If you’re an editor for a UC ANR site, this guide is your starting point. Whether you’re adding a brand-new page, updating something that’s out of date, or just giving your site a quick refresh, you’ll find the essentials here. We’ll cover the basics of training, how to plan your content, and tips for organizing your site so it’s clear, useful and easy to navigate.
If you’re looking for accessibility requirements, head over to Accessibility Standards. For tips on writing style, structure and SEO, check out Writing for the Web.
Step 1: Complete the IWP Training
Start with the Interactive Web Platform (IWP) training: ucanr.edu/site/iwp-training
You’ll learn how to:
- Log in and access your site
- Use the content editor tools
- Create and manage pages, links, images, and menus
- Understand IWP terminology and page elements
Tip: Bookmark the training site - it’s full of quick how-tos you’ll use every day.
Step 2: Plan and Organize Your Content
Think first about what you’ll publish, not just how it looks.
Page purpose and audience:
- Define who the page is for and what you want them to do
- Stick to one main idea per page
- Put the most important information up front with a clear call to action
Information hierarchy:
- Lead with the headline and a short summary
- Use section headings (H2s and H3s) to group related ideas
- Keep paragraphs short and break things into lists so they’re easy to scan
- For tone and style tips, see Writing for the Web
Site structure (high level):
- Keep your top-level navigation to 5-7 items
- Group related content under logical sections or landing pages
- Add subpages only when they’re helpful (see Navigation and Menus page)
Step 3: Review and Refine
Once your content is in Drupal, focus on accuracy and ease of use.
Keep content fresh:
- Remove outdated, duplicate, or unused pages and files
- Fix broken links and confirm downloads still work
- Replace old documents with HTML pages when possible
Improve presentation:
- Break up long text with headings and lists
- Keep formatting consistent across pages
- Don’t use tables for layout - use IWP’s built-in layout tools instead
- Visit our Sample IWP Site for more ideas on presentation
Meet accessibility requirements:
- Add alt text to all images
- Use descriptive link text
- Follow a clear heading structure with just one H1 per page
- For full standards, see the Accessibility page