This will affect and subsites with the URL format <dept/faculty/etc/>.

Note that <info/blog/dept>.yorku.ca sites will not be affected.

Maintenance Period: Wed April 8, 2026 – 7:00 am – 8:00 am

There will several brief site outages during this maintenance window.   Please let your users know and please refrain from making any changes to your sites during this time.

We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause and thank you for your understanding and patience.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to our web team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for more hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: .

The post Maintenance Notice appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

Revise language on webpages��
We are asking all��web owners who have land acknowledgments on their website(s) or webpage(s) to update��their��existing land acknowledgment. Moving forward, all sites��should��used the message below and link to the new central��land��acknowledgment webpage��to ensure accuracy, consistency, and ease of maintenance.��

Webpage Language
First Nations peoples have lived on this part of Turtle Island for millennia, stewarding the land, the water and all that contributes to life in this region. Today, the culture and presence of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples enrich the lands and people of this territory where �첥��Ƶ is located. Visit the official webpage to learn more about the cross campus Land Acknowledgment statements.

For those who currently have land acknowledgment text or related contextual content on your webpages, the preferred approach is to redirect to the new land acknowledgment webpage instead. This new webpage – which was created by Indigenous Initiatives unit in the Division of Equity, People & Culture – is the central location for resources and information including:

• All York’s official land acknowledgments with French versions for each one 
• Pronunciations 
• FAQs 

Redirecting will help ensure every webpage reflects the most accurate and up-to-date information aligned with our commitments and brand guidelines. Your partnership is essential to ensuring a smooth implementation and demonstrating our shared commitment consistently across the University. 

Thank you in advance for your support.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to our web team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for more hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: .

The post Update: �첥��Ƶ land acknowledgments appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

This is a perfect opportunity to tidy up your Media Library! Removing old or unused images and files can help your website run faster and smoother for your visitors.

Creating new folders:

1. Go to the Media Library on your website dashboard.
2. Click the folder icon at the top and create a new folder.
3. Name your folder and save.

Adding older photos to a folder: 

1. Go to the Media Library on your website dashboard.
2. Select the photo you want to organize.
3. Choose the folder you’d like to add it to.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to our web team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for more hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: .

The post Organize Your Website Photos with the New Photo Org Plugin appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

1) MODULE #44 – Full Width Video Background with CTA (New)

We’ve launched a brand-new Module 44, designed to create strong visual impact and drive engagement.

Module 44 – Full Width Video Background with CTA allows you to:

• Display a full-width background video
• Overlay headline and supporting text
• Add a call-to-action (CTA) button to guide users to key pages or actions

This module is best used for landing pages, campaign highlights, or sections where you want to grab attention and encourage user interaction.

These variations work with all existing features, including the built-in York icon library and the flexible layout (up to 4 items per row).

2. MODULE #26 – Featured Quote Block (New Slider Option)

Module 26 is used to highlight featured quotes such as testimonials, statements, or key messages. We’ve added a new Featured Quote Slider option so you can showcase multiple quotes within a single section.

Available Variations:

• Featured Quote (slider) – Rotates through multiple quotes with images in a slider format

The new slider variation is ideal when you want to highlight multiple voices or messages without taking up additional page space.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to our web team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for more hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: .

The post Updates to Module 26 & New Module 44 appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

Starting today, all community members can use the chatbot to instantly search and receive answers about topics related to Digital Experience Hub services, including:

• Website design and best practices
• SEO guidance and optimization
• Website modules (what they are, how to use them, where to find documentation)
• Technical analytics and insights
• Web accessibility and AODA requirements
• General information about the Digital Experience Hub

This tool is intended to make support more interactive and help you quickly locate the information you need without searching through multiple pages.

Please note:
This is our first version of the AI Chatbot - a trial phase. You may notice limitations or areas for improvement. We will continue refining responses, expanding its knowledge base, and improving accuracy over the coming months.

What you can expect from this first release:

• Instant answers to common website and digital experience questions
• Searchable content covering our most-used modules
• Quick guidance on SEO, analytics, and AODA
• 24/7 availability

As we continue to expand this tool, we welcome your feedback so we can improve its functionality and ensure it meets the needs of our community.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to Web Team at��cpadigit@yorku.ca��or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here:��

The post Introducing the New AI Chatbot for the Digital Experience Hub appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

1. MODULE #17 – Quick Links with Icons

We’ve added four new colour variations so you can better match your page’s design and branding needs.

New Variations Available:

• Black
• Dark Grey
• Medium Grey
• York Red

These variations work with all existing features, including the built-in York icon library and the flexible layout (up to 4 items per row).

2. MODULE #20 – Highlight Module Block

Module 20 now includes three new watermark styles, allowing you to create more visually engaging highlight sections while staying text-focused.

New Layout Options:

• Highlight with Emblem – Adds a subtle emblem behind the column content
• Highlight with Watermark Full Width – Expands the watermark across the full width of the module
• Highlight with Large Emblem – Features a bolder, larger emblem for stronger visual emphasis

These new styles are ideal when you want to draw attention to important information without introducing full imagery.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to Web Team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: 

The post New Updates to Module 17 & Module 20 appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

An apparent machform vulnerability in their file upload has been exploited leading to a great number of inappropriate files being loaded onto our servers.   The links to these files have subsequently been propagated into the wild and our servers have been inundated with requests for them.     

