Glossary

Common terminology related to the Cascade CMS and university web templates. 

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

• Accessibility: The ability for all individuals, including those with disabilities, to understand and interact with a website.
• Action Toolbar: A menu with available actions when an asset is selected in the CMS. More on the Action Toolbar.
• Alt Text (also Image Description): An input field required while adding images to pages. Alt text is needed in the event an image doesn't load. It is also required for accessibility standards, as the visually impaired cannot see images. Alt text provides descriptive text where images would be.
• Analytics: See web analytics.
• Anchor, Anchor Link: Anchors are used to designate specific areas on a page which can be linked to directly. Anchors are defined using the Section or Grid ID fields available in content areas of pages. After an anchor has been designated, an anchor link to it can be created.
• Asset, Asset Tree: Assets are the pages, folders and files (PDFs, Word documents, etc.) that comprise a site in the CMS. The Asset Tree is the left column in the CMS interface that displays the assets. 
• Asset Factories: "Shortcuts" used to create assets from scratch or be based on an existing pre-configured base asset. These help users get their work done faster. More on asset factories. 

B

• Back-end: The CMS software used to build sites, only accessible to authorized website managers.
• Base Assets: Page and asset examples available in every CMS site. More on base assets.
• Base Folder: The top-most folder in the Asset Tree containing the entire site; the folder with the site's name in the CMS
• Batch Actions: Actions that can be performed on multiple assets at the same time. More on batch actions.
• Blocks: "reusable assets" that can be placed into a template or section of multiple pages. This allows content to appear in many pages while always being updated from one place, making it easy to maintain consistency across many pages. Cascade users can reuse a single block on an unlimited amount of page regions.
• Breadcrumb Links: Links that provide navigation on pages. They appear as a string of horizontal links above the first content area and are provided to reference a page's location in relation to the home page.

C

• Call to Action: A set of words, typically used as a link, to drive users to perform a specific task such as "Apply Now" or "Donate Today." A call to action button style (btn) is available when creating links.
• Cascade CMS: The software used for the CMS service.
• Chooser: A tool in the CMS for selecting an asset while performing a task such adding an image or linking to a page. More on the Chooser.
• CMS: Abbreviation for Content Management System, the web application used to build websites.
• Context Menu: A menu with available actions when right-clicking on an asset in the CMS. More on the Context Menu.
• CSS: See HTML/CSS
• Custodian/Contributor: User roles in Cascade. Contributors (editors) are those who make changes and maintain content of a site. Custodians (managers) will review content and can publish edits. If a site doesn't have a custodian, the webteam serves that role. 

D

• Dashboard: The home area in the CMS containing widgets (tools) to help facilitate site management. More on the Dashboard.
• Data Definitions: A collection of fields used to create content. Data Definitions allow users to enter content in a series of form fields to create structured pages without the need for additional formatting. There are 15 types of input including WYSIWYG ("What You See Is What You Get") rich-text fields, checkboxes, radio buttons, multi-select and drop-down lists, and page and file choosers that reference content managed in Cascade CMS.

E

• Expand/Collapse: A feature of the accordions which provides a method to display content in an initially collapsed (hidden) state with a clickable link to expand it. More on accordions.

F

• Front-end: The public-facing website available to website visitors; the front-end is accessed by visiting a site's official URL.

G

• Google Analytics: The service provided for measurement and analysis of website visitor data. More on web analytics.
• Grid: A preformatted design used for page layout consisting of boxes of content. Grids are available to use on several templates.

H

• Hamburger Menu: A menu represented by three horizontal lines ☰. There is a hamburger menu on the front-end on the templates (used to access site navigation) and the back-end in the CMS (used to access the system menu).
• Header/Hero: A large visual at the top of a page. It may contain a random or user-defined photo or, on the Site-home template, options also include a feature rotator or sales point. More on the Header.
• HTML/CSS: HTML is the standard markup language for web pages and CSS is used to design and format the layout of a webpage.

I

• Index Page: The landing or main page of a folder; all folders that should be included in the navigation are required to have a page with a system name of index (all lowercase). 
• Indexing: The process of including assets in elements that are auto-generated such as the navigation; when indexing is disabled on an asset, it will no longer be included in the auto-generated elements; breadcrumb links are also turned off on pages.

N

• Navigation: The functionality to traverse a site using menus that are available on every page. Navigation on each site is managed with a block called presets. 

P

• Parent Folder: The folder in which an asset resides; assets within a folder are referred to as its children assets.
• Presets: A reusable block used to build navigational header and footer elements. More on presets.
• Production Server: The web server in which a live website resides and is available to website visitors after site launch. More on servers in the publishing process.
• Publish: The act of pushing content from the CMS to a web server. More on publishing.

R

• Responsive (also Mobile-friendly): The ability for a website or web application to adapt to multiple platforms, devices, and display sizes to provide the best possible user experience. The university templates and the CMS are both responsive.

S

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO): The process of making a website easier to find via internet search engines, such as Google or Bing. More on search engine optimization.
• Section (AKA group or panel) Heading: A group label in the page edit interface for a section such as panel, accordion, etc. More on section headings in editing a specialty template page.
• Siteimprove: a software tool the university uses that provides cloud-based services for departments to make their websites better. More on Siteimprove.
• Sitemap: used during the planning of a website, this is a tool to help organize pages and establish the intended hierarchy. See more and an example of sitemaps.
• Site Skeleton: essentially the prototype or foundation. It is the “skeletal structure” beneath the skin or surface of a website. Like the bones in your body, your prototype is what gives your website form and must be in place before the outer layer is made.
• Site-home template: The most flexible specialty template currently available. Well suited for a site's landing page, it can be heavily customized and quickly connected to interior content pages. It's flexibility allows it to include features, promotions news, updates and other important information. See more available page templates. 

T

• Tag Path: A reference tool at the bottom of a WYSIWYG which displays the HTML elements as you work on them (such as a paragraph or link); it also allows you to select a tag and apply a style. More on WYSIWYG editors and tag paths.
• Templates (or page type): A set of data definitions formatted and used for a specific type of content. The university maintains two primary kinds of templates, a basic option and our specialty variations. More on template options.
  
• Test Server: A web server in which to publish content to for previewing and testing purposes; available to use with all sites. More on servers in the publishing process.

U

• URL: A website's address; most CMS website URLs begin with www.cmu.edu.
• Users: Typically used to reference website contributors (editors) and custodians (managers), i.e., CMS users who manage a site.
• User Menu: A menu in the CMS with system settings, history, notifications, and more. More on the User Menu.

V

• Versions: Cascade CMS archives previous versions of a webpage or asset. Should you overwrite or lose valuable information, the webteam may be able to help recover. More on versions.

W

• Web Analytics: The measurement and analysis of website visitor data for the purpose of understanding and optimizing web usage. More on web analytics.
• Web Search: The university's web search tool incorporated into all CMS sites.
• Website Visitors: Your website's audience; visitors who access your site via the official URL.
• Widget: A tool provided on the dashboard to facilitate management of sites, content, notifications, and more. More on the Cascade dashboard.
• Wireframe: A 'mockup' of an individual webpage or elements of a webpage. The webteam will reference these when building pages. More on wireframes in web planning tools. 
• WYSIWYG: Acronym for "what you see is what you get"; an open content area for text, images, media and more. More on the WYSIWYG.