Back to CMS basics

Guidance notes

Here are some written instructions on adding and editing content, or if you prefer, there is a video guide at the bottom of this page.  You can expand the screenshots by clicking on them.  Tips are given in italics. 

These notes assume you are already logged into the CMS.

Once you have successfully made a page, you can edit the page by adding or editing the content block:

  1. Editing the content block 

  • To do this, select 'Edit Mode' from the top of the toolbar
  • Then left click on the 'Empty Content Block' that appears on the page 

You can also choose from a variety of other content blocks by clicking the '+ Add Content' at the top of the screen, then dragging those icons onto the page. 

  • You can now add your text.  
  • If you are pasting your text, you must add your text as 'plain text'.  You can do this by pressing "CTRL+SHIFT+v or highlight the content and click on the 'Tx' option in the editor. This is very important to ensure you don't accidently bring across any additional formatting (which could interrupt the colour contrast tools in the Accessibility Toolbar)

When adding content to a page, you should use the default font style ('Normal') for body text.

For headings and subheadings, use Header 2 and below (these font styles are listed in the dropdown which says 'Normal' by default). This ensures that assistive technology such as screen readers will work correctly. For more information on accessibility compliance, view our accessible content guide.  Don't be tempted to choose a size based on its appearance!

If you are finding that spacing isn't correct, or lines are resizing together - you may need some page breaks.  Click the 'Show Blocks' button below which displays page breaks.  You can delete any spaces that are in the page that don’t need to be there:

  1. Adding links

You can add links to files, pages within the website or other websites.

  • Highlight the appropriate content you want to link the file to and click the 'link icon'. If the file already resides in the file manager click the browse server option and locate the file you wish to link to.
  • To add a file to the file manager see the instructions on our Uploading Files page

 

  • To add a link to page within the website, click 'Sitemap'
  • Select the page you want to link to

Do not paste a link to a page within the website.  If this is a demo (test) site, the url won't be updated upon go live.  If it is a live site, and you later move that page in the site map, the link will break.  Using the 'Sitemap' method above will ensure that the links always remain live (unless the page is deleted)

  • To add a link to another website, click in the box which says 'url' 
  • Paste the link
  • You should  leave the Target setting at the top and as '<not set>'.  This is for accessibility and follows the best practice set by websites like gov.uk and nhs.uk.
  • To add an email address, click 'Link Type' and set the drop down to 'Email'
  • Add the email address that the email should be sent to.  You can also add an email subject, for example, related to the page
  • To add a telephone number, click 'Link Type' and set the drop down to 'Phone'
  • Add the number to the 'phone number' box 
  • Click 'OK'
  • Then click 'Save'