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Creating a New Web Page

Create Web Page/Course Guide

Getting Started

Creating either a web page or course guide is essentially the same process, there is a small design difference between them.  If you are a content manager outside of the Research & Instruction department, all pages will be created as web pages or designated General Use.  Before you begin, you should know your department's group name to properly group the pages, and have an idea of the structure of your content to select the appropriate navigation style.

 

Create a Web Page

1. To get started, log on to LibGuides, and from the menu select Content, and then Guides (center, below).  Once within the Guides listing, on the top left you will find the labelled + Create Guide, choose it to enter the Create Guide Form.

 

 

2. The Create Guide Form outlines the information needed to categorize and name your page or guide.  Enter the name, and select the Type depending on your needs.  For general web pages, keep it as General Purpose.  For Course Guides, select Course Guide.  Be sure to select your Group, so that the page appears in the appropriate group listing for further editing.  When finished, click the Save button to open your new page within the GUI editor.

Add Your Profile Box

3. Once you are in the GUI editor for your new page, click on the Add Box - Column 1 link to create your first box, which should be on the left 25% of the screen.  This allows the users to know who is responsible for the web page, and how to contact the web page content manager or department.  Enter your name for the Box Name, and select Profile as the Type.  Select the Floating Box style, which removes the green bar that is traditionally used for Course Guides.  (If you are creating a Course Guide, then check the box, and select Course Guide as the type.)

Create a Primary Box, & Select the Content Type for the Box

4. Create another box for your content on the right column side of the page, using the Add Box - Column 2 link.  For the Name, type Content, and select Standard (Instead of Profile) in the Type dropdown list.  Most boxes will be used to display web content, which is either entered in to an editor, or coded using HTML.  For most text, the editor works best, so select the content for your content box by selecting the Add / Reorder dropdown selection and selecting the Rich Text Format / HTML option ( circled in Red, below):

5. A GUI editor will appear, which will allow you to type in content, and use any styles needed for Header and paragraph text.  The first Header on a page uses the Heading 4 size, and subsequent subheadings use the Heading 5 size.

 

Selecting a Navigation Structure

6. To select an appropriate navigation setup for your page, click on the icon that appears like mountains and select Guide Navigation Layout:

 

Choose one of the options from the Tab Layout dropdown as follows:

Navigation Layouts

  • Top Nav Layouts:  These Three Navigation Layouts are all top-aligned search tabs.
  • System Default - Top-Nav
  • USFSP - Top-Nav Layout
  • People Page Layout (for People Pages Only)
  • Web Groups Minimal Design Page - Top Navigation:  This layout hides the page title, but allows the search function in a top tab navigation.
  • Side Nav Layouts:  These Three Navigation Layouts are all left-hand sets of buttons which can be partly hidden or fully expanded lists.
  • System Default - Side-Nav Layout:  Contains search box and page title.
  • USFSP - Side-Nav Layout: 
  • Web Groups Minimal Design Page - Side Nav and NO S:  Omits search button and search box.
  • Web Groups Minimal Design Page - Side Navigation:  Omits page title but keeps search box for group searches of pages.

Note that items that appear in the navigation, top tab or side buttons, can be redirected to another page on the site or another page on an external site if needed.  This is done in the page properties, after you create the secondary page.  The Plus (+) on the bottom navigation item is used to begin creating secondary pages.  Secondary pages can have unique URLs or redirect. 

 

Assign a URL & Publish the Page

7. To make the page easy to find as a part of your group, and to publish the page as either a private page accessible only via URL or Link or make the page public and searchable through the LibGuides search boxes, first assign a URL bases on the group and page name:

The page name is a combination of both the group name, plus the page name.  Instead of spaces, place a dash (-) between words.  Some browsers have trouble distinguishing spaces within file names.

8. Finally, publish the page so that it is available for view.  To do this, on the far right-had side of the editor, select the Unpublished dropdown and select Change Status & Share item.

 

From this dialog box, you can choose how the page is viewed, indexed for searches, and if the guide content will be shared with other users within the LibGuides community.  Read the helpful boxes in the image below for descriptions of the selections.  Private pages are not hidden entirely, but rather do not appear in searches and must be reached via a link within a published page, or via a direct URL in the browser.