Notifications

As the largest school district in Arizona we have an equally large web presence. Sometimes finding time-sensitive information can be frustrating if you don’t know where to look. We know it’s a problem and you know it’s a problem — we don’t want our users to have to sift through pages of content to find vital information.

Enter: The District Notification System

You may have noticed a banner at the top of every webpage in the district after the Spring semester started, which prompted users to share their thoughts on the 2017-18, 2018-19 calendar survey. You may have even asked yourself, “What is this yellow thing doing on my webpage? I didn’t put it there!” Have no fear, we meant to do that.

With this update, we’ve added a new feature to Architeck that allows district administrators to display notifications at the top of any webpage. These notifications may come in several different forms:

• Blue Information alerts let users know about important events, district initiatives or school breaks.
• Yellow Action alerts prompt users to get involved.
• Red Critical alerts may indicate closures due to natural events, school lockdowns or other emergencies.

Keep an eye out – some notifications may only appear on specific school and department sites that are affected.

Smart Page Additions

Three years ago, we released Smart Pages and they’ve changed the way you build your website. Our goal was to give you a simple drag-and-drop platform to design a website, which left you with an easy to read, elegant and attractive page that displays well on a desktop computer, smartphone and everything in between.

Since then, we’ve dedicated our time to making Architeck even more flexible by adding widgets to display your content the way you want it. With this update, we bring you several new options for your pages that will not only help you display your content attractively, but also communicate to your readers through social media.

Twitter Feed Widget

Yes, it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for. You asked for it, and we’ve delivered. Just enter your department or school’s display name and you’re off! If you can fit your message in 140 characters, we’ll display it proudly for all to see.

Social Icons Widget

If you’ve played with Smart Pages long enough, you’ve probably noticed several of our widgets come integrated with social icon sections. Today we give you a separate widget so you can place them independently wherever you want on your page.

It couldn’t be any simpler, just copy and paste your Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube or RSS link into the widget and watch what happens.

Be sure to fill in at least one URL. Yes, the title is optional.

“But hold on a second, what happens if I click one of those buttons at the top?”

We’ve heard your comments loud and clear, you love Smart Pages but want to customize them even more. Now we’re giving you three (that’s right, THREE!) looks to choose from.

Sports Card Widget

Today we introduce the first in a series of interactive widgets that allow you to display complex information succinctly and attractively. This “sports card” comes as a request from our Athletics department in an effort to display their Hall of Fame inductees in a more engaging manner, but we know you’ll find even more exciting uses for it.

Let’s dive in...

Right off the bat, you’ll notice there’s an Image section. This works exactly the same as the Image Widget, which allows you to upload a new picture or choose from others already loaded on the page. We suggest you try to stick to a square image (1:1 ratio) so it displays best.

Next are standard fields that include suggestions for content in the text boxes. Remember to place something in each box, all fields are required. Hit Update, and you’ll be on your way to webpage greatness!

“Now wait a second, where’s that awesome biography I wrote?”

Don’t worry, see that More button on the bottom? Click it and watch your page come to life! It’s OK if you enter a lot of text on the biography, we’ve included a little magic so even a novel will fit.

Cool, huh? Now your users can really interact with your content.

Moving Forward

Architeck is an ever-evolving system, and we have even more in store for you soon. Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for a few more widgets we hope you’ll all be excited to use.

Need some help or have an idea for a new feature? We appreciate your feedback and are here to help!

Excited about your new page and want to show it off? Send us the link and we’d be glad to feature it on our upcoming highlights page!