CMS Page Templates

Explore the UW Templates

Site editors can currently choose from 6 standard use templates, 6 XML feed templates and 3 limited use templates inside Modern Campus CMS. Using snippets and components to create functionality and content, these templates contain upwards of 10 sections that can be turned on/off so you can organize your webpage content how you see fit. All UW pages are mobile-optimized and allow you to plug in your content and images so you can easily add information. Custom CSS and JavaScript are not allowed on CMS pages.

 

These templates were built with research, strategy and accessibility in mind. Each section is intentional and designed to support your content in a modern, user-friendly way. To preserve this integrity, it’s essential that all site editors work within the structure provided by the template assigned to their page.

 

Additionally, ground-up builds from blank templates are no longer permitted. All pages must be created using an approved template. This ensures visual consistency, structural integrity and long-term accessibility compliance.

Templates available to site editors displaying on a laptop screen

Tips for Building great pages

Creating an effective webpage starts with thoughtful planning and the right tools. Use the tips below to enhance your content with strong visuals, strategic structure and brand-aligned design.

Many successful pages use graphic and photo treatments inside Canva — a low-cost, online graphic design platform that is intended for people with minimal graphic design knowledge. We highly recommend this tool!

UW offers thousands of high-quality photos through our online photo database called Canto. Simply use your UW credentials and look for the CMS download presets to perfectly size your images. Check out this training to get started.Make a plan. A great webpage has well-researched analytics and a content outline before building even begins.

Planning a Page Build

XML Feed Templates

XML feeds pull content from individual pages into a corresponding listing page. This applies to blog, news and person page templates. When you publish a new article or biography, key details are added to a global data file. That information is then pulled into your listing page through the published XML file—meaning you only need to build each article or biography once. After the initial setup, your listing page updates automatically with no extra work required. These templates are available to all units.

The blog article template is specifically design for story-based content which is then displayed on a blog listing page. The ideal uses include editorial-style content that is not considered news, student, staff or faculty perspective stories and content that can be supported with multimedia including image sliders and/or YouTube videos.
Blog Article Preview

The blog listing template is designed to be used as the home for all your blog articles. It should always be the index.pcf page inside your blog folder(s). The ideal use is as an index page for your blog folders and subfolders.
Blog Listing Page Preview

The news article template is specifically design for news occurring at the University of Wyoming. The ideal use is for content that is intended to inform your audience of an event, accomplishment or other newsworthy story.
News Article Preview

The news listing template is designed to be used as the home for all your news articles. It should always be the index.pcf page inside your news folder(s). Ideal uses include a main page for your site's news and an index page for any subfolders used to organize your news articles.
News Listing Page Preview

The person biography template is specifically designed as a faculty, staff or other personnel listing page. Ideal uses include a dedicated biography page for individuals across campus and creating a library of personnel pages that will directly feed into a person listing page. Each person should have their own page. Do not share a single biography page across multiple personnel.
Person Biography Page Preview

The person listing template is designed to be used as your department's person directory. Most of the time, it will be an index.pcf page inside a subfolder, however it can also be used as one of many if you wish to arrange your staff and/or faculty in different pages. Ideal uses include a main index page for your site's person directory and a subpage of your person directory to distinguish multiple divisions within a single unit or department. This is most common with large teams with distinct divisions or purpose.
Person Listing Page Preview

Limited Use Templates

Not all templates are available to use in each site. Before developing these designs, we conducted extensive research across higher education and other industry websites and identified the need to limit the use of primary index page templates across an entire site.

The UW website has a long history of creating smaller unit websites that are still very important, but use the same designs as our key services—making it difficult for site visitors to distinguish an effective path for gaining information. Additionally, not all websites require the amount of content areas inside our limited use templates and can easily display their site's information in the standard site templates, which still contain robust designs with beautiful functionality and usability.

Limited use templates are used exclusively for a site's primary index (home) page and are not permitted to be used as internal pages on any website inside the CMS without prior approval from CMS site administrators.

The College / School Index Page is used for all colleges and schools primary units. Academic only. This is an academic-focused template designed to help current and prospective students find information, along with user pathways to faculty information, facilities, news, events, researching, giving, academic department listings and more.
College/School Index Page Preview

The Non-Academic Main Unit Index Page is used for primary, large units across campus. It is usually limited to non-academic entities that house several other departments or divisions, or serve as a major resource for student enrollment. This template is designed to provide a significant amount of information to site visitors and will often represent a governing unit that houses many other divisions or departments. Main units often lead key audiences to other websites across campus.
Non-Academic Main Unit Index Page Preview

The Department Index Page is typically used for official departments, both academic and non-academic. Some units such as offices or divisions may be included. Please note while this is a limited use template, it is available to all sites who do not qualify for a college/school or non-academic main unit index page.
Department Index Page Preview

Limited use templates are unavailable for selection inside the CMS without assistance from a site administrator. This is designed to ensure we are preserving the integrity of the eligibility structure and investment UW has made in developing our templates.

If you wish to use a certain template for your index page, ensure you site is eligible and open a Request Help Ticket inside the CMS while at the root of your site directory. A CMS administrator will confirm eligibility and add the template to your site in place of your main index page.
Template Eligibility Master List

 

Making a Plan for Your Page

What Makes a Good Webpage?
A good web page doesn't need large amounts of text or "flashy" content to be effective. The average UW site visitor spends only about 24 seconds on any given page, so it's important to choose functionality over flashy designs and focus on what users can realistically consume in that short time.

Creating a Call to Action (CTA)
While well-placed graphics and icons can enhance your page, focus on getting users to take action through a call to action (CTA). Each unit may have different CTAs - for example, an Advising Center might prioritize appointment scheduling on student-focused pages. CTAs are typically links or buttons that can be created using the hyperlink tool or button component in the WYSIWYG toolbar.

These are some of the top considerations when building a page and creating a CTA:

  • Who is your primary target audience?
  • What is most important to that audience?
  • What action do you want this audience to take?
  • Where will you place those actions in link format on your page?
  • What is the next step you want your visitor to take?

 

Call to Action text inside a circle with UW swag laid out in the background

What Template Should I Use?

The right template depends on your eligibility and the type of content you plan to include such as how much text, imagery and functionality your page needs. Review the available templates and their prepopulated snippets and components to get a sense of layout options and choose the one that best supports your content and goals.

Snippets and Components

Need to Change an Existing Page's Template?

Check out our tutorial on how to replace the content of an existing page which allows you to change your template if you wish to do so. This also avoids breaking your existing page's URL and dependency tag!