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Dean's Office College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

WordPress Help and How-To

This page includes basic instructions for editing a CLAS website on the “Mercury” theme.

On This Page:

Logging In 

  • Access the login screen by adding wp-admin to the end of your site URL. 
  • Off‑campus access requires a GatorVPN connection. 
  • WordPress may prompt you to confirm the administration email (wordpress@clas.ufl.edu). Select “This email is correct.” 
  • After logging in, you will land on the WordPress dashboard. A black admin bar appears at the top of the site. 
  • Use the site name in the black bar at the top to toggle between your admin dashboard and the homepage or front end of your site. 
  • From any front‑end page, select Edit Page in the top admin bar to open the editor. 
  • The block editor may display a welcome message; it can be ignored. 
  • When you are in a Page (or Post) editing window, your menu bars disappear and you can return to your home base (the admin dashboard) by clicking on the icon in the upper left corner. 

Header and Footer: What’s Editable 

  • Header and footer elements are largely locked for consistency across CLAS sites.
  • You may edit the dropdown menus in the top right and the site navigation.
  • For Unit sites only (not People sites):
    • The unit navigation menu in the footer mirrors the top navigation menu.
    • CLAS resources and information sections are standardized.

Creating Content in Pages and Posts 

NOTE: “People” sites rarely use Posts. If you have a “People” site you can generally ignore the Posts discussion below.

Sample Static Page 

  • The Sample Static Page and Sample News page are pages. 
  • New sites designate the Sample Static Page as the homepage. You may rename it (e.g., “Welcome”). The sample page uses the default template and is intentionally empty. 
  • The Sample News Page uses a special template that displays all your Posts. 

Pages and Posts 

  • Pages appear in navigation menus. 
  • Posts appear in thumbnail grids on News‑style pages and are used for a variety of content types beyond traditional news. 

Editor Navigation Note 

  • When you edit a page or post, the left admin menu and top admin bar are hidden to reduce distractions. 
  • Select the WordPress icon in the upper-left corner to return to the dashboard. 

New Page 

  • Create a page using New > Page in the admin bar or Pages > Add New in the dashboard. 
  • Content initially appears flush left. Proper layout requires adding block elements. 
  • The Mercury pattern library provides layout blocks used throughout CLAS sites. 
  • Publishing a page does not automatically add it to the navigation menu. 

New Post 

  • Posts use the same editor as pages and support the same block types. 
  • Published posts automatically appear on the News page. 

Full Width Text Block 

  • The Full Width Text Block provides proper content structure and prevents text from appearing flush left. 
  • The Document Overview panel displays an outline of all blocks on the page and is essential for managing complex layouts. 
  • Page titles do not automatically display on the front end; add a header manually within the block. 
  • Blocks can be added by typing / and entering the block name. 
  • Paragraph blocks are recommended over the Classic block for consistency and flexibility. 
  • Blocks can be converted (e.g., paragraph to list) and rearranged in the editor or via the Document Overview. 

Publishing, Saving, and Previewing 

  • Before launch, sites are hidden from search engines; only users with the direct URL can view them. 
  • After launch, search visibility is enabled. 
  • To preview unpublished changes on a launched site, use the View > Desktop preview option. Only logged‑in editors can see this preview. 
  • Draft pages and posts cannot be easily shared for external review before publishing. 
  • Access menus via Appearance > Menus. 
  • If multiple menus exist, select the correct one from the dropdown. 
  • Newly created pages appear under Most Recent and can be added to the menu. 
  • Menu items can be reordered or nested one level deep. 
  • Avoid creating sub‑sub‑items, as this breaks menu formatting. 
  • Removing the top navigation menus shifts the search bar to the right and removes those menu items. 
  • You can edit the Footer Contact Column and the footer Social Icon Section 
  • Go to Appearance > Widgets and expand these areas 

Intro to Mercury Blocks

  • Mercury blocks provide structured layouts for CLAS sites. Look at https://webservices.it.ufl.edu/mercury-theme/ for a block you like. 
  • Add blocks by placing the cursor in a paragraph block and typing / followed by the block name. 
  • The editor provides a simplified preview; final appearance is more polished on the front end. 
  • The Document Overview is essential for managing complex Mercury layouts. 
  • If a needed block is not visible, assistance may be required to identify or enable it. 

Mitigating PDF Removal on your “People” Site

  • Click on a link where you previously had a PDF linked, or type “/content-removed/” after your web address 
  • Consider whether you really need a PDF 
    • Original purpose of PDFs was to print and perhaps share via email, but tools use to create PDFs often don’t allow for accessibility compliance 
    • Syllabi are now in Simple Syllabus 
    • Journal articles can be links to the journal article web page 
    • CVs can be pasted into a web page or removed 
    • IF you’re going to post a pdf, make sure it’s simple black text on white background and organized into sections with headings 
  • Identify PDF you want to re-link on the “/content-removed/” page 
  • Two ways to mitigate PDF accessibility: 
    • Put on the page – Locate your original Word Doc and copy/paste into a page on your site, then put your page into the Main Menu 
    • Convert your file so it’s accessible – Two ways to make your PDF accessible are as follows (NOTE: this is not a complete and thorough process for all pdfs, but an example of a common one that can be handled with relative ease. For more information go to Accessibility.ufl.edu): 
      • Locate the originating Word doc and save as accessible PDF (see 8:17 – 9:25 of the accompanying video)
      • Locate PDF in Media folder or on your computer and download, then run through SensusAccess (https://accessibility.ufl.edu/services/sensusaccess/) (see 9:25 – 11:36 of the accompanying video)
  • Upload the accessible PDF and relink as shown in the video 

Fixing Common Issues on your “People” Site

  • Bypassing the “Block contains unexpected or invalid content” error
  • Bringing back missing site navigation
  • Strange code under my pictures