Binders

Use for long-form reports, handbooks, or collections of content.

Why use this content type

The Binder ties together related content, including Advisories, Curated Lists, and Information Details pages. It includes a table of contents and other navigational tools that encourage users to read content in an order you set.

Alternatives to Binders

If you goal is to display a collection of links, categorized under subheadings, other options include:

Curated Lists, which offer a streamlined way to list links to content and documents
Information Details, which involve more manual organization of links but with the ability to present a more visually compelling page with images and videos
Flexible link groups on Service pages, which are parent pages designed to point people off to more specific child pages and documents

Overview tab

Title and Short description

As with other content types, write the Title and Short description using language you think your audience would use. It’s a good idea to Google your intended title to see if it’s identical to existing Mass.gov content.

Short title

Optional. This field is used to shorten the full title of a page when displayed in a breadcrumb. First aim to shorten the actual page title if it’s long, but not so much that the title is no longer clear if someone comes directly to a page from a search engine.

Binder Type

You’ll need to pick a Binder type. Currently, you can choose from 9 types:

Archive
Audit
Exam Results
Handbook
Law Library
Manual
Report
Resource
Tool Kit

Whatever you pick will appear as an "eyebrow" above the title:

If none of these reflects the content you want to include in a Binder, request a new one from the Mass.gov team through ServiceNow.

Banner image

Optional. Image will appear to the right of the title on desktops and underneath the title on mobile devices.

Binder organization

Enter the Organization page that's associated with this content in the Binder organization field. This field tells Mass.gov’s search which pages belong to which organization. ‌ This field also powers the "Offered by" relationship indicator that displays at the top of all Mass.gov pages. ‌ Making sure your Organization field is filled out correctly will help users who land on your content find their way to your Organization Page.

Overview Section heading and description

This information is what will be shown before your table of contents. This is an opportunity to briefly explain what people can expect to find on this page, or any background information that will be useful. This is a rich text field that can include images.

Parent page

The required Parent page field appears on all public-facing content types and it powers the breadcrumb-based navigation system.

The Mass.gov team prepopulated the field based on an analysis of which child pages belong to which parent pages. Each child can be assigned only 1 parent, or higher-level page.

These connections, displayed in the form of breadcrumbs (i.e., links) above the page title, will help Mass.gov visitors find their way to relevant information regardless of where they start on the site. The breadcrumbs are shown below the Parent page field as well within the CMS.

Labels

This is optional, however, it is very helpful. Add one or more labels to be used to generate a list of pages with that label or combination of labels. Start typing to choose an existing label or add a new one by entering it directly.

Be sure to create specific labels: the label field is shared across the whole site; your label should be unique and identifiable to prevent overlap with others.

Intended audience

This field isn’t being used yet, so there’s no need to fill it in.

Collections

Optional. Most content will not be in a Collection. Only add content to a collection if the collection creator has approved it. In that case, select any collections, topics, and subtopics for this content. Learn more about collections.

If you later need to remove a page from a Collection, go back into the page and uncheck the box and select Save.

Content Tab

Pages

Binders create connections among your content. When you make a Binder, you’ll want to prepare users for what the collection as a whole is about. Think of the Binder as a cover page for the content it contains.

You can include these content types in a Binder:

You can add content to a Binder either 1 page at a time or in groups. This choice shapes the Binder’s table of contents. For example, if you use the Add Page option, your page will receive its own entry in the table of contents. If you use the Add group option, you’ll create a chunk of pages that live under a subtitle — the group Name. This subtitle then appears as an expandable option in your Binder’s table of content:

Appendix

You can add files or pages to serve as an appendix to your Binder.

Downloads

Add links to new or existing documents.

Contact

Link to a new or existing Contact Information module to provide people with a contact for the information contained in the Binder.

Link to Mass.gov or external pages with content related to that in the Binder.

Helpful tips for creating Binders

Managing and moving blocks of content

To reorganize and order multiple pages, the show row weights feature is very helpful.

How Binders help users navigate content

When users are reading through a Binder, its pages will have special navigation tools. At the top of each page in a Binder is an expandable table of contents:

At the bottom of the Binder, users will find a link to the next page and to the Binder’s cover page.

Pages that Binders link to should have unique titles

Don’t assume everyone will get to the pages linked from your Binder via the Binder. Others might get to them via search engines, so you’ll want to make sure each individual page has a unique title, rather than something general such as “Executive summary” or “Conclusion.”