Customizing your Absorb Portal is a comprehensive task due to the various pages, and options available. To assist you with your customization, this article provides an overview of the different types of customization that can be performed, and how to implement it.
When customizing your Portal, it is important to take things one step at a time and define an overall style guide you will be adhering to. Determine the features of the Portal your Users will primarily be engaging with, and work down the list of items they will be seeing.
Do you want your organization logo present on the main page? Are you running any promotions at the time you would like to highlight? Are there default icons your user-base are familiar with that you would like to include? These types of questions are essential to determine the design choices you will be making, and where they should be implemented.
Aspect Ratio, Dimensions and Resolution
Most customization options require uploading images to then be used as Background Images, Icons or Posters. Four core components to understand using images for customization are aspect ratio, dimensions and resolution. These four elements combine to determine the end result of your customization.
| Element | Description |
| Aspect Ratio | Aspect Ratio is the proportional relationship between the width and height of an image or screen. It's usually expressed as two numbers separated by a colon, like 16:9 or 4:3. |
| Dimensions | Dimensions refer to the actual width and height of an image or screen, typically measured in pixels (e.g., 1920x1080 pixels). |
| File Size | File Size is the amount of digital storage space an image or file occupies, measured in bytes (e.g., kilobytes (KB), megabytes (MB), gigabytes (GB)). |
| Resolution | Resolution is the number of pixels contained in the display or image. It’s often described in terms of width x height (e.g., 1920x1080), but it can also refer to pixel density (PPI - pixels per inch). |
When customizing your Portal, there may be strict limitations for the image you upload, such as file size or dimensions. As an example, a favicon may only use small dimensions such as 16 x 16px or 32 x 32px, and requires a small file size below 300kb. Whereas a Course Poster or Background Image may support a wider variety of image dimensions, so long as the maximum file size is respected.
For more information, review the following article:
Aspect Ratio
Maintaining a consistent aspect ratio ensures that images and videos look proportional across different devices. For example, a 16:9 video will look the same on a widescreen monitor and a smartphone, though the size will differ.
If the aspect ratio is not maintained, images might get cropped or stretched, leading to distortion.
Dimensions
The dimensions of images and elements need to fit within the layout of the Portal. Larger dimensions might look great on high-resolution monitors but could be too large for smaller screens, causing layout issues.
Larger images with higher dimensions can increase loading times, affecting the user experience, especially on slower internet connections.
File Size
If your banner image is 5 MB, it might load slowly for Users with limited bandwidth. Compressing the image to reduce the file size to 500 KB can help maintain quality while improving load times.
Often images in their raw form, aren't effective for streaming online. A full resolution image, without editing or compression, may not be suited for online usage. The smallest file size possible, before image quality drops off, is often the best option when it comes to performance.
Resolution
Higher resolution images provide better clarity and detail. However, they also require more bandwidth and storage. Using high-resolution images ensures they look sharp on high-DPI (dots per inch) displays.
Images with higher resolution can be scaled down without losing quality, but scaling up low-resolution images can make them appear pixelated and blurry.
Department Templates
A Department Template is the overall configuration of how a Portal looks. It is possible to create multiple Department Templates, so that every User in a different Department has a custom visual experience. It is not required to create a new Department Template for all Departments, as the Parent Template (original) configuration will be inherited by all Departments without a unique Department Template.
Our documentation on Department Templates is available below:
- Department Templates
- Department Templates: Public and Private Dashboards
- Department Templates: Courses Tab
- Department Templates: Login Tab
- Department Templates: Settings Tab
- Department Templates: Theme Tab
Customizing the LMS
This section is broken down into different elements of the Portal that you may want to edit specifically.
Administrator & Learner Experience
The Administrator and Learner Experiences are the major touch points of any User in Absorb. Many of the choices that can be configured on one side, play a major role in the other. The articles below are specific to elements of the UI, such as backgrounds, login and tiles.
- Dashboard Background & Layout
- Dashboard Tiles
- Login Image
- Learner Experience: Design Assets & Image Specifications
- News Article Images
- Page Banners
- Welcome Tile Images
Courses
Customizing a Course of any kind may require creating specific images, or attracting an audience of a certain type. Customization options such as a Banners or Posters can be useful for this purpose. The following articles relate to customizing Online Courses, Instructor Led Courses, Curriculum and Course Bundles:
Absorb Learn Mobile App
The colours selected in the Theme tab of your Department Template will determine how the Mobile App appears to Users. The following article contains specifics about which colour, will appear where in the Mobile App.
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