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 2024
Text Dornsife Download and image of Tommy Trojan statue
News and information for USC Dornsife website editors.

Website Project Hub: dornsife.usc.edu/website-project
Contact: webproject@dornsife.usc.edu
In This Issue: Accessible Sites + Creative Ways to Add Video

Fall semester is almost here! Is your website ready? In this issue of the Dornsife Download, you’ll find:
  • Best practices to ensure your site is accessible plus the resources to help you put your knowledge into action
  • Exciting ways to add video to your website
  • Plus, easily add social media icons to your site and try out new Emma email templates.
If you need assistance with your site, you can find resources and support on our website project 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.
Three students sit in front of their laptops studying in a library.
Essential Elements for an Accessible Site


Meeting accessibility standards – the practice of making websites and digital content usable by people with disabilities – is required by the university and a top priority at USC Dornsife. 

While our new site was designed to ADA accessibility standards, as we add content to our sites – text, images, video, PDFs – we must observe best practices to make sure all visitors can access our digital content without limitations.

Here are four key ways to maintain accessibility on your websites:
  1. Provide text alternatives: Always include alternative text, or alt text, image descriptions for visitors with low vision or visitors using screen readers. Learn More >>

  2. Create adaptable content. Our website design is responsive – it changes configuration if someone is viewing a webpage on a desktop computer or a mobile device. Naming a link on your website “Learn More” 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 to more quickly skim content and helps users of assistive technologies.

  4. Create accessible PDFs. When you create PDFs, there are simple steps you can take to ensure that site visitors 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 Guides for Building Accessible Sites (SSO Required)
Updates


🆕 Add Social Icons to Your Website Footer 

We’ve added the ability to 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 >>

🆕 Add Full-Width Embeds to a Page
This new component allows you to embed a full-width iframe on a page, such as Google Calendars, YouTube videos, widgets and more.
Learn More >>
📧 New Email Templates in Emma

Looking to update the look and feel of your e-newsletters? New email template options are available for users of MyEmma email software.
When creating a new email campaign, you’ll find the new templates in “My Gallery” under “Shared Templates.”
3 versions of Dornsife-branded Emma email templates
    Tips, Tools + Best Practices

    🎞️  3 Creative Ways to Add Video to Your Site

    Video is eye-catching. It gives your visitors a way to learn more about what you offer and allows them to dig into a topic that interests them. Here are some engaging ways to add video to your website.

    1. Create a Video Display Page: Showcase your videos using our video listing page template. You can feature a video or a carousel of videos, and organize your videos by categories.

      Here’s an example of a       robust library of career development videos from USC Dornsife Alumni Relations.

      Learn More >>

    2. Animate Your Site with a Video Banner: Bring your homepage to life with an ambient video banner — a background video that sets the ambience or atmosphere for your homepage without distracting from the page content.

      View examples from the Office of Applied and Experiential Learning and the Institute of Advanced Catholic Studies (must be viewed on a desktop browser). 

      Learn More >>

    3. Add Video to Your Pages: The following design components allow you to integrate video into your page design. 

      ▪️ Video with Text Component: Display a large YouTube or Vimeo video with text introduction.

      ▪️ Video Pane Component: Display three vertical or horizontal YouTube or Vimeo videos in a single design block.
    Video pane component
    Quick Links 

    Technical Support 
    On-demand WordPress video tutorials >>
    How-to guides >> 
    Join our web support Slack channel >> 
    Request user access >>

    Resources 
    Log into WordPress >>
    Make sure your website is accessible >> 
    WordPress design component library >>
    How to update your directory photo + profile >>
    Download high-res images for your site >>
    Website image size guide >> 
    Website Project Hub: dornsife.usc.edu/website-project
    Contact: webproject@dornsife.usc.edu
    University Park Campus | Los Angeles, CA 90089 US
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