Frequently Asked Questions

A 403 error is a permissions error. It most commonly occurs when publishers are not logged into the WREN-VPN. When editing, please make sure you are using the Chrome browser and are logged into the WREN. This should eliminate 403 errors.

If you've recently purchased a new mobile device, you will need to re-establish your two-factor authentication for purposes of logging in to Westpoint.edu. Here are detailed instructions on how to to this.

Widgets are the components the web team uses to structure and design web pages. You will see several widgets in place on any template or custom page. Each widget has different features, different contenting requirements and behaves differently on a web page.

Widgets are conditional, so only the widgets you choose to content will appear on the page. You don't need to content everything you see!

 Click here to learn about the widgets in use on the West Point website.

There are several templates to choose from and each is made up of different widgets. Here are some template guidelines to help you choose the right one for your needs:

Honor Full Width: This page is for text-heavy content and will not accommodate images or video iframes.

Honor with Sidebar: Same as above, however you will note it provides a left-hand space in which the web team can add the sidebar navigation.

Duty Full Width: The widgets on this template allow for a healthy amount of both text and images. This template will not accommodate a video iframe.

Duty with Sidebar: Same as above, however you will note it provides a left-hand space in which the web team can add the sidebar navigation.

Country Full Width: The widgets on this template allow for text, images and video. If too much text is placed in the full jumbotrons (typically more than 10-11 lines), images will become distorted. This distortion is not always evident when editing on a large display. Please check for image distortion by viewing on a government laptop at 100% and on a mobile device.

Country with Sidebar: Same as above, however you will note it provides a left-hand space in which the web team can add the sidebar navigation.

Prime Events Full Width: This template is incredibly versatile and includes the most widgets, including several carousels. Just remember, you don't need to complete every section. Only what you content will appear on the page.

Prime Events with Sidebar: COMING SOON! Same as above, however you will note it provides a left-hand space in which the web team can add the sidebar navigation.

Click here to learn more about templates and to view examples.

Publishers can access templates to create new web pages. A templated page remains in ‘draft’ form until you let the web team know the page is ready to be published. Once you email the web team, the page will be screened and submitted to the Public Affairs Office (PAO) for approval, prior to publishing. You will be alerted once the page is live. Pages that are in ‘Draft’ form are not accessible to the public. Please click here for guidance on templates. 

In addition to templates, publishers can make changes to existing pages, and can create and publish profile pages.

Basic Pages: You can edit any basic page that you have access to. This is determined based on the Web Order Form that was completed and signed prior to your initial training. On a basic page, you can edit any content contained within the WYSIWYG editor using the functions of the editor.

Department Landing Pages: You can edit any department landing page that you have access to. This is determined based on the Web Order Form that was completed and signed prior to your initial training. On this page, you can edit any content contained within the WYSIWYG editor using the functions of the editor. *Note: some content is not editable, and sections must be for the original use as noted on the template.

Template Pages: You can create or edit template pages, including all existing widgets on the page.

Custom Pages: You can edit all existing widgets on a custom page that was created for your department.

WYSIWYGs: What is a WYSIWYG anyway? WYSIWYG stands for "What You See I What You Get." It is a textbox with a limited number of editing buttons at the top. If you don't see the functions you want, such as centering or underlining text, contact the web team who can adjust which editing options are available to you.

Textboxes are also called WYSIWYGs, which stands for "What You See I What You Get." It is a textbox with a limited number of editing buttons at the top. If you don't see the functions you want, such as centering or underlining text,  email the web team who can adjust which editing options are available to you.

Yes! You currently can link to an internal or external page on any of the pages you manage. Be mindful that every time you provide a link to an external page (away from westpoint.edu), you’re directing end users away from your page and our website. Links to internal pages will route the end user to a page that is already on westpoint.edu and continue the user’s session. Remember, westpoint.edu is a communication platform that is required to uphold the mission and values of USMA. Links must be in line with the values and standards of this institution, not violate DoD policies and regulations. Please refer to the document External Links Best Practices for important guidelines.

Publishers can edit existing pages in their group. When you click “Save”, any and all changes you made to a published page are visible to the public. If you’re editing a page that is in “Draft” status, the edits you make are not visible to the public since the page has not been published.

You can also create a page using one of our templates. A templated page remains in ‘Draft’ form until you let the Web Team know the page is ready to be published. The page will then be screened and submitted to PAO for approval, prior to publishing. You will be alerted once the page is live. Pages that are in ‘Draft’ form are not accessible by the public.

Sidebar menus are placed using blocks and can be edited by the web team. This includes basic, template and custom pages with sidebar menus. To have a sidebar menu updated or to change the structure of a menu, please contact the Web Team.

We are still continually working to keep the site’s hierarchy organized and well-structured. Therefore, publishers currently do not have the ability to delete a page. Publishers do, however, have the ability to delete or unpublish profile pages. (See section on profiles, lower down on this web page.)

To request to have a page(s) deleted, simply email the Web Team and we can delete or archive the page(s) for you.

There are two ways to gain assistance with editing your page(s):

1. You can request assistance with editing your page(s) by sending an email to the Web Team. We’ll either help you via emails or schedule a time that works best for you to complete a help session via Microsoft Teams.
2. View the Training Resources page for additional trainings or to sign up for a live, virtual training.

The Web team is always taking requests for custom page builds. All custom page builds, however, need to be approved by Public Affairs before the Web Team can commence work. If you want to build a new page, you can do so by using one of seven templates. For more information on templates, visit our Knowledge Portal.

How long does it take to have a custom page built? It depends on your requirements. Once the page build is approved by the Public Affairs Office, we will work with you and your department/directorate to gather requirements. Once we have thoroughly analyzed what you need, including the required functionality, we can give you an estimated time frame in which it will take our team to complete the custom page build.

Before requesting a custom page, please check out our templates: Duty, Honor, Country, and Prime Events. These pages are available to all publishers and are ‘flexible’ templates meaning that you can use or not use whatever aspects of the template that best suit your needs.

To create a template, simply click add content in the admin portal and select the template you’d like to try. You can try as many as you’d like and keep them in ‘Draft’ status until you’re ready to publish one.

Contact the Web Team or attend one of our virtual Help Desk Office Hour sessions for answers to any questions you might have.

We most likely need to add you to a group or adjust your roles & permissions. Please email the web team with the URL of the page(s) you need to be able to edit and we’ll certainly help you.

Yes! When you are logged in, there is a little button that appears at the top of the page which will allow for mobile preview on a number of devices. Half our users are on mobile devices, so this is an important step. We also recommend you view all pages at 100% on a government laptop as a baseline for how pages appear.

Web pages can only be published by the web team. When you are ready to publish a page, please first check the page using the website checklist. Once you feel it is ready to go, please email the web team, including the node number and the link to the page it is is replacing, when applicable. Changing the page status from "Draft" to "Ready to Publish" will not alert the the web team.

Here's what happens next:

1. The web team will review page for content, layout, and 508 concerns.
2. If significant changes need to be made, the web team will reach back out to you.
3. The web team will submit the new page to PAO for approval.
4. Once approved, the web team will publish the page with its URL alias and add the sidebar menu.
5. When applicable, the web team will also replace the previous page and unpublish it.
6. The web team will update menu and button links, as needed.

Publishers have the ability to content and publish new profile pages. You can even make sure an individual appears on your department staff and faculty listing. Click here to learn about all about profiles.

Need to create a profile for a department member? Here is a form you can print or email to collect all necessary information from this individual --  or simply share this link! Make sure you request a high quality profile image, as well! Click here to learn about all about profiles.

Filling in the main department on a profile will automatically place that individual onto the respective staff and faculty page.

Indicate the department head by populating this information in the "Head of Department" section on the lower left section of the edit screen.

Individuals in the top section will appear alphabetically, unless you choose to promote one individual to the top. To ensure the department head always appears on top, check off the box under "Promotion Options" in a drop down menu on the right side of the edit screen.

Regular profile images are resized and made smaller to fit the profile pages. This means they are low quality and not ideal for sharing for outside speaking engagements.

There is an option, however, to add a second image that will not be resized. Just below the profile image, there is a section that says "High Quality Download Image." Click the blue button to upload the image a second time.

 Now a user can hover over your main image to download a high-resolution version.

Department staff and faculty pages pull content from published profile pages. When a department is listed as the main department on an individual's published profile page, this person will automatically appear on the corresponding staff and faculty page. You can remove an individual from a staff and faculty page by deleting that department from their profile or by listing is an a secondary department. If the person is no longer working at West Point, you can also unpublish their profile. Click here to learn about all about profiles.

We recommend sizing images on Paint3D, which is installed in most government laptops. Please review the training deck on photo sizing for guidelines on sizing photos. We do not recommend using sizing tools within the Drupal platform, unless you are only resizing by a pixel or two. Otherwise, you may experience image distortion.

• Unless noted above, widgets have no required dimensions.
• The web team recommends images not exceed 10mb in file size.
• For optimal appearance, all images placed within a carousel should be sized consistently.

If your image appears to be experiencing lazy loading, it is likely because there is a space in either the file name or folder name. The content management system does not react well to spaces and they should be avoided. Rename your image If you reupload your image without the spaces in the file name and this should correct the issue.

Good Image Name: Department_Group_May_2022

Bad Image Name: Department Group NEW

Yes, there is a button which allows you t6o add a new folder. In fact we recommend adding a new folder for every new page. This will help you stay organized and know where to find images or where to add add images during future edits.

When naming a folder, add a date and do not include any spaces in the folder name:

Good Folder Name: SOSH_Conference_May_2022

Bad Folder Name: SOSH Conference new images

Spaces in either the folder name or in the file name can lead to delayed loading of images on a page.

If you right click on an image, then "open image in new tab," you can then look at the URL across the top to see where in the file a manger an image is stored. Once the image is opened in a new tab, you can also right click the larger image to save it to you computer.

Yes, you can add PDF files to the file manager, but carefully consider your reasons for doing so. PDFs are less accessible to users. They require an additional step to access them, creating a barrier for the user -- even more so for people with disabilities, (see 508 Accessibility). If this information is worth communicating, then make it a web page! We only recommend linking to a PDF if you think people may want to download or print the document. All PDFs should be created using an accessibility wizard. Learn more about creating accessible documents here.

Westpoint.edu is the official website of The United States Military Academy. The web team works under the direction of the West Point Public Affairs Office. Its members are contractors, employed by Link Solutions, Inc. The website is hosted by Amazon Web Service (AWS) on cloud-based servers and uses Drupal for its content management system.

The best way to contact the web team is by email. Click here for the web team's email address. This email address is monitored by multiple individuals and will funnel your request into our online ticketing system. This will ensure it is assigned to the appropriate team member and handled in the most timely manner. This is preferable to emailing individuals on the team.

There are there ways to receive additional training:

1. You can request additional training by sending an email to the Web Team.
2. You can attend a virtual Help Desk Office Hour session
3. You can review existing trainings available on the Knowledge Portal