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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
change, request, design Training and Access |
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How do I log in to the CMS?
- Visit the CMS login page.
- You may be automatically logged in if you have previously logged into the CMS or another QUB service. If this is the case, you do not need to follow steps 2-3.
- If prompted, enter your QUB credentials.
- If prompted, complete the Multi-factor authentication (MFA) steps.
- Upon successful completion of steps 1-3, you will be logged in and redirected to the CMS welcome screen.
Note: Please ensure a CMS profile has been set up for you, otherwise you will not be logged in to the CMS. You can learn more on accessing the system on our guidance page.
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
logging in, login Training and Access |
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
logging in, login, active directory, account Training and Access |
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
training, register Training and Access |
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Where are the CMS Training Videos?
Our online training materials are a series of instructional pages which have been organised into two main categories:
To learn how to use the system begin with the common tasks videos, as these are the things you'll need to know to be able to maintain your site, for example, modifying existing content and adding different types of links.
The content types resource are a list of all the layouts you can choose from - each web page being populated using different blocks of content with each block using a specific content type of your choice.
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
training, videos Training and Access |
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How do I request a new site?
The Change Request Process needs to be completed before you can begin developing a new site.
Once you submit the New Website/Change Request Form, this goes to the Digital Operations Group (DOG). This group will review the change request and you will be informed accordingly of the outcomes.
Complete the New Website/Change Request Form
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
request, new, website Training and Access |
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IT Support Training and Access |
current-staff |
blog, wordpress Training and Access |
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Why is the orientation of my image wrong on my website?
The web browser shows the correct orientation of the image when the photo was taken. This could be upside-down if the camera was held upside down when the image was taken. You will have to resave the image in the correct orientation.
To do this, you can open your image in an image editor and save the image in your preferred orientation. At this point, you can then upload your image to CMS.
Note: The CMS currently ignores the default orientation setting, so the image may look correct in the CMS thumbnail preview but look incorrect when published live.
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IT Support Content |
current-staff |
images, image orientation, web site Content |
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IT Support Content |
current-staff |
table, website, mobile, responsive, data Content |
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What is the correct naming convention for files and images?
What is the Correct Naming Convention for Files and Images?
All documents (e.g., PDFs, Word documents, Excel documents, etc.) and image files uploaded to the Media Library and File Stores, need to use the following naming convention:
- Use only lowercase letters (a to z), numerals (0-9) and hyphens (-).
- Do not use spaces. Instead, use hyphens to separate words.
- Do not use special characters (e.g., £, %, &, á) or underscores.
Correct
- annual-report-and-accounts-2023-24.pdf
- undergraduate-prospectus.pdf
- application-form.docx
- lanyon-building-at-night.jpg
- queens-business-school-student-hub.jpg
Incorrect
- Annual Report & Accounts 2023-24.pdf
- UG_prospectus.pdf
- Application Form.docx
- Lanyon Building.jpg
- Queen's_Business_School & student Hub.jpg
The Web Support Team reserves the right to change (or request changes to) filenames if they do not meet digital best practice.
You also need to ensure that all files and images that are uploaded to the CMS are accessible and have been optimised for use on the web.
The following resources will help you:
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IT Support Content |
current-staff |
filenames, naming convention, file uploads, image names Content |
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IT Support Accessibility |
current-staff |
publish, cms, transfer Accessibility |
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How do I add an Output URI and Metadata Information to my webpage?
For SEO purposes, it is important to give your sections relevant names and then assign key sections in your site Output URIs which follow the correct convention. The correct convention when entering a value into the Output URI field is to use a lowercase and hyphenated version of the section title. For example, the following site is located in the Schools Channel:
Section Name: Queen's Business School Output URI: queens-business-school
This means that the published web address in the above example will be:
https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/queens-business-school/
- From the Actions menu, choose Create Section
- In the Name field, enter a relevant section name. This will become the published page title.
- In the Output URI field, enter a lowercase, hyphenated version of the section name. This will become the final part of the published web address.
It is important to note that it is best to add an Output URI when you are first creating a new section. You can add an Output URI at any time, but adding an Output URI to alter the URL on a section that has been live for a while will affect any Google links, external links or bookmarks pointing to the old URL.
Add a metadata description to key sections in your site. This description should be a meaningful and concise sentence which summarises what the site is about. A search engine then presents this description to the user in its search results. It should be between 120-158 characters in length.
- Click on the Actions menu beside the relevant section and choose Edit Section
- Click the More tab and choose Metadata
- In the Description field type a meaningful description of your site. For example:
'Queen's Management School is one of the top business schools in the UK and Ireland and prides itself on offering a world-class range of undergraduate and postgraduate degree programmes in Accounting, Economics, Finance and Management.'
Add metadata keywords to key sections in your site. Keywords should accurately reflect the content of the site or page.
- Click on the Actions menu beside the relevant section and choose Edit Section
- Click the More tab and choose Metadata
- In the Keywords field type a list of meaningful keywords highlighting key aspects of your site. For example:
'Queen's University, Management School, Business School, UK, Belfast, Top Business School, Business degrees, Accounting degrees, management degrees, finance degrees, QUB Management School'
Don't forget to click Save Changes after making these updates.
The location of the Output URI field under the General Tab, using the correct convention

