Content and Media at pdx.edu

Owned by Ashley Nilson, created
Last updated: Sept 18, 2024 by Amaya-Giselle Vy
10 min read

The information on this page is dedicated to written content, documents, images, and videos added to your site.

 

 

Any content added to a pdx.edu site must be accessible to users with disabilities and follow appropriate legal guidelines. Additional information can be found in PSU’s Digital Accessibility, Digital Privacy, and Copyright policies.

Written Content

While most paragraph blocks allow only basic text entry, some allow more complex formatting options. Most of the formatting options are self-explanatory, however, there are a few that require additional information.

Content copied from external sources such as an email or document will try to keep the original formatting. To prevent this from happening, always use ctrl+shift+v (PC) or command+shift+v (Mac) to paste your written content as plain text. This will ensure your written content follows PSU’s Brand Identity guidelines.

Text paragraph blocks allow you to manage your own content headings using the Paragraph dropdown; in most other paragraph blocks the heading structure is set by the paragraph block title.

A few things to remember about headings:

  • Headings are applied to section titles so visitors using screen readers can "skim" a page to understand its structure and content.

  • Maintain the appropriate heading structure. Use Heading 2 for main section titles, Heading 3 is for heading 2 subsection titles, Heading 4 is for heading 3 subsection titles. This pattern also applies for Heading 5 and Heading 6, if you get that far into the heading structure (rare).

  • Headings should never be used for emphasis; use bold, italics, or block quotes for those options.

Tables should only be used for tabular content, never for visual layout. Tabular content is written content that has a clear header row or column. To make a table, select the Insert Table button and complete the use the pop-out to select the number of rows and columns (this can be adjusted later). When working with your table, if you place your cursor in a particular cell, a pop-out will display which has options to work with a column, row, or cell. It also has the option to toggle the table caption on and off.


Things to include:

  • You must identify a header row or column by placing your cursor into the applicable row or column and choosing the row or column option (depending on your need). Near the top of the list of choices is an option to assign the row or column as a header - toggle that on. This is a component of accessibility as it helps a person using a screenreader navigate the table.

  • Tables by default align left. You are unable to center or right-align your table..

  • Cells auto-adjust to fit contents. You cannot manually adjust cell widths.

  • Table widths are capped at the page width. Never fear that your content will move off the side of the page; table width expands with added content until the page width is met and then the content will begin wrapping.

  • Links should never be added to a header row or column as the color contrast between the background and the linked text is not sufficient for accessibility purposes.

Block quotes allow you to add emphasis to important content on a page. To add a block quote:

  1. Highlight the text you want in the block quote

  2. Center-align the text

  3. Select the quotation marks in the formatting menu 

The block quote text won't look different on the Edit tab. However, when you save the page the text will be larger and a different color/style.

Images

Images should be no larger than 1MB (1,000KB). While the site will allow you to upload larger files, once you reach a certain file size the file/image will upload but not function. Additionally, do not use photo editing software to create image collages or add text to an image.

Your pages will display differently depending on your visitor’s screen size (mobile, tablet, desktop). As such, your images will adapt to different screen sizes which means you cannot guarantee the full photo collage or text will always be visible.  

When using an image for a particular block, you’ll want to ensure the image meets these minimum recommended dimensions (in pixels):

  • Large Hero and CTA: Full-Width Image: 2000x700 (WxH)

  • Other Blocks: 650x650 (WxH)

  • Text Blocks: There are no pre-set sizes for images in text blocks. As such, you must upload images that are already customized to the size you want. Some recommended widths are:

    • Small: 250px

    • Medium: 400px

    • Large/Full span: 800px

  • Event image:  455x325 (WxH)

  • News Article image: 945x520 (WxH)

  • For images in text blocks, the image will cap out at the width of the page. However, you cannot customize the size of the image after upload, so make sure you’re uploading an image already scaled and cropped to the desired dimensions.

Videos

All content on the public-facing pdx.edu website must be accessible to people with disabilities. Accessibility is not only an important part of building a welcoming and inclusive university culture; it’s also PSU policy. (Please refer to the Digital Accessibility Policy for additional information.) This means that all pdx.edu multimedia content must include the following:

  • accurate, synchronized captions;

  • an accompanying transcript; and

  • audio or text descriptions for any visual elements not accurately accompanied by equivalent audio.

These features ensure that people with vision or hearing disabilities can access your multimedia content. It also allows for greater accessibility and usability for those who are second language learners, those with cognitive learning disabilities, or those who are simply trying to watch a video in a loud or distracting environment.

The Digital Accessibility Basic Training Series offers a good example of accessible multimedia content. Note that the narrator provides an audio description of visual information at the end of each video. This is an important practice to emulate when generating new multimedia content.

Documents

PDX.edu is not a file storage system; we are a public-facing website with finite storage space that must prioritize web content and visual imagery. As such, if you regularly upload documents for public consumption, such as meeting notes or general resource documentation, we recommend using a shared Google Drive to store the documents. You can then set the appropriate access permissions on the file itself, and link to the file from your PDX.edu site.

Additionally, before uploading a document, ask yourself if it really should be a document. Web content is the easiest kind of content to make accessible, and is easier to update while maintaining accessibility.

Ideally, you should only upload documents if they're intended for print distribution. If you have information that's not intended to be printed, then you consider making it a web page instead.

All documents must be made accessible to users with disabilities prior to uploading the document. You cannot modify the document after upload. To make a document accessible, review the Accessibility for Non-HTML Content resources in the PSU Help Center.

If you have questions or need further assistance, submit a request for Digital Accessibility Support.

Embedding External Content

Content from other sources, such as Google Calendar and YouTube, can be embedded using an iframe. Most programs that allow content to be embedded elsewhere allow you to create iframes which are then inserted into the page’s HTML. Your site has a built-in method to create iframes in the Text: 1 Column paragraph block.

Do be aware that embedding external content is appropriate for stand-alone widgets and elements that supplement PDX.edu content; they are not intended to replicate entire other sites. If there is an existing well-developed external resource, link to that content instead. This is a mutual benefit as it reinforces the connection between content through interlinking and page views.