As a result, we have had to completely block external access to a few machform sites that were hit the hardest and restrict access via PPY to the rest to avoid further exploitation.   We understand the terrible inconvenience this causes but there was not a good alternative.   We have been suggesting that moving active public forms to another platform such as Gravity Forms or MS Forms may be necessary as we sort this out. 

This attack is an important reminder that all website owners MUST follow best practice regarding the forms on your website. Currently forms without anti-spam protections are highly vulnerable, which can lead to several issues: 

1. Excessive Spam Submissions – Bots can flood forms with irrelevant or malicious content, overwhelming servers and inboxes and making it harder to process legitimate requests.������
2. Reputation & Security Risks – Spam submissions may contain harmful links or inappropriate content, potentially damaging the credibility of �첥��Ƶ’s online presence.��
3. Resource Drain – Staff time is wasted filtering out illegitimate entries, reducing efficiency and slowing down response times to genuine requests.��
4. System Strain – High volumes of automated submissions can put unnecessary load on servers and databases, impacting overall website performance.��

Equally important in our data security is the type of documents uploaded.   

We put our users and ourselves at risk by requesting upload of sensitive documents such as passports, drivers, licences, birth certificates, medical documents, etc. Machform, in particular, does not load or store documents securely so we cannot use it for these types of sensitive and personally identifying documents. 

To mitigate these risks, it is strongly recommended to implement anti-spam parameters such as: 

• A skill testing question on the form (with exact match)��
• Rate limiting or submission throttling��
• Basic input validation and filtering��

These measures not only protect your forms but also ensure a better user experience for prospective and current students, faculty and staff, and external partners who rely on �첥��Ƶ websites for accurate and timely communication. 

Here are some steps you can do to reduce harmful docs being added to our servers: 

1. Delete old forms - many forms are still digitally available even after they have expired. If your form is no longer relevant, please delete it so digital bots cannot crawl and find it.����
2. Decommissioning unused form sites – please let UIT know if a machform site is no longer needed so that it can be decommissioned completely.
3. Review submissions and delete harmful docs uploaded – review your form submissions and delete any submissions that have harmful (this is common for PDFs)��
4. File Upload restrictions - If you have a file upload make sure anti-spam parameters are added to the form as these can be added to our server from external sources����

If you would like support in reviewing or updating your forms, please don’t hesitate to reach out to best safeguard �첥��Ƶ’s digital environment. 

The post Important protection reminder reducing spam on forms appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

• Overview of Central Calendar
• How to add Shortcodes

Training Video:

(Action required) Notification System – As a reminder and update we are launching a new notification system (a new plugin AI built – how cool!) that will identify when a event has been added that relates to your area. So what I need is for you to review the categories and let me know what categories and/or tags you want a notification from when tagged. Please send the list to this email cpadigit@yorku.ca by Fri. Sept. 12. If you do not send by this date we will just make assumptions on the relatable categories/tags.

As always if you have any questions please reach out!  

The post Central Events Calendar Super User Training Update appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

1. York Module Naming Update

We’ve updated the naming of York Modules to make them easier to distinguish from standard WordPress modules. All York Modules will now start with a capitalized “MODULE” for clarity and consistency. For example, our accordion module is named “MODULE #10 – Accordion”, while default WordPress modules might appear as “10.Accordion” or simply “Accordion.”

Please ensure you use the York Modules when building website so that everything renders correctly and aligns with our brand standards.

2. New DAY Faculty Showcase Module Now Available

We’ve added a new Faculty Showcase feature to Module 37 (/digitalexperiencehub/modules-library/module-37/) to help you showcase faculty profiles more effectively. This feature is similar to other faculty showcases but focuses on highlighting information consistent with Discover York Academics (DYA).

The goal is to present a quick snapshot of a few faculty members and encourage visitors to explore their full DYA profiles for more details. While you can include as many faculty members as needed, we recommend keeping the total under 20 for the best user experience.

As always if you have any questions please reach out to our web team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for more hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here: .

The post New Module Naming Convention & Faculty Showcase Feature appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.

Key Details:

Maintenance Window: Wednesday, May 28 from 5:00 AM to 8:00 AM (ET)

• During this time, no changes will be possible.
• Some users, especially those attempting to make updates, may encounter unusual site errors.

Content Freeze Period:

To ensure a smooth transition, we are implementing a content freeze starting Monday, May 26 until the migration is complete.

• What’s still possible: Minor edits to existing pages (e.g., text or image updates)
• Please do not: Creating new sites or pages, installing new plugins, or making major structural changes

We appreciate your understanding as we carry out this upgrade. As always if you have any questions please reach out to Web Team at cpadigit@yorku.ca or join us for our weekly drop-in sessions for hands-on support, taking place every Wed. at 1:30pm. Invite link can be found here:

The post Planned Maintenance Notice: Central WordPress Database Migration appeared first on Digital Experience Hub.