The location of the Description and Keywords fields under the Metadata Tab

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IT Support Accessibility |
current-staff |
Accessibility |
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How often does my site publish?
The following table shows the publish and transfer schedule of the main channels.
The publish time is the time you need to have approved your changes by, in order to make that publish cycle.
The transfer time is the time, later in the same publish cycle, when the approved changes will transfer and appear on the live site.
Channel Name |
Publish Time |
Transfer Time |
Home |
:12 Hourly (10:12, 11:12) |
:40 Hourly (10:40, 11:40). |
Schools |
:22 Every 2 Hours (11:22, 13:22) |
:55 Every 2 Hours (11:55, 13:55) |
Directorates |
:30 Every 2 Hours (10.30, 12.30) |
:05 Every 2 Hours (11:05, 13:05) |
Research Centres |
:52 Every 2 Hours (11:52, 13:52) |
:25 Every 2 Hours (12:25, 14:25) |
Sites |
:35 Hourly (10:35, 11:35) |
:15 Hourly (11:15, 12:15) |
Events |
:01 Every 2 Hours (10:01, 12:01) |
:45 Every 2 Hours (10:45, 12:45) |
Elearning |
01:55 Once Daily |
:28 Once Daily (02:28) |
China |
:50 Every 2 Hours (10:50, 12:50) |
:08 Every 2 Hours (11:08, 13:08) |
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IT Support Publishing |
current-staff |
access, cms, user, account, training Publishing |
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How do I set a Publish Date and Time?
For each piece of content on your website, the CMS offers you the option to set a specific date and time for that content to be published live. For example, you can prepare content a few weeks or days in advance, planning its future release to the live site by creating the content, setting the required publish date and time options and then approving the content.
- Open the piece of content.
- Click on the Options tab.
- Click in the Publish date field. Today's date and time will automatically be displayed and selected.
- Alter the date and time as required.
- Update and Approve the piece of content.
Make sure you set the publish time to be at least two hours before it needs to go live. Do not set the publish time for exactly when you want the content to go live. There is no way to precisely publish a piece of content for a specific time - you have to work within the scheduled publish cycles.
For example, if you want a piece of content in the Schools channel to go live at 1pm, you need to set the publish time to be approx two hours previous to this - 11am. This is because the Schools channel publishes every two hours at 22 minutes past the hour, so you are aiming for the content to catch the 11:22am publish cycle. The content will then publish to the live site at approx noon.
Other channels, such as Research Centres, publish at different times. View the full list of scheduled publish cycles.
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IT Support Publishing |
current-staff |
publish, date, time Publishing |
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How do I shorten my URL?
There are a number of options to shorten your URL. These are:
- Output URI field
- QUB GO Short URL Service
- URL Redirect
1. Output URI field
By default, the CMS will publish out URL's based on section names. So, if you have a really long section name, your URL will be impacted by that.
To combat this, the CMS has an Output URI field for each section.
This field allows you to create a smaller URL.
A good example is the URL https://www.qub.ac.uk/alumni/. The full Alumni section name is 'Development and Alumni Relations Office' but it has an Output URI which has shortened the URL from 'Development and Alumni Relations Office' to 'alumni'.
It is important to note that it is best to add an Output URI when you are first creating a new section. You can add an Output URI at any time, but adding an Output URI to shorten the URL on a section that has been live for a while will affect any Google links, external links or bookmarks pointing to the old URL.
Tip: The current recommended format when entering a value into the Output URI field is to use hyphens to separate words, and to use lowercase. For example, 'My Section Title', would be written in the Output URI field as 'my-section-title'. This format has benefits for readability and for Search Engine results/rankings.
2. QUB GO Short URL Service
Please note that this is not a CMS service. This service is at the discretion of the service operators.
Accessing the service
Important: Please make sure you are on the QUB VPN or using a QUB networked machine to access. Also, make sure you use your staff credentials to login). This service allows you to create short URL's.
Example Short URL: http://go.qub.ac.uk/my-short-url
3. URL Redirect
Please note that this is not a CMS service. This service is at the discretion of the service operators.
A URL redirect requires the involvement of the Web Infrastructure team to create a redirect that points to your web page. You can contact them via the Site Help Desk ticketing system.
You would need to discuss your short URL and other options with the Web Infrastructure team before this.
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IT Support Publishing |
current-staff |
shorten, url Publishing |
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How do I remove content from the live site?
How do I remove content from the live site?
You can remove a piece of content from the live web page in two ways:
- Expire content
- Delete content
Expire Content
Expiring content means you apply a date and time to the individual piece of content using the Options tab. Once this date and time are reached, the content is removed from the live web page but it is retained within the CMS site structure with an Expired status. You can choose to publish the piece of content again at a later date if required.
To expire content:
- Open the piece of content
- Click the Options tab
- Click in the Expiry Date field

