A few content management and site editing tips for power users on this bacon flavoured
unicorn morning.
The theme here is keep it clean!Write "friendly" email addressesRemember it's human beings reading your content. So seeing something like "If you have questions please send an email to
[email protected]" breaks up
the readiblity. Instead just do
the simple steps of writing
the content in plain English and going back, highlighting
the name and insert a link (note: you might have to prefix
the link with mailto:
[email protected]). It makes for a friendlier looking page and hides
the ugliness that are sometimes in email addresses.Use friendly column and list namesThis is a big pet peeve of mine. When you first create a column or list with spaces
the internal name is changed.
The display name might be "My Amazing List of Animals with Large Testicles" but
the internal (and link) name becomes "My_x00x20_Amazing_x00x20_List_x00x20_of_x00x20_Animals_x00x20_with_x00x20_Large_x00x20_Testicles". What's worse is if you create a publishing page named "This Website is Fueled By a Dolphin's Spleen". Not only is it incorrect grammar, but
the apostrophe wreaks havoc on both
the internal name for
the list (with lots of crazy hex codes) as well as
the hyperlink (where everything is uuencoded). Instead create
the list with a distinct and compact name then go back and change it to whatever you want.
The end result is a better formed name that you can both script and access in code easier.Keep your Views CleanWhen you add a column to a list or create a new list
the default is to add it to
the default view. Do everyone a favour and don't check this box!
The default view of a list should be something similar to
the Title field and nothing else. Keep it clean. If you want to set a defalt view that's different, go back and create one with all
the fields and filtering and sorting columns you want and set it as default. It's a good idea to keep
the original AllItems.aspx (note
the lack of space in
the filename!) easy and unfiltered. It's also a good idea to keep your column count down in views. Don't let every column be added by default and don't add every column just because you can. Create separate views for distinct responsibilities and try to keep
the number of columns down to a single screen to prevent horizontal scrolling.Simple NavigationThe Quick Launch is a great tool for navigating around your site but don't use
the default of adding all lists to it. Uncheck that box and keep navigation simple. Create custom groupings that make sense so if you don't have a site with "Documents and Lists" but "Reports and Notices" makes more sense then do it. Also hide internal lists from
the Quick Launch. For example, if most users don't need to see all
the lookup tables you might have on a site don't show them. You can use audience filtering on
the Quick Launch if you want to hide admin items from non-admin users so consider that as an option.Enjoy!
