All Updates

UMaine website updates and bug fixes (September 2019)

We are making some minor changes to content blocks that you may notice, revising the names of some blocks, and adjusting the naming of options for clarity and consistency across campuses. Functionality of content blocks should not change, if you notice anything working differently in October please let us know Bug fixes A longstanding bug in […]

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Accessibility and color

Web accessibility has always been a requirement for UMaine websites, and Digital Communications has been increasing efforts to improve the accessibility of web content on umaine.edu. The term “accessibility” refers to our efforts to remove barriers that prevent access to websites by people who have a disability. This month, we discuss how the use of […]

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UMaine website updates and bug fixes (August 2019)

In early August, our campus WordPress environment was upgraded to the latest version of WordPress (5.2.2). As detailed in our December newsletter, we will continue to utilize the “Classic editor” alongside our own content blocks feature for the foreseeable future. Over the coming year, we will be working with UMS IT to create a new […]

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Website options for faculty

Another academic year is upon us. With the start of our next year of monthly newsletters, now is a great time to remind everyone what Digital Communications offers for faculty and staff web needs on campus. Campus WordPress environment: This is our most common solution. Websites are set up on a WordPress multisite that has […]

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New website? What to expect

Digital Communications supports over 400 websites as part of umaine.edu, and that number grows every month. We are always available to help set up a new website, and understand that it can take site owners a while to get content ready for launch. Here is a brief overview of our process for creating and launching […]

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Accessibility and tables

Web accessibility has always been a requirement for UMaine websites, and Digital Communications has been increasing efforts to improve the accessibility of web content on umaine.edu. The term “accessibility” refers to our efforts to remove barriers that prevent access to websites by people who have a disability. This month, we explain how to address accessibility in […]

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Accessibility myths and misconceptions

Web accessibility has always been a requirement for UMaine websites, and Digital Communications has been increasing efforts to improve the accessibility of web content on umaine.edu. The term “accessibility” refers to our efforts to remove barriers that prevent access to websites by people who have a disability. This month, we acknowledge some myths and misconceptions […]

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Optimizing images

“Optimizing” an image for websites is about reducing the file size of an image as much as possible while maintaining good quality. Most photos taken with digital cameras and phones are much larger than necessary for display on a web page, and require some optimization. The UMaine websites restrict image uploads to 1MB or less […]

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Accessibility in web forms

Explain the form The most important first step for an accessible web form is the content around the form itself. Make sure your instructions are brief, clear, and set the visitor’s expectations properly. Explain what filling out the form is going to accomplish for them. In the example of a contact form, explain up front […]

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New service for faculty websites

Historically, our support for the website needs of faculty has included two solutions: A faculty bio page within a college, school or unit website A lab site to contain the work done by a faculty member alongside students Some faculty have in the past found that their web needs fall between these two solutions; they […]

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