Summary Field

Provide a description of the content for every new page you create.

Summary

A young female marketing and communications strategist turns to smile at the camera; over her shoulder is a computer monitor displaying data trends.

When your web page appears in search engine results, users are given the page title, a link to the page, and a description of the page content. The description helps users decide if they want to follow the link to explore your content. You can, and should, control this description by thoughtfully crafting text for the Summary field. 

Audience

All content creators.

Why You Should Provide a Custom Summary and How to Do it

  • 1

    Default Settings: A Missed Opportunity

    By default, if the Summary field is left blank, an excerpt is taken from the beginning of the Page Content. Roughly the first one or two sentences is used. This default setting ensures that a description is provided in search engine results. 

    However, the first sentence may not be an effective, succinct description to drive traffic to your website. Digital Commons Support recommends that you provide a deliberate description for every new page you create as a best practice. 

    An empty Summary field on a Digital Commons web page while logged in for editing.
    Above: An empty Summary field on a Digital Commons web page.
  • 2

    Where the Summary Appears

    For many Content Types, the Summary does not display on the page and is only provided to users via search engine results. However, the Summary may also appear on both the page and on the Default View for: 

    Accordion
    Tab/Accordion Items

    Editing

    Blog summary field containing descriptive text about a research project
    The Summary field for this Blog Entry reads: "Continue following Jill to France where she dives further into the history behind La Concorde and concludes the Tale of Two Ships project."

    Search Results

    Google search results displaying the deliberate Summary provided for a Blog Entry
    Underlined in Red: The deliberate description provided in the Summary field displays in the search engine results.

    Blog Entry List View

    A blog entry list view displays the deliberate summary provided for the Blog Entry
    Digital Commons Default Views: The Default Blog Entry List View displays the deliberate Summary provided beneath the title and link to the Blog Entry. 

    Public Experience

    Example: A Tale of Two Ships: Wrapping up TOTS Research

    Blog entry from the Queen Anne's Revenge project
    If there were no deliberate description provided in the Summary field, search results would display:  "The “Tale of Two Ships” project aims to learn more about the history of La Concorde, the French slave ship that would become Blackbeard’s flag..."

    Editing

    A precise description provided in the Summary field as viewed in Edit mode.
    The Summary field for this Press Release reads: "Hands-on internship program strengthens North Carolina's cyber workforce while protecting critical digital infrastructure."

    Search Results

    Search engine results displaying the deliberate summary provided for a Press Release
    Underlined in Red: The deliberate description provided in the Summary field displays in the search engine results.

    Public Experience

    Example: NCDIT Cybersecurity Interns Help Stop Potential Threats to State Systems

    Sample Press Release displaying a Deliberate Summary
    If there were no deliberate description provided in the Summary field, search results would display: "Two cybersecurity interns with the N.C. Department of Information Technology (NCDIT) are already helping..."
  • 3

    Enter Text into the Summary Field

    • Enter text into the Summary field to display a deliberate description in search engine results rather than the default excerpt description.
    • As a best practice, aim for a descriptive summary between 50 to 160 characters. 
    • Our website quality scanning tool, DubBot, flags pages with missing, too short, or too long summary descriptions. Learn about DubBot SEO Checks.
    Accordion
    Tab/Accordion Items

    Editing

    The Summary field for a Landing Page containing a deliberate description for search engine optimization
    The Summary reads: Digital Commons provides our customers with DubBot, a tool you can use to track and improve your website quality and usability. 

    Search Results

    Search engine results for a Digital Commons Landing Page displaying the deliberate description entered in the Summary field
    Underlined in Red: The deliberate description provided in the Summary field displays in the search engine results.

    Public Experience

    The Summary for a Landing Page does not display on the page; it only displays in search results. 
    Example: Website Quality Monitoring