Sitecore modules
Web pages on the Essex website are created using a range of modules. By using a combination of these modules on the page, you'll be able to present your content in a clear but interesting style.
Module usage
The modules listed here can be used across most of the main University website. There is no order these modules must be used in, you can mix and match however works best for your content. But too many modules may make a page appear cluttered so it is wise to be selective with your choices. Some modules should only be used once on a page, such as promo, support, get in touch, quote, image gallery, key facts, related pages and callout modules.
The Staff and Student Directories are information-focused websites which means far fewer modules are used on these websites. Modules should be limited to paragraphs, accordion modules, support modules, related links and get in touch modules.
How to add a module
Some modules are created and stored with the page you’re working on. They are in a folder called ‘data’. These modules you can create yourself. Some modules have to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk. They are stored in a separate, central folder in Sitecore. You can add existing modules of this type to your pages. In the list of modules below, you'll find whether the module can be created by yourself or by the Web and Digital Media Team.
To add a module to a page:
- Open your page in Experience Editor
- In the 'Home tab' select 'Component'
- A set of insert buttons will appear on the left-hand side, choose where on the page you would like to insert the module
- Select the module you need
Additional instructions for specific modules are also given below.
You can move any module to another location on the page using the 'Move' button. Select the module and then select the second button in from the left.
Paragraph module
Use the paragraph module to add text wherever you need it on the page. This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add a paragraph module
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- Select 'Paragraph Module' from the module menu.
Inline accordion module
Accordion item 1
You can add text and other modules within the accordion item.
Accordion item 2
Add as many of these accordion items as you need for your content.
Accordion item 3
You can also move individual accordion items to different locations within the accordion group using the 'move' button (click on the accordion item, select the second button from the left).
The inline accordion module can be used to hide content and let users expand only the sections they are interested in. This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add an accordion module
Full instructions on how to insert an accordion module are found in our accordion module training video.
Related links module
The related links module can be used to link to other pages on the website, documents for download or external websites. This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add a related links module
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- Select ‘Related Links Module’.
- You’ll see some bold red text. You can ignore this.
- Select the cog icon on far left of the menu bar.
- You can add an internal or external link, or a document.
- Once added, you can move the position of the links up and down using the blue buttons on the right.
- The links you’ve added won’t appear until you hit save.
Video module
The video module can be used to embed any video that is hosted on Vimeo onto the Essex website. This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add a video module
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Video Module’.
- Select the blue boxes icon on the far left of the menu bar.
- The only field you need to complete is ‘Video URL’.
- Copy and paste a video from Vimeo (YouTube videos can’t be used here).
- Save – you won’t see the video until it’s published.
Quote module
The quote module can be used to highlight a key, short quote along with a picture of the person who said it. This should only be used once per page, but for other quotes you can add additional inline quote modules (see below).
This module can be created by all web authors.
Image size: 1500 x 1047px
How to add a quote module
- Upload a correctly-sized image to the image folder in the Media Library.
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Quote Module’.
- In the purple box you can type the quote, the person who said it, their role and their department/institution.
- Select the card icon in the far left-hand side of the menu bar and select browse to find your image.
Inline quote module
![Dog sitting in front of a group of people]()
"The inline quote module is a smaller quote module used for longer quotes which may be a few sentences long. Unlike the the other quote module, there is more room for text meaning longer quotes do not take up too much space on the page. This module can be used with or without an image."
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The inline quote module is a smaller quote module used for longer quotes which may be a few sentences.
This module can be created by all web authors.
Image size: 330 x 500px
How to add an inline quote module
- Upload a correctly-sized image to the image folder in the Media Library.
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Inline Quote Module’.
- In the text box you can type the quote, the person who said it, their role or their department/institution.
- Select the card icon in the far left-hand side of the menu bar. Select browse to find your image.
Image X1 module
The image X1 module is used to place a large full-width image on the page with a caption.
This module can be created by all web authors.
Image size: 1200 x 675px.
How to add an Image X1 module
- Upload a correctly-sized image to the image folder in the Media Library.
- The text that appears with the image needs to be added to the image file in the Media Library (in the 'Title' field located under 'Information').
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Image X1 module’.
- Click on the image to bring up the image menu.
- Select the 'Choose image' icon on the far left-hand side of the menu. Select browse to find your image.
Image XN module
The image XN module is used to place two images on the page side-by-side with captions.
This module can be created by all web authors.
