Publishing events on the University website

Event content type 

You should use the event content type in the website content management system if you need to:

• publish content promoting a University event such as a conference, talk, or open day
• update a past event already added to the CMS to highlight its outcome or output

Before adding an event you should check to confirm whether the content exists elsewhere on the website and avoid adding duplicate content which could potentially confuse users.

Naming your event

Add the name of your event to the title field.

Event names should:

• be informative and give the reader a sense of what the event is about
• make sense out of context, this helps the reader understand the content when it’s presented in search engine results
• be consistent with the names of any similar events you are adding
• include the date in the title if you have a series of identical upcoming events (for example, 'Careers Fair 19 October 2021', 'Careers Fair 21 October 2021')

Event summary

Use the summary field to explain the purpose of your event.

Aim for one sentence, however if that’s difficult then two sentences is fine. The summary is the first sentence of the content so should make sense when it's read continuously with the rest of the content. 

Hero and feature images

Images can be added to an event to help users understand what the event is about and make it stand out. You should use high quality images (see sizes below).

Hero image

The hero image displays in the background of the header area. It should be landscape (16:9 ratio), for example 1920x1080 pixels. Hero images are meant to be used on larger University-wide events like Open Days and Conferences. 

Feature image

The feature image displays in the content area before the rest of the content. It should be landscape (16:9 ratio), for example 1920x1080 pixels. This is the image that will be displayed in the University events listings and other events feeds so you should choose it carefully. Feature images are also posted when you share an event on social media. 

Event type

The event type field allows you to provide the format of an event, for example, 'workshop'.

Event category

An event can be associated with a broad category, for example, 'Art and Design'. You should generally try to limit an event to one or two categories.

Start and end date/time

Use the date pickers to define the start and end date and time for an event. An event can span multiple days if required.

Description

The body content of an event is added in the description field.

Descriptions should:

• use clear, straightforward language 
• be checked for spelling and grammatical errors
• use headings to break the content up and make it easier to scan
• follow the guidelines outlined in the University content style guide 

Descriptions should not:

• repeat the summary
• contain walls of text which make the content difficult to read and scan
• use long sentences

Event price

Enter the ticket price including the £ sign. If the event is free to attend then leave this field blank.

Enquiries

Use the enquiries fields to let users know who to contact about an event if they have a question.

Featured group(s)

You should associate an event with one or more groups. This displays events on group pages on the University website. 

Subject

Optionally, events can be associated with academic subjects so that these appear on subject pages. This should only apply to University student recruitment events.

Research area

Optionally, events can be associated with PhD research areas so that these appear on PhD and other research related pages.

Related content

If there is content on the University website related to your event, for example a guide or another event, you can use the related content fields to add up three related items. This adds links to the content at the bottom of your event page.

Call to action text and URL

The events pages do not provide a method for online payment but you can use the call to action field to link to an external ticket purchasing system, for example, Eventbrite.

Your link text should start with a verb, for example, 'Purchase tickets'.

Booking

Select 'Yes' in the 'Booking required' field if an event needs to be booked to attend.

Auto-archiving

By default, events are unpublished after the event date. Select 'Do not auto-archive this event' if you need to keep an event visible (for example, to show as a research output).

Location

Use the location field to indicate the building or part of campus that an event is being held, for example, the Tower Building. View a full list of University locations

If your event location is not listed in the CMS then you should add it in the event description.