Why Keeping Your Website Content Fresh Matters by Nicholas O’Brien
April 8, 2025 Keep Your Content Current: Introducing the Outdated Content Report You don’t need to update your site every week — but…
Enhancing User Experience with the Bates AI Chatbot by Nicholas O’Brien
November 22, 2024 Hi All, As you may know, Bates, led by ILS, has partnered with Goodkind, an AI chatbot, to improve the…
Morning Updates — v6.6 by Nicholas O’Brien
September 11, 2024 Dear WordPress Community, We are excited to share with you recent changes and accessibility improvements that have been made in…
Alternative Text and Web Accessibility by Nicholas O’Brien
September 11, 2024 One of the most powerful ways we can improve the accessibility of our website is the creation of alternative text…
Homepage Banner Examples by Nicholas O’Brien
August 30, 2024 Emergency Example Our Emergency Banner is the one banner option that defaults to presenting open (it can be minimized by…
Two cool new features in WordPress by Nicholas O’Brien
May 16, 2023 Hi all, The Webteam would like to draw your attention to two new features we recently added to WordPress which…
Hidden, Scheduled and Expiring Content Block by Mei Kane
May 16, 2023 The Hidden, Scheduled and Expiring Content Block allows WordPress users to control the visibility of specific content on individual pages…
Block Patterns by Mei Kane
May 4, 2023 What is a Block Pattern Block Patterns are a collection of predefined blocks that you can insert into pages and…
WordPress 6.2 New Features Announcement by Mei Kane
April 4, 2023 Dear WordPress Community, We are excited to share with you the recent changes and updates that WordPress has made to…
Faculty Expertise: Websites and Pages by Mei Kane
December 14, 2022 The Faculty Expertise website — bates.edu/faculty-expertise — features profiles for members of the Bates faculty that are easily searchable by the college’s many audiences, including prospective students, parents and families, journalists, and prospective faculty.
Each faculty profile includes academic titles, department/program associations, relevant expertise, and contact information. Many faculty members have also chosen to include photos, biographical information, and professional links.
The profile information in Faculty Expertise — whether drawing from Banner or user-provided information— will automatically flow into two places: The Faculty Expertise website, and all associated departmental/programatic websites.
Faculty Expertise: Profiles by Mei Kane
December 14, 2022 The Faculty Expertise website — bates.edu/faculty-expertise — features profiles for members of the Bates faculty that are easily searchable by the college’s many audiences, including prospective students, parents and families, journalists, and prospective faculty.
Each faculty profile includes academic titles, department/program associations, relevant expertise, and contact information. Many faculty members have also chosen to include photos, biographical information, and professional links.
The profile information in Faculty Expertise — whether drawing from Banner or user-provided information— will automatically flow into two places: The Faculty Expertise website, and all associated departmental/programatic websites.
Why isn’t my Post appearing? by Nicholas O’Brien
February 10, 2022 Question I published a new post to appear on my Latest Updates page, but I’m not seeing it appear on…
Enhancements to Your Homepage Featurettes by Jake Paris
December 1, 2021 Hi all, We’ve just finished up some updates to the “featurettes” (the three large colorful panels that can show on…
Announcing WordPress 5.8 by Nicholas O’Brien
August 20, 2021 Dear Bates WordPress Community, In an ongoing effort to keep our website up to date, safe, and easy to manage,…
New Tutorials and Best Practices for Expandable Areas, Table of Contents, and Page Anchors by Nicholas O’Brien
November 25, 2020 Special thanks to Digital Communications Assistant Mei Kane ‘23 for researching and creating these new tutorials and best practices.
