Add a Page
IN THIS ARTICLE
Regardless whether you're adding a Dynamic, Event, or Business page, the basics of creating and manipulating a page are the same.
Just make sure you're choosing the best page type for the content you're adding. Dynamic Pages will make up much of your site content, while Event Pages should be used for anything which has a date, and Business Pages are used when creating a searchable directory of non-dated info.
Spark locations:
Site Map > (under any section) + Add A New Page
or
Events > + Add a New Event
or
Businesses > + Add a New Business
Creating the Page
- Add a title
- Select a template from the dropdown menu. Find out more in the article 'Create & Manage Templates'.
- Save - any time the exclamation mark is blinking next to 'Pending changes' and the Save button is orange, Spark is reminding you that recent changes have not been saved
- After saving, you'll see at least one section and one module (depending on the template you chose), as well as an expanded tool box.
- Sections divide the page into blocks which can be configured with 1, 2 or 3 columns
- Modules are building blocks for content and can be added or moved to any column
Sections
Use the ... (aka the PowerDots) in the top right corner to manage a section.
- Edit - This 'opens' the section and allows you to add a heading. You can also trigger this by clicking the top bar. Headings always display in the H2 font size, so this might not be appropriate on some pages. You can always add headings of different sizes using text/gallery modules.
- Copy - Sections can be copied within the same page, or to another page of the same type (dynamic pages can copy to other dynamic pages; events to events; businesses to businesses). All modules in the section are copied as well. Copies on the same page will appear highlighted in orange immediately below the parent section. Copies sent to other pages will initially appear at the bottom of that page (also in orange)
- Two / Three Column - Two Column sections have three options: they can be split 50/50, left justified (wider left column) or right justified (wider right column). Three Column simply splits the section in three equal content areas.
- Add Section... - Dividing your content between sections allow you to use sections with different columns, and control how your content displays on mobile screens.
- Hide - Hidden sections are ghosted-out on the design page, and will not be visible once the page is saved and viewed on your public site.
- Schedule it - Scheduled sections can be set to appear and/or disappear from a page on selected dates, and even at specific times.
- Delete - This will permanently remove the section AND all the modules within. Be aware that there is no 'undo'!
- Move - You can move any section above or below other sections by grabbing the 4-way-arrow icon in the top bar to drag it to another position. OR, you can use the 'Move to' options.
Modules
Mouse over an existing module and blue buttons will appear above & below - this is how you add more modules.
Use the ... (aka the Power Dots) in the top right corner to manage a module.
- Copy - Modules can be copied within the same page, or to another page of the same type (dynamic pages can copy to other dynamic pages; events to events; businesses to businesses). Copies on the same page will appear highlighted in orange immediately below the parent module. Copies sent to other pages will initially appear in a new section at the bottom of that page (also in orange)
- Display - This switches the module out of Edit mode. You can also trigger this by clicking the top bar. While editing, a heading box appears above the module content area. Just like Sections, Headings always display in the H2 font size, so this might not be appropriate on some pages. You can always add headings of different sizes using text/gallery modules.
- Hide - Hidden modules are ghosted-out on the design page, and will not be visible once the page is saved and viewed on your public site. Required modules (which differ depending on page type) cannot be deleted, but they CAN be hidden!
- Schedule it - Scheduled modules can be set to appear and/or disappear from a page on selected dates, and even at specific times. These work independent of their parent section, so be careful that you coordinate the dates/times. You won't want to have a hidden Section which includes a module which should be appearing.
- Delete - This will permanently remove the module from the page. Be aware that there is no 'undo'!
- More Options - This is available on some Modules. It opens a secondary control panel below the module content area. When this panel is open, the main panel will display 'Hide Options'.
Get full details on each of the Modules in the article Using the Content Modules.
Tools
- Save - You're probably already familiar with this, but as a reminder, when the Save button is orange it means you've made changes to the page which have not been saved.
- View - Clicking this will open the page in another browser tab. You'll see it the same way the public sees it. EXCEPTION: the page will not be viewable if it has been deactivated in the Site Map.
- Copy Link - It simply copies the public URL to your computer clipboard. It's a quick way to grab the URL if you want to create a link to it from another page, to add to an email, or to promote on social media.
- Settings / SEO - This opens a window with several settings specific to the page.
- List / Unlist the page
- If you have a Member site, you can select the page as 'members only' content.
- Schedule a date & time for the page to go live on your site (great for announcing events)
- You can modify the page URL (as long as it's unique)
- Add SEO title, description and keywords. For specific details on those features, take a look at the article SEO Tools
- Preview - This will display whatever is currently active in your page, but you still need to Save the page before it will appear on your site. Keep an eye out for that orange save button!
Desktop Tablet Phone
- User Access - You can limit visitor access to the page by setting a password, along with a message which appears when the page first loads.
- Once a user has submitted the correct password, they'll have full access to the page and the password will be stored in their browser cookies.
- Each page can have just one unique password.
- Site admins can be marked for instant access when they're logged in.
Layout Ideas
Sometimes the hardest part of managing a website is deciding how your pages should look. Making it visually appealing while also easy to read yet concise is a challenge for even the most seasoned layout pros. Check out the sample layouts in this article for some inspiration.