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Glossary of Terms

ChatGPT provided assistance in the creation of definitions found on this site.

404 Page

A 404 page, also known as a “404 error” or “404 not found” page, is a web page that is displayed when a user attempts to access a URL that does not exist or cannot be found on the server. This can happen for a variety of reasons, such as a mistyped URL, a broken link, or a page that has been moved or deleted.

Accessibility

Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites and web applications accessible to as many users as possible, including those with disabilities. This can include individuals with visual auditory, physical, cognitive, and neurological disabilities, as well as users who may be using assistive technologies such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and alternative input devices.

The goal of web accessibility is to ensure that all users can access and use the content and functionality of a website, regardless of their abilities or disabilities. This is important because it allows everyone to have equal access to information and opportunities online, which is especially important in today’s digital world where the internet is an increasingly essential part of our daily lives.

There are several principles of web accessibility, including:

  1. Perceivable - The content and functionality of the website must be presented in a way that users can perceive it, whether through their sense of sight, hearing, touch, or some combination of these.
  2. Operable - The website must be easy to use and navigate, with clear and intuitive controls and navigation options.
  3. Understandable - The content and functionality of the website must be presented in a way that users can understand and use it effectively.
  4. Robust - The website must be compatible with a wide range of assistive technologies and user agents, including screen readers, screen magnifiers, and other assistive devices.

By following these principles, website developers and designers can create websites that are accessible to a wide range of users, including those with disabilities.

Admin Menu

The admin menu in Drupal is a navigation menu that is displayed to administrators and users with the appropriate permissions when they are logged in to the site. It provides quick access to all of the administrative functions and settings available on the site, including content management, user management, site configuration, and more.

The admin menu is usually displayed as a horizontal menu at the top of the screen, with a list of top-level items and subitems organized by category. Each item in the menu corresponds to a specific administrative task or section of the site.

To access the admin menu, you will need to log in to your Drupal site as an administrator or user with the appropriate permissions. Once logged in, you will see the admin menu displayed on the left side of the screen. You can click on any item in the menu to access the corresponding section or task.

Alternative Text (Alt Text)

Short description of an image often used in web design to provide a text alternative for images that are not loading or that are being displayed on devices that do not support images, such as screen readers used by individuals with visual impairments.

Alt text is added to an image using the "alt" attribute in the HTML code for the image. For example, an image of a cat might have alt text that reads "A black and white cat sitting on a windowsill."

The purpose of alt text is to provide a brief, descriptive summary of the content and function of the image. It should be concise and convey the essential information that the image conveys, without going into unnecessary detail.

Alt text is important for web accessibility because it allows users who are unable to see the image to understand its content and context. It also helps search engines understand the content of the page, which can improve the website's search engine optimization (SEO).

It's worth noting that alt text is not intended to be a replacement for the image itself, but rather a brief summary of its content. If the purpose of the image is important to the understanding of the page, it should be included in the main content of the page rather than relying on alt text alone.

Banner Image

In Drupal, a banner image is a large, full-width image that is typically used as a decorative or promotional element on a website. It is often displayed at the top of a web page or in the header area, and is used to draw attention to the website or to highlight a specific message or product. For our purposes, banner images have a ratio of 3:1.

Block

In Drupal, a block is a small, modular piece of content or functionality that can be displayed in various regions of a website, such as the header, footer, or sidebar. Blocks can contain a variety of content, including text, images, forms, menus, and more.

Blocks are created and managed through the "Blocks" administrative interface in Drupal. To create a new block, you will need to log in to your Drupal site as an administrator and go to the "Structure" section of the administrative dashboard. From there, you can click on the "Blocks" link to access the blocks management page.

For more information on how to create or manage blocks, please refer to our documentation on Blocks.

Button

A button is a graphical element on a computer interface that is used to trigger an action or event when clicked or tapped. In general, buttons are an important element of user interfaces because they provide a clear and intuitive way for users to interact with the system and perform tasks. By using buttons appropriately and consistently throughout a website or application, designers can help create an efficient and user-friendly experience for users.

Cache

In Drupal, caching refers to the process of storing data in a temporary location in order to improve the performance of the website. When a web page is requested by a user, Drupal will first check the cache to see if a copy of the page is available. If it is, Drupal will serve the cached version of the page to the user, which can be faster than generating the page from scratch.

However, it's important to note that caching can also cause issues if the website's content changes frequently. In these cases, it may be necessary to clear the cache for certain elements to update properly.

Card

A card is a graphical element that is used to display content in a flexible and organized way. Cards are designed to be responsive, meaning that they will adjust their layout and appearance based on the size and orientation of the device being used to view them. Cards are often used in Drupal to display items in lists or grids, such as articles, events, or profiles.

Cards are available as a paragraph option in Hydraulic to use when building content. For more information, please refer to our documentation on the Card Paragraph.

Content

In Drupal, content refers to the information, media, and other data that is displayed on a website or application. Content can include text, images, videos, audio, documents, and more, and can be organized and displayed in a variety of ways.

Content is typically managed through the "Content" section of the administrative dashboard. To create and manage content in Drupal, you will need to log in to the site as an administrator and go to the "Content" section. From there, you can create new content, edit or delete existing content, and organize it using categories and other metadata.

Drupal uses a system of content types to define the structure and behavior of different types of content. For example, you might have a content type for articles, a content type for pages, and a content type for profiles. Each content type has its own set of fields and settings, which determine the data that can be stored and how it is displayed. To display content on a Drupal website, you can use blocks or views to display it in the desired location on the page.

Content Management System (CMS)

A Content Management System (CMS) is a software application or platform that is used to create, edit, publish, and manage digital content, such as text, images, videos, and audio. CMSs are commonly used to build and maintain websites, blogs, and other online platforms, and are designed to allow non-technical users to manage the content of their sites without the need for programming skills.

