Who is this guidance for?

This guidance is relevant for web admins with access to the CLAS Resource site (resource.clas.uiowa.edu) and the CLAS main site (clas.uiowa.edu). Questions? Email us!

Thanks for being part of making our CLAS web presence a great user experience. To best support, we have set forth the following guidelines and expectations for all website admins with access to either collegiate site. 

Please ensure you are actively familiar with and consistently implementing these strategies and best practices in your web editing efforts. As always, contact our team for support.

The new CLAS websites on a laptop, tablet, and phone

Understand and commit to these strategy and writing concepts

  • Purpose of, and difference between, the two college sites:
    • Student-focused college site (the CLAS Marcom team updates this site, except for a few specific areas)
    • Faculty and staff-focused CLAS Resource site (individual site admins in each subject area update this site)
  • Importance of taking an audience-first, benefit-rich approach to web writing.
  • Follow on-brand messaging and the university editorial style guide.
  • Follow web best practices created by OSC and CLAS Marcom.
  • Participate in our CLAS web governance strategy, by:
    • Taking accountability for updating your specific pages on the site and limiting your updates to those pages.
    • Actively collaborating on future improvements with CLAS Marcom.
    • Committing to maintaining up-to-date knowledge of the Drupal admin and web best practices.
    • Supporting digital accessibility by complying with Title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA).

Maintain working knowledge of Drupal admin training topics

Note: we are actively adding to this list of training resources. Please contact us if you have a request for specific documentation or have a specific question.

Guidelines for making changes to CLAS collegiate websites

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Changes and updates to make (only on relevant pages to your work) at your own pace:

  • Edit, update, or add new text on existing pages.
  • Add or edit people profiles using appropriate relationship tags, including adding portraits and CVs.
  • Add or replace media (pdfs, word docs, images, etc.) on pages.
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Please consult us first if you feel you need to do things like:

  • Add content intended for audiences other than the intended primary audience of the site you're editing.
  • Add brand new pages or content that strays from the site design and structure.
  • Change page titles–which may also affect URL strings.
  • Move pages into different sections.
  • Adjust layout to pages, including adding extra images, modifying calls-to-action (buttons), editing banners, changing component placement on structure pages like staff lists or section landing pages, etc.
  • Make changes to site structure (main navigation, dropdown menus, section page structure, footer links, etc.) or to individual page navigation labels.
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When in doubt, ask!

Note: If updates are made outside of the scope of these guidelines, we will reach out to you and attempt to help reconfigure the site to support the overall strategic goals of the college and the department.

We reserve the right to remove access if repeated changes to web strategy are made without Marcom support and awareness.