![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-1024x654.png?resize=1024%2C654&ssl=1\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nAccessibility statement update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Published an updated accessibility statement <\/a>following testing carried out earlier in the year after the launch of the new website design<\/a>, and improvements made as a result of testing. Also some edits to bring it in line with required format.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Put a process in place to make sure the statement is reviewed annually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Improvements for large tables on mobile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Changes made to make tables much easier to read and interact with on smaller screens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Columns sizes now automatically adapt to the amount of content in each column.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tables with too many columns to fit on screen at once now have a shadow effect added to indicate that more content can be revealed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- All tables published from the web CMS now automatically get this functionality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-6.png?resize=452%2C960&ssl=1\")
Before: example of a table where it’s not immediately obvious that there’s another column off-screen that can be scrolled to<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/tables-after.gif?resize=422%2C925&ssl=1\")
After: shadow effect added to indicate more content, column sizes adjusted for readability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\nConsent Management Platform (aka “cookie banner”) implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We’re replacing our existing basic cookie banner with a consent management platform. Progress this month included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n- Presenting our plans to the Technical Design Authority (TDA) and working through the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and computing risk assessment (CRA) process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Configuring our chosen tool – Civic Cookie Control<\/a> – and testing it out in a preview environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
News branch update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Updated our press releases content type so that the central news branch<\/a> can switch to from the old Classic layout to the newer Digital Pattern Library templates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Actual switch over should happen before Christmas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-1-1024x776.png?resize=1024%2C776&ssl=1\")
Preview of the updated Press Release content type<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nBlogs platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Discovery work and requirements gathering for updating the blog platform (blogs.york.ac.uk<\/a>) to use a new on-brand theme.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Working on entry for the blog platform for the service catalogue<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cleaned up a large number of spam post submission attempts and put measures in place to prevent them in future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Definitely did NOT<\/em><\/strong> delete ALL<\/em><\/strong> the blogs for any more than 10 mins or so.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Course pages updates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Added option to add in text about elective modules to postgraduate courses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Added more entry requirement options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Switched over to new version of Discover Uni widget on undergraduate course pages – see at the end of the entry requirements section on Biochemistry (BSc)<\/a> for example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-2-1024x318.png?resize=1024%2C318&ssl=1\")
The updated Discover Uni widget<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n- Improvements to formatting of course awards and titles <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-3-1024x376.png?resize=1024%2C376&ssl=1\")
Before<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogs.york.ac.uk\/communications\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2025\/11\/image-4-1024x401.png?resize=1024%2C401&ssl=1\")
After<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\nPostgraduate course search improvements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Working with the Teaching and Learning Software Delivery Team in IT on a update to postgraduate course searches<\/a> so that different navigation will be shown depending on whether you’re searching for taught or research courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Fixes and other improvements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Fixed an issue with printing web pages in Chrome that meant it was attempting to print thousands of pages or crash entirely on some pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fix for analytics tracking on embedded YouTube videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Resolved issue with Siteimprove broken link checking so that links to module catalogue entries are now checked.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Overhauled the student events page<\/a> code in preparation for an upgrade coming to the MyUoY app’s CMS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fixed the “People Database Administrators” page that had fallen through the cracks during the great DPLv2 upgrade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Projects at early stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Staff profiles Classic to Digital Pattern Library migration: starting on foundation work and figuring out how we’d do the swap to allow us to update all staff profile pages to a new design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Digital Pattern library documentation: foundation work on replacing our old documentation pages<\/a> for web developers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
We’ve been talking about<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n- Making some improvements to the design of the homepage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ideas for how we can make user testing routine in web content projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Data about rooms on campus: I joined a meeting of the Space Data Working Group for an interesting discussion about the very complicated topic of room data (and all the many disconnected systems where it exists).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And finally, things we’ve been learning about<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Improvements for large tables on mobile<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Changes made to make tables much easier to read and interact with on smaller screens:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Columns sizes now automatically adapt to the amount of content in each column.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Tables with too many columns to fit on screen at once now have a shadow effect added to indicate that more content can be revealed.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- All tables published from the web CMS now automatically get this functionality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n\n\n
Before: example of a table where it’s not immediately obvious that there’s another column off-screen that can be scrolled to<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n \nAfter: shadow effect added to indicate more content, column sizes adjusted for readability<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Consent Management Platform (aka “cookie banner”) implementation<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
We’re replacing our existing basic cookie banner with a consent management platform. Progress this month included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Presenting our plans to the Technical Design Authority (TDA) and working through the Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) and computing risk assessment (CRA) process.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Configuring our chosen tool – Civic Cookie Control<\/a> – and testing it out in a preview environment.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
News branch update<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Updated our press releases content type so that the central news branch<\/a> can switch to from the old Classic layout to the newer Digital Pattern Library templates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Actual switch over should happen before Christmas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Preview of the updated Press Release content type<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Blogs platform<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Discovery work and requirements gathering for updating the blog platform (blogs.york.ac.uk<\/a>) to use a new on-brand theme.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Working on entry for the blog platform for the service catalogue<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Cleaned up a large number of spam post submission attempts and put measures in place to prevent them in future.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Definitely did NOT<\/em><\/strong> delete ALL<\/em><\/strong> the blogs for any more than 10 mins or so.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Course pages updates<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Added option to add in text about elective modules to postgraduate courses.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Added more entry requirement options.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Switched over to new version of Discover Uni widget on undergraduate course pages – see at the end of the entry requirements section on Biochemistry (BSc)<\/a> for example.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
The updated Discover Uni widget<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n - \n
- Improvements to formatting of course awards and titles <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Before<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n After<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n Postgraduate course search improvements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Working with the Teaching and Learning Software Delivery Team in IT on a update to postgraduate course searches<\/a> so that different navigation will be shown depending on whether you’re searching for taught or research courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Fixes and other improvements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Fixed an issue with printing web pages in Chrome that meant it was attempting to print thousands of pages or crash entirely on some pages.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fix for analytics tracking on embedded YouTube videos.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Resolved issue with Siteimprove broken link checking so that links to module catalogue entries are now checked.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Overhauled the student events page<\/a> code in preparation for an upgrade coming to the MyUoY app’s CMS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Fixed the “People Database Administrators” page that had fallen through the cracks during the great DPLv2 upgrade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
Projects at early stages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Staff profiles Classic to Digital Pattern Library migration: starting on foundation work and figuring out how we’d do the swap to allow us to update all staff profile pages to a new design.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Digital Pattern library documentation: foundation work on replacing our old documentation pages<\/a> for web developers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
We’ve been talking about<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- \n
- Making some improvements to the design of the homepage.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Ideas for how we can make user testing routine in web content projects.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Data about rooms on campus: I joined a meeting of the Space Data Working Group for an interesting discussion about the very complicated topic of room data (and all the many disconnected systems where it exists).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
And finally, things we’ve been learning about<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
- Fixed the “People Database Administrators” page that had fallen through the cracks during the great DPLv2 upgrade.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Working with the Teaching and Learning Software Delivery Team in IT on a update to postgraduate course searches<\/a> so that different navigation will be shown depending on whether you’re searching for taught or research courses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Improvements to formatting of course awards and titles <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Working on entry for the blog platform for the service catalogue<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
- Actual switch over should happen before Christmas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n
- Updated our press releases content type so that the central news branch<\/a> can switch to from the old Classic layout to the newer Digital Pattern Library templates.<\/li>\n\n\n\n