Site publishers guide

Welcome! This quick-start guide is here to support you with basic publishing on the CFA site.

  1. If you’re not already logged in, you’ll want to go to login.squarespace.com to get started.

  2. From your Dashboard, click on the “Website” button. You’ll be taken to the editors Home menu for the site (you’ll see the CFA website homepage on the right, and a left side navigation bar with links including “Pages” and “Help”. )

  3. From the “Pages” menu, you can publish a new Bulletins (under blogs), or a meeting or event. Instructions for these are below.

  4. If you’re looking for other updates, please reach out to the project designer or content lead to make sure the design or functionality of the site doesn't accidentally get impacted. (At time of writing, this site is still very new!)

Style Guide

Keep your website content consistent and accessible with a style guide!

See Writing for the Web by the BC Government for more on web publishing with accessibility best practices.

Headings reflect ranking of content organization on your page.

  • Order headings numerically. I.e., always Heading 2 after Heading 1; don't jump straight to Heading 3 after a Heading 1.

  • A page only ever has one Heading 1, and it's usually the page title. For example, each blog post title is an Heading 1.

Paragraph styles are defined in Squarespace for non-heading content.

  • The default is Paragraph 2; we recommend you keep it simple and just use the default.

Lists are used for list formatting with bullets or numbers.

  • If your list contains ordered steps, use numbers (an ordered list).

  • If your list doesn't convey a particular order, use bullets (an unordered list).

Follow previous posts as examples. Check how previous posts were formatted and aim to keep consistent over time.

  • For example, if all Bargaining Bulletins have a Heading 2 announcing the bulletin contents, aim to edit your content to continue this trend.

  • You can even duplicate a meeting event to use it as a template (just be sure to update the details!)

Paste as plain text if you are copying text into your post. This will avoid strange formatting errors. There are multiple ways to paste plain text:

  • Use CTRL+SHIFT+V on a keyboard (Windows)

  • Depending on your web browser, you may be able to right-click your mouse and select “Paste as plain text”

  • Paste your text into a plain text editor first (e.g., Notepad), then paste into the Squarespace editor.

Document attachments should be in PDF format unless there is a really good reason to do otherwise; PDFs are easier to view on the web.

  • Always add a filetype in square brackets after the link to indicate it’s a file, not a webpage. E.g., Meeting Agenda [PDF].

  • You might need a Word or Excel file if you have a fillable form or template. If so, adjust the square bracket text as needed. E.g., [Word].

Images can only be added to a post if you are certain we have the rights to use the image. One of the following needs to be true:

  • The CFA owns the copyright of the image, or

  • The copyright holder has given the CFA explicit permission to use the image. (For example, a faculty member has granted permission for a photo they created), or

  • The image is licensed for re-use, such as Creative Commons or public domain. (Note that Creative Commons may require attribution, and we would need to attribute credit to the creator.)

If the image is a photograph features people, we recommend the CFA ensure the person(s) in the photograph have given consent to having the image used on the website before posting.

How to publish a Bulletin (Blog Post)

  1. From the Pages menu (left side navigation), click on Bulletins in the side navigation bar.

  2. Click the small plus sign icon + near the top of the side navigation.

  3. A new draft appears, prompting you to "Enter a post title...". Type in your post title (e.g., Bargaining Bulletin #4).

  4. Below the title is your first text block: "Write here...". This is where you will add sub-headings and body text. See the Style Guide section for how to format text and use sub-headings.

  5. When you're finished editing text, click Done in the upper left side, and then choose Save (or Exit Edit Mode).

  6. In the side navigation: click the three-dots next to your draft post, then click Settings in the dropdown menu.

    1. A pop-up window appears. Add an Excerpt of one or two sentences; this preview appears on the landing page. (See previous posts for examples).

    2. Click Options on the left, then go to Tags. If the bulletin is for bargaining, add a tag for bargaining; if the bulletin is related to the supporting MoveUP, add a tag for moveup2023. See previous posts for examples.

    3. Still in Options: Status will indicate Draft >; click here.

  7. If you are ready to publish, you can either:

    1. stay in Options, then go to Status, and change from Draft to Published. (Tip! If you need to back-date the post, choose the date from the calendar below),

    2. Or, go back into edit mode of the post and Publish from there.

    3. You will be prompted to "Create a Draft in Email Campaigns". You can close this.

  8. To push to social media, return to the three-dots menu next to your post, click Settings, then go to Share. Click on the Facebook account linked there, and then toggle on to push post to Facebook.

How to publish a new meeting or event

  1. From the Pages menu (left side navigation), click on Meetings & Events in the side navigation bar.

  2. Click the small plus sign icon + near the top of the side navigation

  3. A pop-up window appears. Enter your event title (e.g., CFA General Meeting).

  4. Click on Date and Time: Choose the date from the calendar, and set the start time (slider at bottom).

  5. Click on Event End, and edit the end time (slider at bottom).

  6. (Do not enter a Location). Click Save at the top right of the pop-up.

  7. You will now be editing the event page. Enter meeting details, including location. (For file attachments, see section below.)

  8. Click Save to keep your event in draft; click Publish if you are ready to go live.

How to add a file attachment (e.g., meeting agenda)

  1. In the body text of your post, highlight the text which will link to your attachment (e.g., CFA GM March 21, 2023 Agenda)

  2. Click the link icon in the editor bar, and then click the cog icon in the drop-down box.

  3. A pop-up will appear. Click File in the left side navigation.

  4. Click the tick-box next to the file you want to link to:

    1. If your file already exists (e.g., linking to the Collective Agreement), choose from the list.

    2. To add a new file, scroll down and click Upload File. Locate the file and upload.

  5. Click Save in the upper left of the pop-up window.

  6. Click Apply in the link drop-down box. (Tip: it's easy to miss this step!)