Cascade CMS User Guide
The Cascade CMS User Guide (PDF) includes best practices for creating and editing Web content.
Users Group
The Cascade CMS Users Group is a collective of Brandeis Web editors who manage their sites in the Cascade Content Management System. The group was designed to create a community of mutual support where knowledge can be shared and collaboration can occur. The users group is also a feedback mechanism for LTS. > More
Best Practices
We've compiled these tips to help you navigate the sometimes confusing waters for your Web site. If you have tips that could be helpful for fellow Cascade CMS users, please e-mail us.
Associated Press Style
Text on Brandeis Web sites should follow the grammar, punctuation and spelling rules outlined in the Associated Press Stylebook. The Office of Communications recommends that you purchase the latest edition of the AP Stylebook from www.apstylebook.com.
Download a quick reference document. (PDF)
Spelling
All Web pages must be free of spelling errors. Carefully proofread material and use the spell-checker tools in Cascade CMS. Toggle the spell-checker in the WYSIWYG to underline misspelled words in red, or select Check Spelling under Advanced Options at the bottom of the Content area of before submitting the page.
Space Between Sentences
Sentences should be separated by only one space. Two spaces between sentences is an outdated and incorrect convention.
Adding Emphasis
Use bold text and preset headline styles to add emphasis. Do not use ALL CAPS or italicized text, which pixelates on a computer screen and hinders readability. Do not use underlined text, which signifies hyperlinks on many Web sites.
Naming Folders and Files
Folder and file names should be short, descriptive, all lowercase and contain no spaces; hyphens are permissible.
- Correct: faculty, courses, news-events, prez-letter.pdf, smith.jpg
- Incorrect: faculty and staff, Resources, president-annual-report-december-2008.pdf
Image Sizing
Images should be resized to the correct dimensions needed on your site. Do not upload large files (multiple megabytes). We recommend Adobe Photoshop Elements for resizing images. This software can be purchased through LTS for $28 (Mac) or $41 (Windows). If this software is not available to you, you can use PicResize 3.0, a free, Web-based product that was created by a Brandeis graduate student.
You may use the following as a quick reference for your images:
Main Content Images
- Horizontal image width: 200 pixels
- Vertical image width: 115 pixels
Sidebar Images
Images placed in the sidebar are meant to be small and not detract from the main content area.
- Width: No more than 75 pixels if text will wrap around the image
- Width: No more than 115 pixels if text will appear above or below the image
The slideshow is 397 pixels wide by 266 pixels high. A black background is applied to vertical images, which should also be resized to 266 pixels high. Images that are not resized to these dimensions will look blurry or distorted in the slideshow.
Image Color Format
Images must be in RGB color format. If you upload an image and see a text error instead of the image in View/Preview, you may have uploaded an image in CMYK color format.
Metadata
The metadata you enter will help Google and other search engines find your site. Be sure to enter relevant keywords as well as a title. The title appears at the top of the visitor's Web browser and in search results. "Brandeis University" is automatically included in the title.
Broken Links
After publishing a page, folder or site, click the Home button in the CMS to read the publish message in My Messages. It will list any broken links.
Left Navigation
The "Home" page should be the last link in the column.