Upload Workflow to the Bates College YouTube by David Ernst
October 13, 2020 Check out the documentation below to learn how we maintain a clear and consistent workflow for all Bates College YouTube…
Embed a Google Slideshow/Presentation into WordPress by Jake Paris
October 2, 2020 Below are two ways to embed a Google Slideshow/Presentation within the Bates.edu WordPress environment. The “Advanced” way is slightly more…
Overhauling the Editor: A New Way to Use WordPress by Nicholas O’Brien
March 24, 2020 So what’s the problem? And what’s a block? One of the things you hear a lot about during discussions of…
Updates and Opportunities by Nicholas O’Brien
December 19, 2019 I’m pleased to announce that yesterday we upgraded WordPress to its most recent version (5.3). One change you’ll notice immediately is…
How to switch to Block Editor by Erin Guo ’21
November 7, 2019 1. Classic Editor vs. Block Editor If you started using WordPress before December 2018, then you’ll recognize the Classic Editor.…
New Tutorial on Homepage Features by Nicholas O’Brien
October 11, 2019 1. What are Featurettes? Featurettes are the three pieces of content that appear horizontally across some website homepages between the…
WordPress For A New Semester by Nicholas O’Brien
August 28, 2019 A big thanks to everyone who made it out to our WordPress Community of Practice gathering on August 28th. For…
An Early Look at the Future | WordPress Version 5.0 by Nicholas O’Brien
February 14, 2019 Changes to WordPress? WordPress is ready with version 5.0: a major upgrade that changes the look and feel of features…
The Power of 376 by Nicholas O’Brien
September 24, 2018 Hi Everyone, You’re receiving this email because you are able to edit part of Bates’ public website — www.bates.edu. I’m writing…
Summer Updates by Nicholas O’Brien
June 22, 2018 Hi All, Happy summer! One-on-one, in person WordPress support Whether you’re new to WordPress, need a refresher, or just want…
The Breadcrumbs Continue by Nicholas O’Brien
January 26, 2018 Parent Sites Included We’ve made an improvement to our site’s breadcrumb structure that allows site managers to articulate their site’s…
Enhancements & Fixes for Image Galleries by Jake Paris
January 25, 2018 Today we are releasing two new enhancements to our image galleries as well as a couple of fixes. Optional Thumbnails…
Social Media Workshop | Paid Solutions by David Ernst
December 1, 2017 Overview On Thursday, November 9th 2017, Dave Ernst, Bates’ Digital Content Specialist, hosted a Social Media Workshop as part of…
WordPress Upgrade — From 4.6 to 4.8 by Nicholas O’Brien
October 25, 2017 This morning we upgraded the college’s public WordPress instance from 4.6 to 4.8. We’re now running the most recent version…
Updates, Traffic Trends, and Action Steps by Nicholas O’Brien
October 20, 2017 New virtual tour of campus Bates has partnered with YouVisit to create a virtual tour of our campus. From YouVisit’s…
In “fake news” fight, Facebook makes big change for Page admins by David Ernst
July 27, 2017 In order to combat the scourge of real “fake news,” Facebook is implementing a change to its API (application program…
March Workshop by Nicholas O’Brien
March 22, 2017 Download the Keynote (PDF)
Any Editor Can Add a New User by Nicholas O’Brien
November 7, 2016 “Can I have editing access to this site?” The most common question we’ve been receiving about WordPress is, “Can I…
New sites, new features; Second workshop by Nicholas O’Brien
September 27, 2016 Held on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 2 p.m. wp-cop-september-2016 (PDF)
#14 — WordPress Resources by Nicholas O’Brien
May 18, 2016 Happening on Thursday, May 19, starting at 3 p.m. in Commons 226. Download WP CoP – May 2016 (PDF) Agenda…
#13 — Copyright, The Quad, and More by Nicholas O’Brien
March 30, 2016 WP CoP – March 2016 (PDF)
#12 — January’s Gathering by Nicholas O’Brien
February 12, 2016 When, where January 28, 2:00-3:00pm, Commons 226 Recap Style Audit The Style Audit is a collection of visual enhancements aimed…
#11 — November’s Gathering by Nicholas O’Brien
December 2, 2015 There’s a very strong precedent for effective student web workers at Bates. 12/12 supervisors surveyed reported positive experience, and recommend working with students on the web.
#10 — September’s Gathering by Nicholas O’Brien
September 28, 2015 When, where September 29, 10:00am-11:00am, Commons 226 Presentation Download the presentation (PDF) Agenda Recent changes in WordPress New Fonts, server upgrade,…
#9 — Device usage trends, scrolling vs. clicking, recent changes in WP by Nicholas O’Brien
March 26, 2015 Our 9th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on March 25th, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Commons 226. Description Global Navigation:…
#5 — The News bates.edu: Part I by Nicholas O’Brien
October 30, 2014 Our 5th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on October 28rd, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Commons 221. Description We all…
#4 — Analytics by Nicholas O’Brien
September 24, 2014 Our 4th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on September 23rd, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Commons 221. Description This Gathering…
#3 — Back to School (WordPress 101) by Nicholas O’Brien
August 27, 2014 Our third WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held Tuesday, August 26th, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Commons 221. Description…
#2 — Search Engine Optimization (SEO) by Nicholas O’Brien
July 29, 2014 Thanks to everyone who attended July’s WordPress Community of Practice Gathering, held in Commons. For those unable to attend, here’s…
#1 — Introducing the WP CoP by Nicholas O’Brien
June 25, 2014 Thanks to everyone who attended our first WordPress Community of Practice Gathering, held in Commons on June 24 and 25.…
WordPress Upgrade: Version 3.9.1 by Nicholas O’Brien
May 7, 2014 We will be upgrading WordPress from version 3.7.3 to version 3.9.1 in the near future WP version 3.7 was released…
Emergency Example Our Emergency Banner is the one banner option that defaults to presenting open (it can be minimized by…
Dear WordPress Community, We are excited to share with you the recent changes and updates that WordPress has made to…
The Faculty Expertise website — bates.edu/faculty-expertise — features profiles for members of the Bates faculty that are easily searchable by the college’s many audiences, including prospective students, parents and families, journalists, and prospective faculty. Each faculty profile includes academic titles, department/program associations, relevant expertise, and contact information. Many faculty members have also chosen to include photos, biographical information, and professional links. The profile information in Faculty Expertise — whether drawing from Banner or user-provided information— will automatically flow into two places: The Faculty Expertise website, and all associated departmental/programatic websites.
