The 'General Content' content type should be used to create simple and structured text based information.  This information may include hierarchical headings, paragraphs with descriptive links or tables containing simple, tabular data.  Our Accessible Content Guidance will provide information on how to create this content and adhere to accessibility regulations.         

It is also important that you read and adhere to the general and accessibility guidance below to ensure you are using this content type correctly. 

• General Guidance
• Accessibility Guidance
• Form Field Guidance

General Guidance

Please use the following information to help ensure that you are using this content type correctly: 

• Don't condense your information into one content block.  If your content has multiple data types, structure your information and break it up into content blocks, as this will be easier to maintain and edit in future.  For example information that contains text, a single image, simple tabular data, and a concluding paragraph can be structured as follows:
  • Text - Introductory paragraph (DTP - General Content)
  • Single Image with Caption (Image - Single image) 
  • Table with Simple Tabular Data (DTP - General Content)
  • Concluding Paragraph (DTP - General Content)
• Please ensure that headings are used for grouping and adding hierarchy to your content and not for styling.  Headings are important for both accessibility and readability of your content.
• Please do not use Content Types, including DTP - General Content, for the purposes of embedding approved third party content.  The Content Type, DTP - Code Only, should be used for this purpose.
• The Web Support Team are not responsible for and will not support any user content with custom coding. This includes CSS, HTML, JS, PHP, SQL, or any other web/scripting language.
• Please also review the accessibility guidance below and ensure your content adheres to them.

Imagery

• Where possible, images should be added to your website using image specific Content Types.  This will ensure that your content layout is more consistent and expected.
• If an image must absolutely be embedded in this Content Type, it should be correctly sized and optmised for the web.  For users that do not have access to Adobe Photoshop or a similar image editing resource, we would recommend the use of PIXLR, a free online image editing platform.  This platform can be used to resize and optimise images.

Links

• To link to a specific section on your website use a Section Link.  The CMS automatically remembers section links, even if you need to move the linked section when restructuring or reorganising content on your website.  
• To link to a specific piece of content on your website, use a Content Link. As with section links, the CMS will automatically remember the content link, even if the content is moved to another location on your website.
• When linking to an external website or resource, then use a Web Address.  The full URL of the website or resource is required i.e. https://www.qub.ac.uk.  Please note that the majority of websites published via the CMS are now accessed over HTTPS only.

Accessibility Guidance

Please use the following guidance to help make sure your content adheres to accessibility regulations:

• Do not add HTML elements such as span, div, h1 or otherwise to any of the form elements to change the structure of the content type.  Either you will be asked to remove it, or it will be removed by the Web Support Team.  
• Do not add any CSS styling or selectors to any of the form elements to change the display of the content added to the content type.  Either you will be asked to remove it, or it will be removed by the Web Support Team.
• Do not create images with embedded text.
• Do not add image Alt Text / Description to your image if it is decorative.  Further information is available in the  section of our Accessible Content Guidance.
• Do make sure that the link text used for the button is as descriptive as possible.  Do not use generic link text such as 'Click Here' and 'Read More'.  Further information and examples are available in the  section of our Accessible Content Guidance.

Form Field Guidance

Please use the following information to help you use this Content Type effectively: