Blogs Management

• Navigate to the blogs site: https://blogs.law.ox.ac.uk
• Click on the "Oxford login" link in the footer
• Log in with your SSO credentials
• If you can't log in, check that you are connected to VPN

After logging in, you will be taken to your profile page:

1. You will see a list of blogs that you have access to
2. Click on the name of a blog to access it
3. Click the "Manage / Edit this site" button to begin managing your blog
4. If you need access to a blog not shown, contact the blog administrator

Blog Management Screen Options:

• Create a blog post or page (for content such as about pages)
• Create author profiles
• Search for existing blog posts or pages by typing part of the title
• View a list of all blog posts with the most recent first

• Edit existing content

  Blog Post Creation Process:

• When creating or editing a blog post, you'll see a form with:
• Title field at the top
• Content form underneath
• Webpage information on the right-hand side (usually doesn't need changing)
• Collapsible sections to keep the interface tidy

Blog Details Section:
Contains information that appears at the top of the blog post:

• Author
• Date
• Introductory text

Blog Content Section:

• Body: Simple text entry with basic formatting
  • Text can be copied from Word with simple formatting preserved
  • Avoid complex formatting and tables
  • Images can be inserted using the image button and aligned left, right, or centre
  • Images display at original size by default (drag to resize in editor)
  • Always add alt text and use descriptive file names
• Page Builder: Advanced layout options using styled blocks:
  • Main image – large image at the top of page
  • Text – block of text
  • Text with quote – text block with quote on the right-hand side
  • Text with image – text block with image on left or right side
• You May Also Be Interested In: Add up to two related posts by typing the title and selecting from the list. If not selected, the site will automatically choose based on tags.

Listing Content Section:
Contains content used in listings and featured areas:

• Image for listings
• Text description

For simple posts:

1. Enter title
2. Open blog details and enter date and author
3. Open blog content and enter body text
4. Save

Pages: Similar to blog posts but with simpler layout options including image, text, and page builder functionality.

Authors: Simple form requiring:

• Author's name (as title)
• Job title
• Link to their profile on the Law site (if faculty member)

Configure Section:

• Edit your blog name
• Choose blog colours:
  • Primary colour (background behind banner text)
  • Secondary colour (banner text)
  • Link/accent colour (links and decorative elements)
• Default colours are used if none selected
• Accessibility contrast checking is automatic with tools provided for adjustments

Adding Users:

• Internal users: Require SSO username
• External users: Must first be added as Drupal users by site administrator
• User roles: Editors (create/edit content) and Administrators (full management access)
• Users can be removed from blogs as needed

Banner Options:

• Add banner with image and text at top of homepage
• Image is required if using banner
• Text displays on coloured box over image
• Adjust opacity for transparency
• Use overlay option to darken background image

People Section:

• Add people associated with your blog
• Appears underneath blog listing
• Can be grouped into sub-groups with titles
• Create authors first, then add to homepage

Sponsors Section:

• Add sponsor logos to appear at bottom of all blog posts

Branding Section:

• Upload your blog logo

• Add new menu items
• Remove existing menu items
• Reorder menu items
• Remember to save all changes

Global Tagging (available to all blogs):

• Theme: Top-level themes migrated from old site (contact site admin for missing themes)
• Country/Region: Geographic tags migrated from old site (contact site admin for missing regions)

Blog-Specific Tagging:

• Each blog can have custom vocabularies
• OBLB: Existing vocabularies migrated from old site
• Other blogs: Keywords migrated from old site, can add new tags
• Create additional vocabularies as needed

Scheduling Blog Posts:

1. Fill in auto publish date
2. Tick "use publish date" checkbox
3. Set node to unpublished
4. Site checks hourly for scheduled posts and publishes automatically

1. Go to admin menu: Structure > Childsite list
2. Click "Add Child Site"
3. Fill in name of child site
4. Save (creation completes within one hour during scheduled tasks)
5. Access via childsite list once created
6. User linking may take up to one hour