The Faculty Expertise website — bates.edu/faculty-expertise — features profiles for members of the Bates faculty that are easily searchable by the college’s many audiences, including prospective students, parents and families, journalists, and prospective faculty. Each faculty profile includes academic titles, department/program associations, relevant expertise, and contact information. Many faculty members have also chosen to include photos, biographical information, and professional links. The profile information in Faculty Expertise — whether drawing from Banner or user-provided information— will automatically flow into two places: The Faculty Expertise website, and all associated departmental/programatic websites.
Question I published a new post to appear on my Latest Updates page, but I’m not seeing it appear on…
Hi all, We’ve just finished up some updates to the “featurettes” (the three large colorful panels that can show on…
Dear Bates WordPress Community, In an ongoing effort to keep our website up to date, safe, and easy to manage,…
Special thanks to Digital Communications Assistant Mei Kane ‘23 for researching and creating these new tutorials and best practices.
Check out the documentation below to learn how we maintain a clear and consistent workflow for all Bates College YouTube…
Below are two ways to embed a Google Slideshow/Presentation within the Bates.edu WordPress environment. The “Advanced” way is slightly more…
So what’s the problem? And what’s a block? One of the things you hear a lot about during discussions of…
I’m pleased to announce that yesterday we upgraded WordPress to its most recent version (5.3). One change you’ll notice immediately is…
1. Classic Editor vs. Block Editor If you started using WordPress before December 2018, then you’ll recognize the Classic Editor.…
1. What are Featurettes? Featurettes are the three pieces of content that appear horizontally across some website homepages between the…
A big thanks to everyone who made it out to our WordPress Community of Practice gathering on August 28th. For…
Changes to WordPress? WordPress is ready with version 5.0: a major upgrade that changes the look and feel of features…
Hi Everyone, You’re receiving this email because you are able to edit part of Bates’ public website — www.bates.edu. I’m writing…
Hi All, Happy summer! One-on-one, in person WordPress support Whether you’re new to WordPress, need a refresher, or just want…
Parent Sites Included We’ve made an improvement to our site’s breadcrumb structure that allows site managers to articulate their site’s…
Today we are releasing two new enhancements to our image galleries as well as a couple of fixes. Optional Thumbnails…
Overview On Thursday, November 9th 2017, Dave Ernst, Bates’ Digital Content Specialist, hosted a Social Media Workshop as part of…
This morning we upgraded the college’s public WordPress instance from 4.6 to 4.8. We’re now running the most recent version…
New virtual tour of campus Bates has partnered with YouVisit to create a virtual tour of our campus. From YouVisit’s…
In order to combat the scourge of real “fake news,” Facebook is implementing a change to its API (application program…
Download the Keynote (PDF)
“Can I have editing access to this site?” The most common question we’ve been receiving about WordPress is, “Can I…
Held on Tuesday, September 27, 2016 at 2 p.m. wp-cop-september-2016 (PDF)
Happening on Thursday, May 19, starting at 3 p.m. in Commons 226. Download WP CoP – May 2016 (PDF) Agenda…
WP CoP – March 2016 (PDF)
When, where January 28, 2:00-3:00pm, Commons 226 Recap Style Audit The Style Audit is a collection of visual enhancements aimed…
There’s a very strong precedent for effective student web workers at Bates. 12/12 supervisors surveyed reported positive experience, and recommend working with students on the web.
When, where September 29, 10:00am-11:00am, Commons 226 Presentation Download the presentation (PDF) Agenda Recent changes in WordPress New Fonts, server upgrade,…
Our 9th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on March 25th, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Commons 226. Description Global Navigation:…
Our 5th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on October 28rd, from 10:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. in Commons 221. Description We all…
Our 4th WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held on September 23rd, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Commons 221. Description This Gathering…
Our third WordPress Community of Practice Gathering was held Tuesday, August 26th, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m. in Commons 221. Description…
Thanks to everyone who attended July’s WordPress Community of Practice Gathering, held in Commons. For those unable to attend, here’s…
Thanks to everyone who attended our first WordPress Community of Practice Gathering, held in Commons on June 24 and 25.…
We will be upgrading WordPress from version 3.7.3 to version 3.9.1 in the near future WP version 3.7 was released…