Blog Guide

Overview

Setting up a new blog and adding posts is simple and quick with the new blog editor. Two editing modes work together seamlessly so you can design the perfect blog for your business and update it easily with new posts that look great, have the content you want, and are optimized for SEO.

Smart Design –– Layout Mode

Layout Mode is where you set the structure for all of your blog posts, both current and future. In this mode, you set the layout for elements that appear in every post, such as blog title, author, main image, etc. These elements are connected to the content of individual posts, so that all posts have a consistent structure. This is important for SEO and makes your blog easier for visitors to read.

As for the content of each post, the space designated for this in Layout Mode is the content placeholder. You can’t edit the content here, but you can add elements around it. For example, you can add columns, rows and sections above, below and adjacent to the content placeholder.

Any changes you make in Layout Mode will be updated in all posts. For example, if you add a section under the content placeholder in Layout Mode, this section will appear, exactly as it appears in Layout Mode, in every blog post.

All of the changes you make in Layout Mode affect every blog post.

Flexible Content –– Post Mode

Post Mode is where you go to write individual blog posts. You have complete freedom over the content of each post (contained within the content placeholder section that’s visible in Layout Mode), and can add any widgets that you want. Editing a post is just like editing a page in the editor.

When you are in Post Mode, you can add any elements that you want to a specific post. For example, if you’re working on a post that has multiple images, you can add several Image widgets. If a specific post requires a map, add a Map widget here.

All of the changes you make to an individual post in Post Mode affect only that post.

Connected Elements

Connecting elements are what give your blog power and ease of use. These elements ensure that every blog automatically contains important details including title, author and image, and that these details appear consistently in every post.

You’ll be asked to enter the main post details as soon as you create a new post. You can change this information later, but adding it from the start keeps your posts organized.

By default, post title, author and background image are connected. You can remove these connections or change them in Layout Mode, but we recommend keeping them to ensure your posts have all the information they need for SEO and to be found easily by users.

If you disconnect an element, you can reconnect it or connect it to a new element.

Changing Connected Elements

There are two ways to change connected elements in your blog: By changing the content in Post Mode or by changing the connection in Layout Mode.

Changing Connections in Post Mode

Change the content of connected elements in one of the following ways:

• Via the Settings Menu: Click to open the post details and then edit.

• Click the connected element (for example, post author) and edit the text in the popup that opens.

Learn more about Post Settings

Changing Connections in Layout Mode

You can replace connected elements, or remove them altogether, in Layout Mode. To replace the connected element, click on the blue Connected Data icon to open the Connect Data popup. From here, choose the connected element you want to use for this connection and then click Done.

To remove the connection altogether, click “none”. This will remove this connection for all posts in the blog, and the element will no longer appear.

Learn more about Connected Data.

Manage Posts

Go to Manage Posts to do the following:

• Create new posts

• Access post settings via the gear tool

• Search posts by title and author

• Sort posts by status – draft or published

• Preview, duplicate or delete posts

• Edit posts by selecting the editing tool, clicking on the post name or clicking on the post thumbnail

• Publish or republish posts

There’s infinite scrolling and a search function here, so posts are easy to find.

Post Settings

Access the Post Settings for any post via the gear tool that appears beside the post name in Manage Posts. From here, you can scroll between posts via the arrows at the top of the page.

Post Settings is divided into three sections: Post Status, Post Details and Post Metadata. Here’s what you can do in each of these sections.

Post Status

From here, you can:

• Unpublish or publish a post

• Find and set the post URL

• Change a post publish date (changing the date will affect the position of the post in the Manage Posts page)

For more, see Setting Post Status.

Post Details

From here, you can add and edit the following main post details:

• Post title

• Post author

• Post main image

By default, these details are required for every blog post, and connected to the layout so they maintain a consistent design.

For more, see Setting Post Details

Post Metadata

From here, you can do the following:

• Set post thumbnail and alt tag

• Set post description

• Set post tags

For more, see Setting Post Metadata

Metadata is an important for SEO as it enables search engines to understand the content of a page. In the blog, the text you add in the Metadata fields is displayed in the All Posts and Recent Posts widgets and appears when posts are shared.  It is highly recommended to fill in the metadata fields.

Blog Settings

When you create a new blog, a pop up will appear that prompts you to name the blog and set a thumbnail, title and description for it. All of these details can be changed later in Blog Settings. This information is also used in RSS feeds.

Permissions

Permissions for the blog work the same as on other pages.

Once users are added to a site, their names will populate the author dropdown list.

Adding Blog Widgets

• The following blog widgets are available: All Posts, Recent Posts and Search Posts. This widgets make your blog accessible from any location on your site.   

• Any blog widget can be added to any post on your site. For example, you can add the All Posts widget for your home page and to your blog.

Considerations

• Draft or unpublished posts are not visible in the editor.

• Draft or unpublished posts are not visible in the All Posts widget.

• For changes in Post Mode to be visible online, you must republish the post.

• For changes in Layout Mode to be visible online, you must republish the site.