Terminalfour Training

Understanding Terminalfour CMS

What is Terminalfour?

Terminalfour (T4) is a powerful Content Management System (CMS) that allows organizations, including UMass Boston, to efficiently create, manage, and publish digital content on their websites without the need for extensive technical expertise. As a CMS, Terminalfour streamlines the process of content creation, editing, and organization, enabling easy collaboration among web editors and ensuring consistent and dynamic web experiences for users.

Accessing Terminalfour - Login credentials and login process
Navigating the Terminalfour dashboard - Website structure and page hierarchy

Your credentials were provided during training, please contact your trainer with any questions regarding credentials.

Editing Interface and Components

The Terminalfour editing interface empowers web editors with an intuitive and user-friendly platform for managing content on the UMass Boston website. This comprehensive interface offers a range of tools that facilitate efficient content updates and enhancements. The toolbar provides quick access to essential editing functions, while the WYSIWYG editor ensures a seamless and accurate preview of changes.

The components feature enables editors to seamlessly integrate and manipulate different content types, such as text, documents, and accordions. This dynamic system ensures a cohesive and engaging user experience, allowing web editors to showcase UMass Boston's commitment to excellence through well-structured and visually appealing content.

Types of Components

Terminalfour offers various types of components, depending on the specific needs of the website.

Configurable Options: Components are configurable, meaning that editors can adjust settings and customize their appearance or behavior without needing to modify the underlying code. For example, editors can easily add, edit, and reorganize accordions on a web page.

Reusability and Consistency: Once a component is created, it can be used on multiple pages throughout the website. This helps maintain consistency in design and content presentation across the site.

Widget-Based Approach: Components are often designed using a widget-based approach. Widgets are individual units of content or functionality that can be placed within a component. Widgets can be text, images, forms, videos, or any other type of content.

Easy Editing and Management: The Terminalfour interface provides a user-friendly way to manage components. Editors can easily add, edit, organize or delete components within a web page.

Training Videos

General Content
- Learn how to edit using the general content component.

Media Library
- Learn how to upload a document to the media library and insert a document link.

Accordions
- Learn how to edit using the accordion component.

Contact Cards Basic
- Learn how to edit contact cards using the contact cards basic module.

Web Refresher Presentations: ADA compliancy

Catch up on the best web accessibility practices.

Further Resources

Web Publishing Checklist

Spellcheck: Did you run a spellcheck?
Links: Do they work?
Link language: Action oriented language? Concise?
Writing: Review UMass Boston Web Writing Style Guide.
Plain Language: Are you using acronyms? Remember to write things out.
Headings: What is your content hierarchy note any blank spaces, could be an empty tag.
UX Check: Review your web page on your phone, share it with a friend how is that experience? Avoid tables.
Docs/Pdf: You must use the ADA internal checkers for now and review best practices for writing.
Images & Alt Text: Did you check with a designer? Strongly recommend working with designers on all images.

Web Writing Style Guide

Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with our website writing style guide, an invaluable resource designed to ensure consistency in web copy and enhance user navigation on umb.edu. By adhering to the guidelines outlined in the style guide, you'll contribute to a seamless and uniform online experience for our visitors. Your dedication to maintaining a cohesive writing style will undoubtedly elevate the overall quality of content on our website.

Note you must be logged into your UMass Boston Google account to view. Please logout of your personal Google account before clicking the link.

Review Web Writing Style Guide

Terminalfour Community

If you're facing difficulty locating an answer to your question, we'd like to introduce you to the Terminalfour Community. This resource offers a wealth of Terminalfour documentation and information specifically tailored to assist web editors like yourself. To access this resource, simply log in using your provided credentials. Within the Terminalfour platform, you'll find the terms of use that must be accepted before proceeding. To discover the community resources, look for the distinctive graduation cap icon. We encourage you to make the most of this resource to enhance your experience and proficiency in utilizing Terminalfour effectively.

Access Terminalfour Community

Training Resources

Please note that this training resource will be diligently maintained by the Marketing & Engagement team. We are committed to its ongoing enhancement, ensuring that it remains a dynamic hub for all Terminalfour web editors working on the UMass Boston website.

As our platform evolves, so will the training and review materials provided here, covering each available component. Beyond training, this resource will serve as a space to exchange additional valuable tools and resources, fostering a collaborative environment.

Moreover, we are here to address any challenges you might encounter along the way. Your success in navigating the intricacies of Terminalfour is our priority. Thank you for your dedication to creating an exceptional online presence for UMass Boston.