Joomla was chosen as our primary CMS (Content Management System) to allow users of all skill ranges and talents access to a platform to develop their UAB web presence. The platform and standard template are managed by the Marketing & Communications' Web Operations and Communications teams to control the styling and branding of all UAB Joomla sites and to maintain a consistent look.
Joomla requires limited technical skill to manage and includes an easy-to-use editor. However, basic HTML knowledge is strongly encouraged, and skill in writing and editing CSS (cascading style sheets) can help you customize the look of your content even more. The site's owner/administrator — designated in the original site request or later by the requestor — can give others access to contribute content.
Training
Joomla Video Tutorials
The Web Operations team maintains a YouTube channel with videos that address issues or ideas we receive from users. General support requests are answered by completing the Web Support Form.
Joomla Manual
LinkedIn Learning
UAB faculty and staff also have full access to LinkedIn Learning, which offers a broad range of training topics.
Support (Central vs. Fee-for-Service)
-
Central Web Support
University Relations' Web Operations team serves as the main support area for all UAB websites hosted on UAB’s official Content Management System, Joomla. This support includes:
- Creation of a basic UAB-branded website upon request. You or your team will be responsible for adding content, building out menu structure, and implementing other customizations.
- Hosting including daily site backup, security scans, server maintenance, site recovery/restoration, and a fail-safe environment that can be live within minutes from another location in case of unexpected infrastructure failure.
- Support and training are self-service (see Training section above).
-
Fee-for-Service
University Relations' Web Communication team offers a fee-for-service component to groups around campus. With this service, we offer full website build and website maintenance support.
Website build projects include:
- Sitemap creation and menu structure strategy
- Content wrangling and organization
- Adding all content to the website
- Providing custom CSS styling and design while keeping in-line with UAB’s brand standards
- Site photography
Website maintenance support includes:
- Content updates
- 48-hour response time
- Maintenance and support of custom CSS and functionality needs on your site
Current fee-for-service partners include School of Engineering, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Health Professions, School of Optometry, Libraries, Financial Affairs, Provost sites and others around campus.
For inquiries on fee-for-service projects, email
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , Director of Web Communications. -
UAB Medicine
If you are working in the UAB Medical Center and would like to be included on the UAB Medicine website, please refer to the UAB Medicine Branding Site for more information.
Monsido
UAB uses a web governance tool called Monsido as a funded resource for all centrally managed and approved "www" sites. Monsido’s Quality Assurance (QA) tool consolidates information in a way that is easy to understand. The dashboard displays the errors that Monsido scans for: broken links, broken images, misspellings, and accessibility.
- Broken Links - The broken link tool scans all the internal and external links on your website to make sure they are working. Sort by link, page or image.
- Spelling Mistakes - The spell check feature identifies and locates misspellings on all your sites and even lets you customize your dictionary.
- Accessibility - In the dashboard, you will immediately get an overview of your website's accessibility level, including a total count of issues and which pages they occur on. Utilizing Machine Learning and AI-based discovery and prioritization, you'll always know where to focus your efforts to maximize compliance.
If you would like a more detailed summary of the many benefits of Monsido, visit their website or contact Web Operations support.
UAB Web Brand Guidelines
Learn about our brand guidelines requires for UAB websites
Domain Name / Hosting
Domain Names
UAB URLs are extensions of the root uab.edu, such as www.uab.edu/toolkit. While www.uab.edu is the preferred root name, some departments may have alternative third-level domains. These are approved on a case-by-case basis by Marketing & Communications. Please email
Learn more about registrating a domain name here.
Hosting
Hosting services are offered at no charge when you use UAB's content management system, Joomla.
We try to make Joomla as easy to learn and use as possible, but if you decide to use an outside vendor instead, please see our guide for more information on vendors.
Icons
Module Position Visual Guide
Module Position Visual Guide - Linear
Module positions are specific areas in our template designated for displaying a variety of module types. These positions have been designed to make your Joomla site extremely versatile when it comes to displaying what you want, where you want it. When used properly, your site will be easy to navigate and display content in a responsive layout for both desktop and mobile devices. The "Linear" PDF shows branding like this Toolkit site and the additional non-editable footer included with this template style.
CSS / Custom Styling
-
Centrally-Supported CSS
University Relations' Web Operations team maintains the global cascading style sheets (CSS) associated with all UAB Joomla sites. By using the centrally-supported CSS, the user experience is improved by maintaining a consistent look and feel across all UAB sites.
-
Adding Your Own CSS
In some cases, custom CSS of your own creation may be used on your site. This can be added via module in the debug position during your testing and development phases, but prior to launch on the production server—aka "going live"—the CSS should be exported from a code editing program like Coda, VSCode, Brackets, Notepad++, etc., and submitted to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. for evaluation by our team. Upon approval, the CSS will be added to your site-specific CSS file. Please bear in mind that any custom CSS you implement must be W3C validated, adhere to accessibility standards as checked by the WAVE browser extension, and comply with current UAB branding standards. Also, it will be your responsibility to maintain the CSS throughout its implementation lifespan as it may be affected by other global CSS and template changes.As CSS affects user experience, branding, and accessibility, we reserve the right to edit any CSS we consider out of compliance or improperly executed.
-
Using Widgetkit for Common Layout Needs
Widgetkit is an easy-to-use content creation tool which simplifies the process of producing dynamic and well-styled content in Joomla. Fifteen different content creation options, or widgets, can help you create more robust and engaging web pages.
In addition to widgets that help with layout and content presentation, there are also widgets to create scrolling image galleries, social media feeds, embedded maps, and more. And adding Widgetkit widgets to pages is easy — they can be embedded into Joomla articles or added to pages as modules.
- Gallery
- Slideshow
- Slideshow Panel
- Grid
- Grid Stack
- Grid Slider
- Switcher
- Switcher Panel
- Slideset
- Slider
- Popover
- Accordion
- Parallax
- List
- Map
To learn more about what is possible with Widgetkit, visit the Widgetkit demo website.
-
Fee-for-Service Work and Web Communications
Web Communications can help with your projects that require non-standard Joomla functionality. These are quoted on a case-by-case basis and are subject to our team's availability. See the Support section above for more details on fee-for-service web work.