UW Theme Updated to 1.8.0

On Thursday, January 9, the WordPress UW Theme was updated to version 1.8.0. A full list of changes in this version of the UW Theme can be reviewed in the changelog.

Customizable Fac/Staff Slug

One of the more requested features we’ve had for the UW Theme was to change the slug for the fac/staff custom post type from “staff” to something more general/all-encompassing. In most cases, folks have asked for this to be changed to something like “people” or “facstaff.”

This release adds an option to customize this slug to fit your group’s needs.

Shows option for customizing the WordPress slug for the fac/staff custom post type

For how-to documentation on this feature, please refer to the Customizing the Fac/Staff Slug KnowledgeBase doc.

‘Back to Top’ Link

A ‘Back to Top’ link option has been added to the text editor to allow users to jump to the top of the content.

Using a shortcode, an editor can place the ‘Back to Top’ link anywhere in a Text Block. This shortcode will then display a link in the live page that anchors to the #main element on the page.

Blue link stating Back to Top with a red arrow to the right

For use, simply place the shortcode in a Text Block and the link will be added to your page automatically.

Updated Social Icons

The social media icons that are displayed in the footer of the UW Theme have now been updated to the latest styles. Changes are minor but users will notice different Instagram and YouTube graphics, as well as subtle changes to the Facebook and Twitter icons.

Before:

After:

Code Element Styles

The <code> element was previously styled with a darker gray and outlined view that did not complement the rest of the theme. This has been updated to match the <pre> element styles, which are lighter and easier on the eye.

Before:

Screenshot of a UW Theme page displaying the before view of the <code> element with a darker gray background and dark border

After:

Screenshot of a UW Theme page displaying the before view of the <code> element with a lighter gray background and light border

Linkable Tagline

The tagline field in the header can now be used as a link to the primary department or division.

Please note: The hyperlink will appear in blue, which will change the look of your header slightly. Also, this edit requires some knowledge of HTML structure.

Screenshot of the header of the UW Theme displaying a linkable tagline in blue text

For how-to documentation on this feature, please refer to the Tagline Hyperlink KnowledgeBase doc.

Auto-Generated Excerpts

This release has added functionality that will auto-generate an excerpt if one is not manually set. This auto-generate occurs each time the content is changed. This exciting update should prevent inaccurate or outdated info from being added to the meta description of a page in Google Search results.