How to Add Links to UBCMS Pages

In the Author environment, links can be added to many UBCMS components. (How links behave on UBCMS pages is covered in another tutorial.)

Links can be embedded inside text components, such as Body Text or Callouts, using the Rich Text Editor. They can be added to Titles and Photos as well as lists and carousels, using the component settings. 

When you add links, external links to non-UBCMS websites need their complete URL (http...) while internal links to other UBCMS pages just have a short reference path (/content/...).

Link text (the words people click on) should be compelling but short, and written so the link makes sense when viewed separate from the rest of the page. (See Additional Reading below for more about links.)

2. Open the Sites Console and navigate to your site; e.g. Sites + Self-Paced Training + {your site}.

3. Navigate in the Content Tree to your desired content. For this exercise, Assets + Self Paced Training + {your site}.

4. Choose any page on your site, such as 'UB's Campuses', or create a new page.

5. Select that page and click Open in the Commands Menu that now appears.

6. If you wish to mirror the video, add two Call to Action components, as follows...

1. Click the Toggle Side Panel button in the upper left of the window.
2. Switch to the Component Browser.
3. Components are listed alphabetically. Or type part of its title and click Enter.
4. Find your desired component and drag it onto the page.

Now add a link to an external website (outside the UBCMS)....

1. Choose one component to start with.
   
2. Select that component, then click the wrench icon to Configure it.
3. Look for the 'Link' setting. For a Title, this is in the middle of the only tab.
   
   • Some components may instead label it "Path".
     
   • Photos call it "Link to", and it is on another tab called Image Properties.
   • In a Body Text component, you would use the Rich Text Editor to add a link to words in the paragraph.
4. Type in "https://www.buffalo.edu/alumni.html". 
   • Since this will be a link to an external website, you must add the complete URL, also called an ‘absolute URL’, such as “https (or http) plus :// plus the domain and path. You cannot just use "www.buffalo.edu...".
     
   • Because this can get tricky, and adding a bad URL will mean a broken link, we suggest you paste in a pre-approved link, or double check your link is correct by viewing it in a separate browser tab, then copying and pasting the complete URL into the field on your UBCMS page.
5. Your visitors also need something to click on. For a Call to Action, that's the Title setting. Enter "Visit the Alumni Association website”.
6. Click the checkmark icon when you are done. (The 'X' cancels your changes.)
7. There's not much to observe yet. You would need to switch to Preview Mode to click the new link.
   

Now add a link to a UBCMS page....

1. Select the second component, then click the wrench icon to Configure it.
2. For the Title, type in something meaningful for people to click on, “Learn more about UB’s research”.
3. For the Link, instead of typing or pasting in an absolute URL, click the magnifying glass to open the Finder tool.
4. Navigate to a target page: Content + {your training site} and select ‘UB’s Research’.
   
   • To select the page, you must click its thumbnail.
     
   • Then click Select.
     
5. Notice this Link is a UBCMS 'reference', not a regular URL, and begins with “/content…” instead of the usual http of an external website.
   
6. Click the checkmark to save your changes.  

You now have your two links. We’ll let you switch to Preview Mode to see that they work.

Note: If you do not have permissions to view a UBCMS page you wish to link to, it will not appear in the Finder. You may need to ask whoever maintains that website where it is located, and then paste the exact path they tell you into the link field.

• UBCMS Basics: Links & References