Image size: 1000 x 665px
How to add an Image XN module
- Upload two correctly-sized images to the image folder in the Media Library.
- The text that appears with the image needs to be added to the image file in the Media Library (in the 'Title' field located under 'Information').
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Image XN module’.
- Select the 'edit images' icon on the far left-hand side of the menu bar.
- Select 'add item' to find your image. Repeat for the second image.
Image gallery module
The image gallery module can be used to show a series of images in a carousel with captions.
This module can be created by all web authors.
Image size: 1500 x 825px
How to add an Image gallery module
- Upload two or more correctly-sized images to the image folder in the Media Library.
- The text that appears with the image needs to be added to the image file in the Media Library (in the 'Title' field located under 'Information').
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Image gallery module’.
- Select the 'edit images' icon on the far left-hand side of the menu bar.
- Select 'add item' to find your image. Repeat for the additional images.
Promo module
The promo module can be used to draw attention to big key messages, and provide a call-to-action button to link users to key areas. This should only be used once on a page so as not to dilute its impact.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Image size: 1000 x 1000px
Support module
If you need any further help and advice, please contact or visit the Student Services Hub who will be happy to assist you.
The support module is used to launch a contact form, the University live chat, or to direct users to a place they can find support. This should only be used once per page so as not to confuse users.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Key facts module
Why
live here?
The key facts module is used to provide a carousel of short, key USPs, along with images to accompany each point. This should only be used once per page but can be populated with up to five key facts.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Large image size: 1000 x 1000px
Small image size: 512 x 512px
Callout module
The callout module is used on landing pages present a set of three highly visual links to content pages within the same section. This should only be used once per page so as not to dilute impact.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk.
Image size: 800 x 452px
Related pages module
This module provides links to three other pages that are relevant to your user. Each set contains three links (you must have three) and is normally used towards the bottom of a page. It is possible to have more than one set of three per page.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk.
Image size: 800 x 452px
Unique points module
- Home to 15,000 students from 130 countries.
- Set within 200 acres of beautiful parkland.
- Two miles from the historic centre of Colchester.
Used to highlight three key USPs on a content page. On landing pages, consider using the key facts module instead for a more visual impact. This module can only accept text - no links or images.
This module needs to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk.
Twitter embed module
Used to embed a Twitter feed on the page. This should only be used once per page.
This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add a Twitter embed module
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select 'Embed Content'.
- Select the cog icon on the far left-hand side of the menu bar.
- Enter the Twitter web address into the 'Post URL' field.
Get in touch module
Used to provide contact details of the person or team a user can get in contact with about the topic of that page. There are two types of get in touch modules - local and global.
Local modules are used to provide contact details that are only applicable to one page. Local get in touch modules can be created by all web authors.
Global modules are used when the same contact details are to be used on more than one page. Global modules need to be created and edited by wedm@essex.ac.uk
Image size: 512 x 512px
How to create a local get in touch module
- Upload a correctly-sized image to the image folder in the Media Library.
- Follow steps 1-4 outlined above in 'How to add a module'.
- In the modules menu select ‘Local get in touch module’.
- Click on the image to bring up the image menu.
- Select the 'Choose an image' icon on the far left-hand side of the menu. Select browse to find your image.
- You can now enter one or two sets of contact details.
Staff results module
Emeritus Professors
Used to display either a single member of staff, or a list of staff, with links to their staff profiles. This can be filtered by department, position, title, position type etc. All information is this module is fed directly from HR records.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
People module
Used to list individuals or to a number of people in a group, such as a research cluster. Content is entered manually and can also include external people not at Essex.
This module can be created by all web authors.
How to add a people module
You can find full instructions on how to add a people module in our people module training video.
Related courses module
Use this module to list a group of related courses.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Logos module
Used for pages where the content is collaborative between the University and other organisations.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Latest news module
Provides a list of up to three latest news items from the University news page. The module can be filtered to show only news that has been tagged to a specific academic department.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Latest events module
Provides a list of latest event items from the University events page. The module can be filtered to show only events that have been tagged to a specific academic department.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Latest blog post module
Provide a list of the latest blogs from the University blogs page. The module can be filtered to show only blog posts that have been tagged to a particular author, department or category.
This content for this module needs to be created by wedm@essex.ac.uk. Once it's created it can be added to a page by all web authors.
Cross links module
Cross links modules are similar to the related pages module in terms of function. This module sits at the bottom of most main University web pages and therefore must not be added to any web page. For any queries contact wedm@essex.ac.uk.
