Digital Musings

Communicating on COVID-19

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Many areas of Michigan Tech are in charge of various guidelines, protocols, resources, frequently asked questions, and other information resulting from COVID-19. What is the best way to get this content onto your CMS website?

Documents or Webpages?

If your department is generating or receiving new content, you generally have a couple options for posting it online:

  1. Add to an existing webpage
  2. Create a new webpage
  3. Upload as a Word Document or PDF

If you have a small amount of content, like a status update, that relates to an existing webpage, we recommend adding a message box to that existing page. See the COVID-19 message box at the top of the Current Students webpage for an example.

If you have a lot of content, we recommend creating a new webpage. Here are some examples from other departments:

Sometimes, it may be tempting to post a PDF or other document format. Because these files are not as accessible or easy to use as a CMS webpage, we recommend only posting files if they are coming from a non-Michigan Tech entity, like the CDC or State of Michigan. An exception to this recommendation could be if the document is solely for printing purposes.

Frequently Asked Questions

When posting COVID-19 frequently asked questions, keep these tips in mind:

  1. Add a date after the answer, so users know if the information is new, has changed, or has been verified recently. Review several of the HR FAQs to see statuses used well.
  2. If you have more than seven total FAQs, try to organize them into subcategories to make your listing more scannable and readable. Review the groupings used by the HR FAQs as a good example.

In Omni CMS, use the FAQ Ordered List snippet to format your questions and answers.

Message Boxes

You may need to post a COVID-19 related message box onto an existing webpage. Examples include:

You can create a message box by using a Boxed Sections snippet with single column and full border options selected in Omni CMS.

Homepages

Calling out your COVID-19 information on your homepage may be important. There are a few options to do this:

Mediazone

You can add rollover buttons within the Mediazone of your homepage. Examples include:

In Omni CMS, select the Text Over Image banner type in the MultiEdit Content screen and add content in the Media Title and Banner Content fields.

Message Box

You can add a message box to your homepage or work your COVID-19 content into your existing message box. As an example, Facilities worked their COVID-19 content into there Announcements box:

Message boxes are created by using a Boxed Sections snippet with single column and full border options selected in Omni CMS. On a homepage, this is generally done in the Main Content region.

Blog Feed

If you have a blog feed on your homepage, you can make COVID-19 posts in your department blog that feed your homepage. HR does a good job of this:

Cross-Linking Content

There may be content from the COVID-19 website that applies to your own website. It is great to cross-link resources! Use the tactics listed above to reference any relevant COVID-19 content from any site onto your own website.

Similarly, you can cross-link your own content across your CMS website. For example information about pass/fail could be linked to on a homepage, a webpage about GPA, and a webpage about add/drop schedules. Link to new COVID-19 content where ever you think your audience might look for it or find it helpful.

You can use and combine these tactics to get COVID-19 content in front of your audiences.

Questions? Email cmshelp@mtu.edu. We are here to help you and are happy to talk through what your scenario is and what might be best. We are also happy to provide technical support.

Stay safe everyone!

Joel Vertin
Director of Digital Services