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  • UW Theme updated to 1.33.0

    UW Theme updated to 1.33.0

    On Tuesday, June 4, 2024, the WordPress UW Theme was updated to version 1.33.0 in the WiscWeb service. A full list of changes in this version of the UW Theme can be reviewed in the changelog.

    This release included upgrades to ACF Pro, as well as one other edit:

    X (formerly known as Twitter) icon update

    The icon for Twitter, now known as X, has been updated to reflect their new brand.

    The social networking platform, X, has a new icon. It displays in the UW Theme as a gray circle with the branded X in the center.

    If you notice any breaking issues on your site after this update, please submit a request via our Customer Support Form (Note: please choose the “Emergency Issue” option when submitting). Please provide as much detail as possible when documenting the issue you are experiencing.

  • UW Theme transition to Gutenberg

    For those that are not aware, the WiscWeb and University Marketing have begun development on a new block-based (Gutenberg) theme. More information about this change is available on the UW Theme website. If you’re unfamiliar with WordPress’s block editor, consider reviewing this list of handy resources.

    While we continue to investigate Gutenberg, we will keep our audience informed on the status along the way.

    These items may be of particular interest to WiscWeb users:

    If you are interested in staying apprised of changes/updates regarding this transition, we highly encourage participation in our monthly Lunch and Learn sessions. Agendas and Zoom links for the sessions are emailed prior to the event (Gutenberg topics will be noted in the agenda). These sessions occur on the second Thursday of each month at noon.

    If you have questions that were not answered in the UW Theme webpage about the transition, we want to hear from you! Please fill out the Customer Support Form to get in touch with us.

  • WordPress Core v6.5.3 Release

    On Thursday May 16, WiscWeb sites were upgraded to WordPress Core v6.5.3.

    This release included the following updates:

    Noteworthy changes that impact WiscWeb sites

    In this release, sitemaps will receive a “last modified” date.

    To view your sitemap, go to sitename.wisc.edu/wp-sitemap.xml.

     

  • Sensitive/restricted data notice in Gravity Forms

    On April 22, 2024, we pushed an update to our sensitive/restricted data message for groups using Gravity Forms.

    What is going to happen?

    A notice will appear in Gravity Forms when you attempt to access your existing forms. This message relates to our sensitive/restricted data policy. It reminds users that Gravity Forms should not be used to prompt for this type of data.

    What do I need to do?

    If you wish to continue using Gravity Forms, you will need to check the box and click the button to agree to the terms.

    Why do I need to do this?

    WiscWeb is not intended for hosting sensitive or restricted data. This notice reminds Gravity Forms users of this stipulation every 90 days. The intention is to make users more aware of the policy and the types of data that should not be prompted for in Gravity Forms.

    Where can I go for more info?

    If you are interested in learning more about this policy, how it works, or what data should not be prompted for, please refer to these resources:

  • UW Theme updated to 1.32.0

    On Tuesday, April 9, 2024, the WordPress UW Theme was updated to version 1.32.0 in the WiscWeb service. A full list of changes in this version of the UW Theme can be reviewed in the changelog.

    Here’s a few of the more noteworthy changes:

    Accessible styles for Orbital theme in Gravity Forms

    Preface: While Gravity Forms uses the word “theme,” what they’re really referring to is the collection of styles applied to their forms. This is different from a true WordPress theme (like the UW Theme!), where styles are applied to the entire website.

    Gravity Forms has shipped a new theme called “Orbital.” Over time, this theme will replace their legacy theme, known as “Gravity Forms 2.5.”

    Within the UW Theme, we had added CSS to make Gravity Forms forms looks more integrated with the theme styles. However, those styles were targeted only at Gravity Forms 2.5 theme. This update included new styling targeted at the Orbital theme. Now, both form options will appear branded within the UW Theme.

    Accessibility fixes for heading levels

    A more recent UW Theme update accidentally undid some settings we had in place related to accessible heading levels. This update puts these back in place:

    • If using a content row heading, it will always receive an H2.
    • If using lists like the post listing page element or an events list, those headings will change depending on whether or not the content layout H2 exists:
      • If the content layout H2 is present, these headings will appear as H3s.
      • If the content layout H2 is not present, these headings will appear as H2s.

    Accessible screen reader information for replacement logos

    Some groups within the WiscWeb service opt for changing out the UW Crest for their own branded logo. In these cases, we make an edit on the backend of the site. We noticed that screen readers were showing a different experience for the UW Crest versus these other logos.

    This update added an ARIA label for customized logos to denote that they are decorative. This aligned custom logo sites with the way the UW Crest works in the standard theme.

    Featured content block background fixes

    We found an issue where featured content styles were overriding drop shadow styles when background colors are set in the content layout settings. This was especially apparent when using drop shadow on featured content blocks with a light gray background.

