Updates and information to manage your USC Dornsife website.
Updates and information to manage your USC Dornsife website.
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USC University of Southern California
August 2025
Text Dornsife Download and image of Tommy Trojan statue
News and resources for USC Dornsife website editors.

Website Resources & Support Hub: dornsife.usc.edu/website
Contact: webproject@dornsife.usc.edu
In This Issue: Time for a Web Check Up
Fall semester is quickly approaching. Is your website ready?
In this issue of the Dornsife Download you’ll find:
As always, if you need assistance with your site, you can visit our website hub or you can reach out to the web support team directly at webproject@dornsife.usc.edu or via our Slack channel.
Now, here's the download.
An open laptop on a desk with other work items.
Freshen Up Your Site for Fall
Website management is an ongoing process. Here are four tips to ensure your digital presence is polished and ready for visitors.
  1. Review your site. Click through all the pages of your website to ensure your content is up to date and everything is functioning as expected. If you haven’t yet, activate your site’s global contact footer.

  2. Add alt text to all of your images. Digital accessibility is required under federal ADA guidelines. Here’s how to add alternative text descriptions to your images if they don't already have them. 

  3. Review your published faculty and staff lists. Are your site directories up to date? This is especially important if you built the rosters on your site. Dynamic listing pages automatically update with any faculty or staff changes but it never hurts to check them, too. 

  4. Check who has access to edit your site. Does your admin list need to be updated? If so, here’s how to view your site's editors and update who has access.
Expanded Resources on Our Support Hub
The USC Website Resources & Support hub is your one-stop shop for anything you need to manage or build your Dornsife site. WordPress login link? Check. Image library and sizing guidelines? Yes and yes. Training library? The hub has you covered.
We’ve revamped the site, adding resources and making it easier for our site editors to find the information they need. Be sure to bookmark this site and visit it whenever you have questions about managing, editing or building your Dornsife site.
If you need additional assistance, you can also:
  • Open a support ticket by emailing webproject@dornsife.usc.edu
  • Ask your question in our dedicated web support Slack channel of more than 200 website editors plus our web team. Questions are usually answered within minutes.
Laptop, pens, a mobile deivce and a small pad of paper.

Request a Training Session

Need a more personalized introduction to our WordPress content management system? Schedule an individual or group training session on our CMS.
Submit your request >>
Essential Elements for an Accessible Site
Accessibility – the practice of making websites and digital content usable by people with disabilities – is a top priority for the university and USC Dornsife. 
While our website platform was designed to accessibility standards, as we add content to our sites – text, images, video – we must observe best practices to make sure all visitors can access our digital content without limitations.
Here are a few key ways to ensure your site remains accessible but also be sure to view our accessibility guides here:
  1. Provide text alternatives: Always include descriptive text known as alt text for images. Alt text, short for alternative text, provides an image description for visitors with low vision or visitors using screen readers. Learn how to add alt text to your images in our guide >>

  2. Create adaptable content. Our website design is responsive – it changes configuration if someone is viewing a webpage on a desktop computer, a mobile phone, or another device. A link on your website labeled “Learn More about the Program” makes more sense than instructions to “click the button to the right” if the web layout changes based on the device it’s being accessed on.

  3. Create easily navigated content. Help users navigate your website and find content by breaking up long text passages with the provided title and heading styles. This allows sighted users as well as users of assistive technologies to more quickly skim content.

  4. Create accessible PDFs. When you create PDFs, there are simple steps you can take to ensure that readers using assistive technologies such as screen readers can access the information in your documents. Learn more >>
Learn more about building and maintaining accessible websites >>
View our accessibility guides >>
Tips + Tools


😄 Add Social Icons to Your Website Footer 

Add social media icons to your site’s global footer with a quick copy and paste. And if you haven’t yet activated your site’s global footer, now is the time. Learn more >>


< ❤️ > How to Add iframe Titles to WordPress

Embedding a form or other element in Rich Text or another component? Make sure your embed is accessible to site visitors who use screen readers by adding an iframe tag in a few simple steps. Here’s how >>


↪️ New Link? No Problem.

When you change the URL for a page or post, website visitors who use the old URL will get an "Error 404" page or have trouble finding the new page. Setting up a redirect automatically takes them from the old address to the new web address. Here's how to set up redirects >>
Quick Links 
Log into WordPress
Training & support library
Website accessibility
Update your directory profile
Take a professional portrait
Image size guidelines
Website Resources & Support Hub: dornsife.usc.edu/website
Contact: webproject@dornsife.usc.edu
View Past Issues
University Park Campus | Los Angeles, CA 90089 US
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