Understanding Cascade Errors

Posted: October 25, 2022 | Author: Mark Whittaker | Read Time: 3 minutes

Creating content for the web can be trickier than it seems. The editing environment looks a lot like a Word or Google Doc, but can often behave just differently enough to cause frustration. In addition, there are different standards that need to be followed for web editing that may not exist in print documents, or they might be new concepts for editors. There are also considerations specific to the Cascade environment. The Web Services team realizes that there's a lot to remember, so we added some helpful alerts to remind editors.

When in doubt, ask for help!

Before we get into the errors, what they mean, and how someone might start fixing them, we want to remind everyone that we are more than happy to help. It is totally acceptable to see any of these errors and turn to a member of the Web Services team to assist in resolving the issue. In fact, that's a big part of why we started using them in the first place. The errors are loud and jarring so that editors might pause and ask what's going on with their content. Don't hesitate to reach out to Web Services for help with any of the alerts mentioned in this article.

Common error messages

Page title length

The page title is used by the browser and search engines to identify a page. Google results will truncate long titles, so we try to keep them short enough that the full title will appear. Long titles can also get cut off in browser tabs, causing confusion for users with multiple tabs open. The Character Count Tool can help keep titles within limits.

Page description length

Similar to titles, long page descriptions will be truncated in search results. A good description serves as a brief summary of a page, and tries to use relevant keywords that users may be searching for. The Character Count Tool can help keep descriptions within limits.

Internal links

The chain icon is used when a link is going to a page somewhere in the www.suu.edu domain, and was created using a Cascade External Link.

Internal links are an incredibly useful tool in Cascade. These links maintain a relationship between pages, so when one is changed, we can make sure we also update any connected content. This feature also helps us prevent deleting assets that may be connected to other pages.

Sometimes you can't create a proper internal link because you do not have Cascade access to the page. We'd be happy to help you resolve that issue.

Flagged headings

A flag icon means that a second level one heading has been found on the page. It is important that each page has one, and only one, set of <h1></h1> tags.

External links

This error is very similar to the flagged links, except that it is for links in the following domains:

• my.suu.edu
• help.suu.edu
• catalog.suu.edu

Unlike other pages, several of these links exist as an "Exit Link" and can be found in the exit links folder on Cascade. You will need to be logged in to Cascade to access this folder. Exit links are used for SUU resources that are referenced a lot so updates can be made easily when a change occurs. It allows us to treat these links as internal links.

Glowing image borders

A glowing red border around an image means the image's alternative text was set to a filename. This causes a problem for users who rely on assistive technology like screen readers.

Blurred images

An image will appear blurred out if the alternative text is empty or set as decorative. Empty alt text can be valid, and the blur can help an editor determine if their image is decorative.

If the content still works with a blurred image, it is permissible to leave the alt text blank. If the blurred image results in a loss of information or function, alt text is required.

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Again, please reach out to Web Services if you come across any of these errors and need help resolving them. We're also more than happy to provide additional information or training on any of the topics covered.

Tags: Web Services