    This update fixes the issue by displaying the featured content blocks in white in most background combinations (light gray, dark gray, campus red, etc.). If the background color is white, the featured content blocks will appear in light gray. This allows for contrast of background/foreground and enhances readability.

    If you notice any breaking issues on your site after this update, please submit a request via our Customer Support Form (Note: please choose the “Emergency Issue” option when submitting). Please provide as much detail as possible when documenting the issue you are experiencing.

  • UW Theme updated to 1.31.0

    On Wednesday, February 27, 2024, the WordPress UW Theme was updated to version 1.31.0 in the WiscWeb service. A full list of changes in this version of the UW Theme can be reviewed in the changelog.

    The only edit in this release was a security fix for Advanced Custom Fields (ACF) Pro.

    Improvements to the preview experience

    For users that have noticed changes in how pages/posts can be previewed, we believe this issue has been fixed with this ACF update. While not directly related to the security changes, ACF was aware of the pain points with previews and have wrapped this change into this release.

    If you notice any breaking issues on your site after this update, please submit a request via our Customer Support Form (Note: please choose the “Emergency Issue” option when submitting). Please provide as much detail as possible when documenting the issue you are experiencing.

  • Cookie information for WiscWeb website owners

    A recent Tech Partners thread brought new attention to the ongoing conversation about cookie concerns on campus. This is something we’ve been addressing and communicating about for the past year, and we’re happy to see people engaging with the topic. Here is everything we know in a single post to make things easier for users to reference.

    What is a cookie?

    Cookies are small text files that store pieces of data when you visit a website. You may have noticed that many sites now require you to consent to cookie tracking. This is because a lot of tools are using cookies for harvesting data. It’s not necessarily a bad thing. It’s just something that is more common now.

    What is happening?

    When visiting WiscWeb sites or any web service that uses a subdomain of wisc.edu, you may have encountered an error that says something about “Too many cookies.” This has been an ongoing issue since early 2023 (possibly even fall of 2022). We think this could have been impacted by the change from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4, but are not certain.

    MyUW, the KnowledgeBase, and some UW Extension websites have also experienced the issue, and likely more services on campus that have gone unreported. This issue is bigger than WiscWeb.

    Here’s what we know:

    • Web tracking tools like Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, and Hotjar set cookies when you navigate to various campus websites.
    • A lot of these tracking cookies are automatically set to the .wisc.edu top-level domain. Therefore, when users visit any subdomain of wisc.edu (like your sites!) these cookies keep adding up.
    • Tracking tools often set the cookie for 1-2 years, so the timeline for a user to accumulate a ton of cookies is VERY long. Over time, the size of the cookies become too big for the server to handle, causing a broken page or an error screen.
    • In order to view the webpage, users must clear their browser cache and cookies, which removes the accumulated cookies.
    • Most servers have a request limit of 8,000 bytes. If a request comes in with more than the allowed size, the server rejects the request. Cookies contribute to this limit.

    What have we done to help?

    If you’re wondering if we’ve made any changes that help remediate this issue, the answer is a resounding yes! We’ve already done everything in our power to help limit the impact on our users. Here’s an overview of the changes we’ve made:

    • We updated the domain that Google Analytics cookies get set to in the UW Theme so that it does not use the top level .wisc.edu domain. Instead, it uses the domain of the site with the Google Analytics tracking installed on it.
      • Unfortunately, we are unable to influence the cookies for Google Tag Manager. These must be set in the Google Tag Manager dashboard by the owner of the GTM account.
    • We updated our system to display a more helpful error, with links to documentation on how to clear cookies in various browsers.
      • Note: We can’t link to KnowledgeBase docs in the error. If you experience this issue, you will also be unable to visit the KB as it will also be impacted. Therefore, our error links to external vendor documentation.
        Error 431 indicates that you have too many cookies set in your browser.
    • We have compiled information about this issue and shared with various impacted groups across campus.
    • We have communicated the issue in several Lunch and Learn sessions.

    What can you do to help?