Available Menus:

• Navigation menu (appears in site header)
• Footer menu (appears in footer)

Menu Management:

1. Go to admin menu: Structure > Menus
2. Click edit button next to desired menu
3. Edit, delete, and reorder menu items as needed

• Edit homepage content (do NOT delete the page)
• Highlighted Blogs: Use entity search to find and select blogs by title
• Blog Selector: Edit key blogs information, add new blogs with name, description, logo, and link
• Recent Posts: Automated listing of 4 most recent blog posts
• Featured Blogs: Select any two blogs for special promotion

• Aspect Ratio: 2:1 Landscape
• Upload Requirement: 1920px × 960px minimum

Resizing Behaviour:
The image will take up the full width, but will have its height dictated by the right hand card content in a grid layout on desktop viewports. If there is no right hand card content, the image will take up the full width but have a maximum height of 640px.

Upload Field Description:
This is a background type image that may be scaled and cropped in the browser to fit the space it occupies. Images will be output at 2:1 Landscape aspect ratio, images of a different sizing will be scaled and cropped. Please try to upload an image of at least 1920px width, smaller images may appear pixellated.

• Aspect Ratio: 2:1 Landscape
• Upload Requirement: 880px × 440px minimum

Upload Field Description:
Images will be output at 2:1 Landscape aspect ratio, images of a different sizing will be scaled and cropped. Please try to upload an image of at least 880px width, smaller images may appear pixellated.

• Aspect Ratio: Any
• Upload Requirement: 172px width or 172px height minimum

Resizing Behaviour:
The image will not be cropped and will be delivered at its original aspect ratio.

Upload Field Description:
Images will be output at the uploaded aspect ratio. Please try to upload an image of at least 172px width for landscape or 172px height for portrait, smaller images may appear pixellated. The container will be a circle so square images may be cropped. This should be supplied as a .png file format to allow transparent backgrounds.

• Aspect Ratio: Any
• Upload Requirement: 1080px width minimum

Resizing Behaviour:
The image will not be cropped and will be delivered at its original aspect ratio.

Upload Field Description:
Images will be output at the uploaded aspect ratio. Please try to upload an image of at least 1080px width, smaller images may appear pixellated. This should be supplied as a .png file format to allow transparent backgrounds.

• Aspect Ratio: Variable
• Upload Requirement: 2520px × 852px minimum

Resizing Behaviour:
The image will take up the full width, but will have its height dictated by the text content and a minimum height of 312px.

Upload Field Description:
This is a background type image that will always be scaled and cropped in the browser to fit the space it occupies. Please try to upload an image of at least 2520px × 852px, smaller images may appear pixellated.

• Aspect Ratio: 2:1 Landscape
• Upload Requirement: 1080px × 540px minimum

Upload Field Description:
Images will be output at 2:1 Landscape aspect ratio, images of a different sizing will be scaled and cropped. Please try to upload an image of at least 1080px width, smaller images may appear pixellated.

• Centre for Criminology: Primary #a2a9cb, Secondary #08122c, Link #6973AB
• Border Criminologies: Primary #f3784b, Secondary #08122c, Link #D3420D
• DPRU: Primary #a2a9cb, Secondary #08122c, Link #D3420D
• Housing after Grenfell: Primary #98a988, Secondary #08122c, Link #BF2241
• Property Law blog: Primary #b03737, Secondary #ffffff, Link #b03737
• Helex: Primary #0d96af, Secondary #08122C, Link #0d96af
• OBLB: Primary #1e2b3c, Secondary #ffffff, Link #EB0052

• All colour combinations are tested against accessibility contrast guidelines
• System automatically flags accessibility issues
• Tools provided to adjust colours for compliance
• Must re-save colours after adjustments

TIP: Always preview your blog after making colour changes to ensure readability and professional appearance across different devices and screen sizes.