Some popular CMSs include WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal. These platforms are used by millions of websites and offer a wide range of features and customization options to suit the needs of different users and projects.

We have elected to use Drupal as our CMS of choice.

Content Type

In Drupal, a content type is a definition of the structure and behavior of a specific type of content. Content types are used to define the fields, settings, and other characteristics of different types of content that can be created and managed on a Drupal website.

For example, you might have a content type for articles, a content type for pages, and a content type for profiles. Each content type has its own set of fields and settings, which determine the data that can be stored and how it is displayed.

You can create and manage content using the "Content" section of the administrative dashboard. To display the content on your website, you can use blocks, views, or custom code to pull the content from the database and display it in the desired location on the page.

For more information on content types, please refer to our documentation on Content Types.

Global Footer

Non-editable section at the bottom of each page which includes required links to various University resources, social media, contact information, and copyright information. Dictated by University Communications and OneIT Web Services.

Global Header

Semi-editable section at the top of each page which includes various branding information and links to University resources. Editable information can be found in Manage » Quick Access » Basic Site Settings.

Home Page

The home page, also known as the “front page” or “index page,” is the main page of a website or application that is typically displayed when the site is first accessed. The home page is often used to introduce the site, provide an overview of its content and features, and offer links or buttons to other pages or sections of the site.

The home page is an important element of a website or application, as it serves as the primary gateway for users to access the rest of the site. It is typically the page that receives the most traffic and is therefore often the focus of design and marketing efforts.

In many cases, the home page is also the default page that is displayed when users enter the domain name of the site into their web browser.

Hydraulic

Hydraulic is the name we use for our base Drupal infrastructure. It provides security, core functionality, and theming. We share it openly with anyone wishing to use it at the University and are continually trying to improve the functionality and usability by our clients.

Image Styles

In Drupal, an image style is a predefined set of image manipulation rules that can be applied to an image. Image styles can be used to automatically resize, crop, or add effects to images when they are displayed on your website.

For example, you might define an image style that resizes all images to a maximum width of 600 pixels and a maximum height of 400 pixels. Then, whenever an image is displayed on your website using this image style, it will automatically be resized to fit within those dimensions.

For more information, please refer to our documentation on Image Styles.

Landing Page

Any page designed to be a “landing” site for site visitors. Typically these pages provide an overview of information and provide visitors with links for more information. This could be the site home page, but sites could have multiple landing pages if desired.

Launch

The process of making a site “live” to the public. Usually, this involves making the site visible to search engines, submitting the sitemap to search engines, removing all placeholder content, and ensuring that the site is compliant with accessibility standards.

Before a website is launched, it is usually only accessible to the development team and any other individuals who have been given access to the staging or development environment. Once the website is launched, it becomes accessible to anyone with an internet connection.

Main Navigation (also known as Menu)

Main navigation refers to the menu or set of links on a website that allows users to navigate to the main sections or pages of the site. This menu is usually prominently displayed at the top or on the side of the page, and is often referred to as the "main menu" or "primary navigation."

The main navigation is typically used to access the most important or frequently visited areas of a website, and is usually designed to be easy to use and understand. It may include drop-down menus or sub-menus to allow users to access more specific pages or content within a particular section.

Module

In the context of web development, a module is a piece of code that adds a specific feature or functionality to a larger software application. Modules are often used to extend the capabilities of content management systems (CMS) like Drupal and WordPress, allowing users to add additional features or functionality to their websites without having to write the code themselves.

Modules have been carefully chosen from the community or written by the development team to provide the viewer or editor with the tools they need to manage content or keep the website secure.

Page (Webpage)

In Drupal, a page is a piece of content that is displayed on the website. Pages can contain text, images, and other media, and are typically used to present information about a specific topic or subject.

Pages are created and managed using the content management system (CMS). To create a new page in Drupal, you will need to log in to the administrative interface and go to the "Content" section. From there, you can click the "Add content" button and select the "Page" option to create a new page.

Once you have created a page, you can use the Drupal interface to add and format the content that you want to include on the page. You can also use the CMS to control who has access to view or edit the page, and to specify other details such as the page title and URL. When you are finished creating the page, you can publish it to make it live on the website.

Paragraph

In Drupal, paragraphs are reusable pieces of content that can be added to pages or other content types. They allow you to create flexible and modular content for your website, making it easier to create and manage complex layouts and designs.

Paragraphs are created as standalone content items in Drupal, and can be added to pages or other content types using the "Content" field type. This field type allows you to add one or more paragraphs to a content item, and provides a user interface for selecting and configuring the paragraphs that you want to include.

There are many different types of paragraphs that you can use in Drupal, including text, images, video, and more. Think of these as sections of a newspaper article or essay. Each paragraph has the flexibility to have a different layout to keep the visitor engaged with the content.

For more information, please refer to our documentation on Paragraphs.

Permission

In Drupal, a permission is a specific action that a user or group of users is allowed to perform within the system. For example, a user with the "edit own posts" permission may be allowed to edit only the content that they have created, while a user with the "administer nodes" permission would have more advanced permissions, such as the ability to edit any content on the site or to change the site's configuration settings. Permissions can be granted to individual users or to user roles, which are groups of users with similar permissions.

Primary Site Contact / Primary Site Manager

A primary site contact is a user who is designated as the main point of contact for a website. The primary site contact is usually responsible for managing the content and functionality of the site, as well as handling any issues that may arise. The specific responsibilities of a primary site contact can vary depending on the needs of the website and the role of the contact. Some common tasks that a primary site contact might handle include adding and editing content, managing user accounts, and responding to user inquiries or feedback.