Streamline Your Content Creation with YaleSites' New Editorial Workflow

Boost your team collaboration using the YaleSites platform. We’re thrilled to introduce substantial improvements to our platform, aimed at making content creation more efficient and collaborative. We have implemented an editorial workflow to regulate content creation, management, and publishing, guaranteeing a seamless and productive process. These enhancements aim to simplify your content management approach and foster effective teamwork within your organization. 

New User Roles

Our platform now incorporates two new user roles: Contributor and Editor. These roles are designed to distribute the responsibilities of content creation and management among your team more effectively. 

The Contributor role is designed for users responsible for creating and editing content. However, contributors cannot publish pages. When a contributor edits published content, an unpublished draft is created that must be approved and published by an Editor or site admin. The Editor role has all the permissions of the Contributor and the power to review, approve, and publish content. 

If you are already a user on our platform, do not worry - you will continue to be a site administrator with all the associated controls and privileges. To modify your roles, or the roles of other users on your YaleSite, click on “People” in the top administrative toolbar. Then, select “Edit” for the user whose roles you want to change. 

Content Moderation

We have introduced content moderation for all content types. This feature allows you to control the state of your content at each stage of the workflow. There are three states your content can be in: 

1. Draft: This is the default state for newly created content and new revisions. Content in this state is not visible to the public. 
2. Published: When content is ready to be publicly visible, it can be moved to the Published state. 
3. Archived: When content is no longer needed or relevant, instead of deleting it, you can move it to the Archived state. Content in this state is not published or visible to the public. We recommend archiving content that is not relevant to your users anymore, but you may want access to it in the future.

With these improvements, we aim to provide you with a more flexible and efficient system for managing your website’s content. We look forward to seeing how these changes improve your YaleSites experience. 

How to Use the New Controls 

With the recent updates, you will notice new controls on your non-published pages. At the top of the screen, you will see a set of controls designed to help you manage your content. 

Additionally, you will have access to a new right-side bar after clicking on the button that says “Tasks: Draft” on the second administrative toolbar. This sidebar offers a range of options (dependent on your role) designed to enhance your content management experience: 

• View Live Content: If you are on a draft of an already published webpage, you have the option to view the live content. 
• Edit the Draft: Make changes to your draft content. 
• Delete the Draft: If you no longer need the draft, you can delete it. 
• Publish this Draft: Once you are satisfied with your draft, you can publish it directly from this menu. 
• Add a Log Message: Keep track of your changes by adding a log message. 
• Show Revisions: View the history of changes made to the draft. 
• Layout Builder: Edit the content of your draft. 
• Clone this Draft: If you want to create a similar page, you can clone the draft. 

This streamlined process provides a more efficient and intuitive way to manage your website’s content. 

Video Demo