Feature Guides
These are the main articles about major Brightspot functions.
Articles
Articles are one of the most used content types. They are similar to a page but much more simplified
and only allow a Rich Text module for content. However, they offer specific features such as the ability to add authors, subheadlines, and posted update tracking to the article.
and only allow a Rich Text module for content. However, they offer specific features such as the ability to add authors, subheadlines, and posted update tracking to the article.
Asides and Belows
Aside and Below options allow, as the names state, putting modules aside or below the main content of a page as seen below. It allows links and other information to be displayed as a quick way to navigate through the site.
Attachments
Sometimes you will need to have files or images uploaded in order for users to access them. Brightspot makes this very easy to do!
Calendars and Events
A great Brightspot feature is being able to add events and calendars to your webpages. These make it easy to keep track of and make users aware of the exciting new happenings that are going on in your field. Here you can see how to create a calendar, how to create an event and how to display the two different content types on your page.
Customization and CSS
Brightspot allows content creators to modify the actual page with raw HTML, CSS, and Javascript if specific and custom changes need to occur to the site. This will not be a tutorial on HTML/CSS/JS but rather how to set up the module to start making specific, custom changes to your content.
Dashboards
The dashboard is the place to streamline your site editing. It can be customized for a site, a role, or for a particular user.
Directory and Employees
Employees can be set to be automatically ingested into your site or can be manually created if need be. Once you have employees we can set up pages to display employees for your site. This guide will explore how to ingest employees automatically, modify employees, and how to set up a page of employees.
Footer
Footers are the very bottom of any webpage that displays information (usually a logo or contact information). Creating a custom footer allows for a more personalized webpage.
Forms
April 2022 Update: Due to recent attempts to hack the site through the Brightspot forms, please make sure to add CAPTCHA to all forms that are created OR put the form behind CAS authentication.
Header
A header will help your site become easy to navigate and keep websites more uniform across the BYU site.
Help and Training
The BYU Websites Team has created a lot of training and help content so that you can create your site as smoothly as possible.
Images and Videos
Images and Videos are critical components of any webpage. However, importing videos and images can have more settings than one realizes.
Lists
Lists allow you to display lists of content in different ways to give a unique look to your site while allowing clear and concise information to be displayed to a user.
Navigation
Setting up proper navigation for a user is critical when creating your site. You want your site to flow from page to page so that users can easily navigate and understand where to go to find information that they need.
Payments
Brightspot does not have a shopping cart or payment processing system, and linking directly to a checkout process from Brightspot is not allowed. You can, however, link to a Transact shopping cart, charge a student account, or use Mendix for a portion of your site.
Promos
Promos allow you to "beautify" your links and content on Brightspot with photos, short descriptions, and a layout that will help users understand and be more likely to click on your content. Headers of pages make great promos, as they are able to display full-width photos and links and make the page look professional.
Revisions and History
Brightspot gives the capability to modify a published page and save it without having to publish it right away. It can also set launch dates for content needed to be published in the future.
Rich Text
The Rich Text module allows for powerful customization for the body of your Brighspot page, whether it is a simple block of text or large document like blocks that include images, forms and links to other sites.
Search
The search content type creates a custom search bar that has many powerful search functions, perfect for customizing to the needs of your page or site.
Sections
Sometimes sites are large and have many pages included within. Sections are Brightspots way to help organize these many pages to keep your site organized.
Shared Modules
Shared modules are modules that are created and be shared across the site on any page. With shared modules, you can make it once, then copy it over to as many pages as you need.
Sharing Content Between Sites
One of Brightspot's strengths is sharing content within an instance (which means within our BYU Brightspot sites). That means that a college can feature articles from BYU News that relate to that college, and departments can do the same with articles from the college or from BYU News.
Site Publishing
You've been hard at work, making your website just how you want it, and now you're ready to make it live! Congratulations! To make a site live just takes a few simple steps.
Sites and Settings
If you have administrative rights to a website, you should have access to the Sites and Settings area. Access it by clicking the menu button at the top left of any screen and opening the Admin area. From here you can control most site-wide settings.
Tags
Tags are words or phrases used for organizing or marking related content. They can help in sorting, searching, and filtering content.
Templates
There are a couple of different types of templates available in Brightspot: Content Templates and Content Forms.
Translation
You can create alternate language versions of your pages in Brightspot. You essentially need to rebuild your site in each language you want to use, but once it's set up it becomes easy to manage the versions in Brightspot.
Workflows
Workflows allow you to set specific steps in publishing content. These steps can be tied to user roles and permissions.