Getting Started with a UBCMS Website

Find out what is included in a UB Content Management System (UBCMS) website, how to request a site for your department or organization and how to request the creation of specialized individual accounts for you and your Web team.

On This Page

Last reviewed: July 3, 2023

First Impressions

Your colleagues report that the UBCMS is easy to learn, navigate and very intuitive to use. Plus, it has some helpful tools and enhancements, including keyboard shortcuts, many different page templates, the ability to easily copy from one page to another, and powerful tools such as the "Diff" Compare Pages tool and the Mobile Device Simulator. It is also fully integrated with UB's SiteImprove accessibility platform.

Enhanced Functionality

  • Pages reload much less frequently when you make changes.
  • Very easy to copy and paste content from one page to another.
  • One-key shortcuts to switch modes, access Properties or the various sidepanel drawers (e.g. Assets Browser) ot to open/close collapsible containers.
  • Easy to reposition items on pages and in list components -- great support for drag and drop.
  • Easy to find and edit components -- the Content Tree quicklists all components on a page.
  • Powerful search. Easy to find your content, and search results can be exported.
  • Search and Side Panel tools like Assets and Components Browser have many helpful filters.
  • References, Versions and History are clean and easy to navigate and are provided all in one Side Panel location.

New and Smarter Tools

These were developed expressly for the UBCMS:

  • Unlike traditional apps, there is no double clicking or right-clicking. You must select and then click (or touch) a tool button. (Remember this interface is designed to function on touch screen devices.)
  • Shift to Preview Mode to follow a hyperlink or a Shared Content helper reference (keyboard shortcuts make this easy).
Think Touch-Screen Interface

Unlike traditional Windows applications, right-clicking and double-clicking have no special function in the UBCMS. Instead, select an item then look for additional options.

The UBCMS uses a series of consoles:

Sites Console: This is where you will create, rename/move, publish, and delete pages. It also has a Side Panel with 'drawers' for Content and Timeline (versions and modifications).

Edit Console: This is Edit Mode. Modify page content here (but you must generally return to the Sites Console to act on an entire page). Click the Toggle Side Panel button (upper left of the page) to reveal a sidebar with 'drawers' for Components and Assets (versions and modifications). And page properties and other tools are accessed by clicking the Page Information too ('equalizer' icon) at the top left of the page.

Assets Console: Only accessible from the Start page.

Learn More About the UBCMS

  • Overview of UBCMS Sites
    12/19/23
    Learn the items that are part of the UB Content Management System (UBCMS).
  • Assigning Roles and Permissions
    10/21/21
    Find out about roles and permissions for the application.
  • Request a UBCMS Site
    6/24/21
    Discover the steps needed for initiating a site request.
  • Preparing to Launch a UBCMS Site
    4/28/22
    Before your site is ready to go live, familiarize yourself with these required steps to ensure a successful launch.  

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