- By default, today's date and nearest time are selected (you can change this to set a different date and time, as required).
- Click Save and Approve

Delete Content
Deleting content means you are permanently removing the piece of content from both the live site and the CMS itself. When you delete a piece of content from your site structure, its status changes to Inactive and it moves to the system recycle bin. In the next publishing cycle, the deleted piece of content will be removed from the live site. The recycle bin is purged every week (usually on a Friday) and the inactive content is permanently deleted from the CMS.
- In the Site Structure screen, click on the section containing the piece of content you want to delete.
- Click on the Contents tab.
- Click the Actions menu beside the piece of content you want to delete.
- Click Delete.
- Confirm the deletion.
The status of the piece of content is now set to Inactive.
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IT Support Publishing |
current-staff |
remove, delete, content Publishing |
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How do I remove a web page from the live site?
How do I remove a web page from the live site?
You can remove a web page (section) from the live site in two ways:
- Set the status of the page to Pending
- Set the status of the page to Inactive
Set the Status to Pending
Setting the status of a web page to pending means it will be removed from the live site but it is retained within the CMS site structure. You can choose to publish the page again at a later date if required by changing its status from Pending back to Approved.
Once the status has been changed to Pending, the page will be removed from the live site in the next publishing cycle.
- In your Site Structure screen, click on the section name
- The properties of the section under the general tab are displayed. In the Status drop-down options, click Pending.
- Click Save Changes.

Set the Status to Inactive
This means you are deleting and permanently removing the section from both the live site and the CMS itself. When you delete a section from your site structure, its status changes to Inactive and it moves to the system recycle bin. In the next publishing cycle, the deleted section will be removed from the live site. The recycle bin is purged every week (usually on a Friday) and the inactive section is permanently deleted from the CMS.
- Click the Actions menu beside the section you want to delete.
- Click Delete Section
- Confirm the deletion
The status of the section is now set to Inactive.
Section Status Infographic showing that Approved sections go live, Pending and Inactive do not go live.

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IT Support Publishing |
current-staff |
remove, delete, page, section, webpage Publishing |