    • Discontinue use of Hotjar – Hotjar is one of the biggest culprits for this issue as it sets the cookie at the wisc.edu top-level domain and doesn’t offer an option to change it. Hotjar cookies are also quite large, which is contributing to users hitting the cookie limit more quickly. We highly recommend discontinuing use of Hotjar entirely.
    • Specify a subdomain for tracking cookies – If you’re using a tracking service that sets cookies, check their documentation to see if it is possible set the domain for the site level. We’re already setting this correctly for Google Analytics within our service but other tools (like Google Tag Manager) may not be configured appropriately. If you are using Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager, you will need to correctly configure your settings (if you’re not sure, please reach out to us).
      • For groups that use Google Tag Manager to insert Google Analytics 4, please make sure to add a new configuration parameter for “cookie_domain” with the value of “none” to your Google Analytics 4 tag (Learn more about customizing cookies in GTM):

    How to avoid this issue as a user

    While it is the responsibility of website owners to implement cookies correctly, there are some steps you can take to avoid seeing these issues yourself:

    • Get an ad blocker – You could consider an ad blocker for your browser to block cookies from being set when you visit websites.
    • Clear cache and cookies – Most importantly, if you run into the error here on the screen, just clear your “All Time” browser cookies, close your browser window and restart. That’s the best way to clear out the cookies.
      • Note that some browsers will default to only clearing cookies for the past hour. You may have to manually update that to say “all time” or “all” cookies.

    Questions?

    Please direct questions to our Customer Support Form. We’d love if you could read through the info above before sending in requests, to ensure you understand the basics. However, we understand this is a complicated issue that may merit more discussion with your group.

  • UW Theme updated to 1.30.0

    On Monday, February 12, 2024, the WordPress UW Theme was updated to version 1.30.0 in the WiscWeb service. A full list of changes in this version of the UW Theme can be reviewed in the changelog.

    This release includes a few new features!

    Image only carousel

    Users were interested in new display options for their images and logos in the UW Theme that didn’t require text content. The Image Only Carousel allows for display of several images or logos in a rotating, slideshow format. This option is different from pre-existing carousels in the UW Theme as it is only intended for images, and doesn’t allow for text, a caption, or a heading for the image.

    Here’s some of the neat features of this new page element:

    • Available for one, two, and three column layouts
    • Ability to specify height for slideshow
    • Displays well in both desktop and mobile
    • Optional setting to specify where each image should link
    • Ability to add multiple images to the carousel at the same time

    Thanks to the users who upvoted this feature in our feature request board (feature #83)!

    Important:

    This change involves some changes to the pre-existing carousel option:

    • With this change, the pre-existing image carousel has been renamed to “Image and Content Carousel.”
    • Even if a small, vertically oriented image is uploaded, images uploaded to the Image and Content Carousel will be automatically cropped to fit the carousel dimensions at a 3/2 aspect ratio. This may mean that images you had previously loaded will now look different. If you do not like the new display, we recommend uploading a new version of the image that is 900 by 600 pixels.

    New settings for content layouts

    Adjusting padding between content layouts

    There are two requests that we heard commonly in WiscWeb:

    1. I want a way to reduce the amount of space between content layouts
    2. I wish I could add a one column introduction paragraph or sentence on top of a 2 or 3 column layout

    This new feature will allow for both! A bunch of new settings have been added to the content layout settings area, including the ability to adjust the padding between content layouts.

    Two options in the content layout settings for adjusting padding between rows

    Thanks to the users who upvoted this feature in our feature request board (feature #9 and feature #93)!

    Setting narrowed width for content

    With this update, we’ve made it easier to set narrowed width for your content. This option works for 1, 2, and 3 column layouts!

    Content width options for the content layout area, including default, 800px, 1000 px, and 1200px options.

    Hiding a content layout row

    This option allows you to hide an entire row from being displayed on the live view of the site. It also does not show the content in the page source code.

    Blue button with the text "Hide Row"

    If you notice any breaking issues on your site after this update, please submit a request via our Customer Support Form (Note: please choose the “Emergency Issue” option when submitting). Please provide as much detail as possible when documenting the issue you are experiencing.

    Thanks to the user who reported this issue in our feature request board (feature #131)!

  • WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg) resources

    We’ve been talking a lot about the WordPress Block Editor (sometimes referred to as Gutenberg) recently. In case you’re unfamiliar, this article gives you a quick overview of what it is and where you can learn more about it.

    What is it?

    The Block Editor was released in 2018 and has been adopted by thousands of sites all over the world. The editor first launched under the code name Gutenberg but now is known widely as the Block Editor.

    Now there is a Gutenberg plugin where new features available for testing before they are released to the Block Editor in WordPress Core.

    There are some really nice benefits to using the block editor, including enhanced flexibility and and control over content.

    Where can I learn more?

    1. UW Theme Gutenberg transition – Details on the plans for building a new version of the UW Theme with Gutenberg.
    2. Block Editor Handbook – A comprehensive guide to the new editor, including in-depth documentation.
    3. Block editor overview – This article gives a really nice introduction to the block editor functionality.
    4. Gutenberg demo – Experiment with a real version of Gutenberg to learn more about how it looks and functions.

     

  • WordPress Core v6.4.3 Release

    On Wednesday, Jan. 31, WiscWeb sites were upgraded to WordPress Core v6.4.3.

    This release included a few maintenance and security updates.

    We are not aware of any noteworthy changes included in this release.