Campus Events Calendar Best Practices

Content

For consistency and clarity, the university’s editorial style must be followed for calendar listings. Follow the Brand Voice guidelines when developing content for campus event descriptions.

Title

Relevant information that is at most 10 words. Also, avoid acronyms in your titles.

Plain Text

When copying and pasting from an external source, ensure that you use plain text. Using text from other platforms, such as Microsoft Word, can sometimes introduce additional markup that causes issues with formatting and accessibility. To avoid this issue, paste your copied content into a text editor such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac) and make sure the format is set to plain text. Then, copy the plain text and paste it into the appropriate LiveWhale field.

Summary

Succinct information about the event that does not exceed 45 words. This information is displayed on your calendar group public page. It is also often pulled into feeds displayed on various units’ websites.

Location

Use an actual address in this field; if it is virtual, use the online event option. Do not type in virtual.

Event Description

Use this section to provide a maximum of three paragraphs of additional information that is not a direct copy and paste of the summary. If an official webpage supports registration or full details, please link to it rather than duplicate the information in the calendar listing. Also, this section is what will be included in the shared file when a visitor chooses the option to download the event to their calendar. You might want to include contact information here, rather than in its designated field, so visitors can easily access it on their calendar.

Links

Select the “Open link in new window” option for all links added to your copy. This allows users to continue interacting with the event posting while accessing the linked information separately.

Images

Image Field

For each calendar entry, post a relevant image for your event or choose your unit’s official unit signature if a unique image is not readily available. Using an image provides visual interest and improves search engine optimization (SEO) and ranking, particularly in Google.

Image Size

To match the formatting for how calendar feeds display, your images should be resized to a 16:9 aspect ratio (1920×1080 pixels). For those unfamiliar with resizing images, Adobe tools (with an Adobe Creative Cloud license) can be used. There are also free tools available (like the Photos app on Windows).

Image Optimization

In addition to resizing images, they will also need to be optimized for the web. A free browser-based tool like Tinify will reduce and compress your images without losing details. Images should not exceed 350 KB.

Image Alt Text

Alt text is required for all images to meet web accessibility requirements. Also, writing relevant alt text assists with SEO and provides contextual information for search engines on the content of your event. Keep the information short, descriptive and relevant — describe what a viewer would see. You can choose the decorative image option if the image is your logo unit signature.

Image Color Contrast

Check the contrast ratio between text and background colors for accessibility compliance. A free browser-based tool, like the WebAIM contrast checker, allows for a check between the foreground and background colors. The contrast ratio should be three or higher (3:1).

Style and Accessibility

Please reference the Mizzou Style Guide to ensure university standards are met when writing and creating events for the calendar. Refer to helpful articles on Digital Access to assist with accessibility settings and best practices. If you have questions, contact Digital Service.