Location

Help constituents know where to find your organization.

Why use this content type?

Location pages help constituents know where to find you, how to get there, and what they can (or can’t) do once they arrive. Each Location page features an interactive map, so potential visitors can see where your location is and easily get directions from Google Maps, whether on a desktop or mobile device.

Location pages are linked from either an Organization page or Service page. Once you’ve created your Location page(s), you’ll be able to add them to an Organization via an “Add Organization Locations” button under the “Content” tab or a Service page via the “Map” tab.

Note: If you add more than 1 Location page, Mass.gov will automatically generate a Location Listing page. A map featuring “pins” for each location will display wherever you put your Locations content on your Org page, or at the bottom of your Service page. If you click the button on the left of the map, you’ll be taken to the Location Listing page.

Creating a Location page

Since the purpose of a Location page is to provide information about where to go, how to get there, and other methods of contact make sure you’ve created a Contact Information item with an address and hours of operation before creating your Location page.

To save a draft of a Location page, you’ll need to fill out/make a selection in the following sections:

Title
Location type
Primary Contact
Banner image
Organization(s)
Parking

Header

Title

The title should be a clear and complete name for the location. Try to keep it short and free of abbreviations when possible. Only use acronyms if they’re well-known to the public (ex. RMV).

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.

Location subtitle

Add a location subtitle to define the location (ex. “Region 5,” “Cash or check only,” or “Limited services”). This optional field will only appear on a Location Listing page.

Location type

You can choose from 2 location types, general or park. If you’re not creating a page about a state park, you'll choose "general."

Primary Contact

Primary contact features the primary address and contact information for your location. This means you will need to have first created a Contact Information item before creating your Location page. Only Contact Information with an address and hours of operation can be used.

Location icons

You can easily note certain features offered by your location by selecting location icons. These icons will appear on the Location page, while the accessible icon will also display on the Location Listing page.

For general locations, you can choose:

Transit friendly
Accessible

For park locations, you can choose the 2 icons above, plus:

Dogs Allowed
Historic Site

Do you have any tools that help people decide to go to a location, such as a wait time estimator? You may embed this here via an iFrame (up to 230px wide).

Banner image

Your banner image should visually prepare visitors for what to expect once they arrive. For general locations, please provide a photo of the exterior front of the location or building. If you’re creating a park location, please provide a picture that is both attractive and represents the features of the park. The orientation of the image should be horizontal, and it should be at least 800 x 400 pixels. You can adjust the focal point to make sure the right part of the image remains in view on small screens (e.g. mobile phones). Once you’ve added an image, use the little white crosshair in the Banner image preview to pick the focus.

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 page 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.

Organization(s)

You’ll find the Organization(s) field at the bottom of the first tab in every Mass.gov content type, and in documents. This field tells Mass.gov’s search which pages belong to which organization.

This field also powers the "Offered by" relationship indicator (the small green rectangle(s) in the upper left corner) on each Mass.gov page. Making sure yours is right will help users who land on your content find their way to your Organization Page.

Intended audience

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

Label(s)

This is optional, however it is very helpful. Add one or more labels to be used to used for grouping and finding related content and documents within the CMS.

Start typing in the label(s) field to choose an existing label from a dropdown menu that will appear or add a new label by entering it directly.

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.

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

Learn more about collections.

Required Details

Overview

A good overview tells people what they can do or what to expect when they visit your location. These should be brief, typically 2-5 sentences.

Parking

You’ll need to provide details about parking. If there’s no parking available, please say that or list alternatives.

Optional Details

Facilities

This and other sections under the “Optional Details” tab allow you to share a little more about what visitors can do (or can’t do) when at your location. Here, list the facilities, features, and attractions available at this location in 1 or more sections, possibly using bulleted lists.

Services

List the services available at this location as a bulleted list.

This rich test field only appears on general locations, not parks.

Parks locations will include 2 additional fields: recommended activities and

all activities.

Recommended Activities

If you select recommended activities, you’ll need to add a title, image, and description.

You an also link to Location Detail pages via an autofill field. Location Details allow you to provide more specifics than the main Location page allows.

All Activities

An autofill field allows you to choose from a roster of activities, including basketball or ice skating.

Accessibility

A rich text field where you can add details if the site is accessible or offers accessible programming.

Restrictions

A rich text field where you can describe any restrictions at the site, such as no dogs.

More info

For supplemental information.

Highlight up to 3 related locations to let people know what’s nearby or what other locations provide similar features or services. These will appear on the bottom of general locations as “Related Locations” and at the bottom of parks locations as “Related Parks.”

While the CMS allows you to list more than 3 related locations, only 3 will appear on your Locations page. The Mass Digital development team is working on a change that will prevent you from listing more than 3 related locations in the future.

Quick Actions

Provide up to 3 links where a user can perform an action online or download a helpful document related to the in-person experience. These links will appear as quick action buttons at the top of the page.

Additional Contacts

You can add additional contacts to your Location page, such as a separate department based at the same location, alternate entrances, or seasonal offices. Again, you’ll need to have first created a Contact Information item before adding it here.