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    Basic Tutorials

    Theme Customization Options

    Learn how to use the customizer to add different functionality and customization to your site.

      The CALSv4 theme includes many options to customize the appearance and functionality of your site. To access the customizer from any page of your website, select “Customize” from the top toolbar (make sure you are logged in). Alternatively, you can find Appearance > Customize in the sidebar from the WordPress dashboard.

      Site Identity

      In this section, you’ll find options to set the site title and tagline, as well as customize the branding of the theme.

      Important Note About UW Branding

      It is generally prohibited to customize the logo and other branding for UW websites as it interferes with the guidelines and standards set by the university. Please review the guidelines before making any changes.

      Logo

      Allows you to upload a custom logo to be used instead of the UW crest in the header. To ensure the layout is consistent across sites, we encourage the use of square logos.

      Site Title

      The site title is used in the header of your site next to the logo.

      Tagline

      The tagline appears next to the site title in the header.

      Tagline Location

      Specify whether the tagline appears above or below the site title in the header.

      It also determines how your site will be named for Google. For example, if your site title is Agriculture and Life Sciences, your tagline is College of, and your tagline location is below, the site title in Google will be “[Campus Title] | College of – Agriculture and Life Sciences.”

      Hide UW Crest

      Optionally hide the UW crest and only display the title and tagline.

      Campus Title

      Specifies the campus title that appears in the very top left of your header. It is required by UW Madison’s minimum web requirements. If no campus title is provided, it will default to “UNIVERSITY of WISCONSION-MADISON” and reduce to “UW-Madison” on mobile devices.

      If you absolutely need to remove the campus title, you’ll need to set the campus title to ” ” (space) or it will attempt to revert to the default.

      Campus Title Link

      By default, the campus title will link to wisc.edu. If you need to change this functionality, here is where you would do it.

      Display Site Title and Tagline

      Optionally hide the site title and tagline in favor of only displaying the logo. If you choose to remove these, please make sure your logo has alt text defined for users with visual impairments (the default UW Crest has alt text defined).

      Site Icon

      Allows you to upload a custom site icon. The icon will be used in browser tabs, bookmarks, etc.

      Analytics

      The CALSv4 theme allows you to add tracking codes for Google Analytics, Eloqua, and Facebook Pixel. However, they are not officially supported by CALS Web Services. If you have any issues getting these working, you’ll need to defer to the respective service’s documentation and support.

      Google Analytics

      Allows you to track visitors on your site using Google Analytics. Learn how to add Google Analytics to your site here.

      Eloqua Analytics

      Allows you to enter your Eloqua tracking id. For resources, please refer to Eloqua’s support and documentation.

      Facebook Pixel

      Allows you to enter your Facebook Pixel id. For resources, please refer to Meta’s support and documentation.

      Alerts

      Alerts are displayed prominently in your site header. You can add a message as well as an optional “Learn More” link to a page explaining the alert in more depth. Alerts are dismissible by site visitors. If you change your alert message, it will reappear for users who have previously dismissed any alerts on your site.

      Show Alert Message

      Enable or disable the alert message on your site.

      Alert Message

      The custom alert message you would like to display. For usability purposes, keep this message short and sweet. If it is too long, it will take up a lot of vertical screen space. Keep in mind, mobile devices have less horizontal screen space and therefore the message will take up more vertical space as the text wraps.

      If you have a long message to communicate, consider displaying the headline here and using the link to direct the user to a page with more information about the alert.

      “Learn More” URL

      Optionally display a “Learn More” link to a page explaining the alert in more depth.

      Appearance

      Page Breadcrumbs

      By default, your site will display breadcrumbs at the top of any nested pages. These help with the navigation of your site, but can be disabled here if you choose.

      Menu Call to Action

      Allows you to display the last item in your site menu with more emphasis. For example, it is a common practice to have a “Contact” page or other actionable step for the user to take emphasized in the header.

      Example screenshot of a call to action "Apply" in the site menu.
      Example call to action (Apply)

      Enable Search

      Allows you to disable the search button and popup in the header. This option is enabled by default for usability but you may choose to disable it if you have a really small site that is already very straightforward to navigate (like 5 pages or less).

      Enable Dark Mode

      Allows you to disable dark mode on your site. By default, the CALSv4 theme is optimized to automatically provide a usable dark mode experience and this option is enabled by default for accessibility and to match user preferences. However, you may find that your site has usability issues in dark mode due to custom plugins, you may disable it here.

      Advanced

      Google Custom Search

      Allows you to add a custom Google Programmable Search Engine ID. When this field is blank your site will use the default WordPress search.

      Google Site Verification

      Allows you to verify your site ownership and access the Google Search Console. Visit our SEO recommendations page for more information.


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