to preselect information that they would like to display when someone shares the page on social media. To use this feature, fill in the applicable fields.  

                     

                      Custom CSS or JavaScript files:  

                      Builders will not have access to this section in page properties. You should work with Web Services to find solutions for their website needs instead of trying custom solutions. If you a looking for new functionality submit a feature request.