Introduction
This tutorial will explain how to add new items to the carousel on the homepage. The images/titles in the carousel belong to "featured" posts from one of the existing Post Types on the site (News Articles, Press Releases, etc.), and either link to the content of the post, or redirect to a selected webpage. The first section of this tutorial explains how to create standard featured posts, which will add an image to the carousel, and direct visitors to the content of the post.
In addition to creating standard featured posts, you can also create featured posts that redirect visitors to a webpage. This can be useful, as you may wish to highlight a newly created page within the site. The end result will display your chosen image and title in the carousel, however, when a visitor clicks the link, they will be redirected to the page, and not the content of the post.
There are two methods used for creating a featured post that redirects to a webpage, which depend on whether the page you will be redirecting to is internal (Ex. a page within the site that highlights a specific issue), or external (Ex. a relevant page on a separate website). These methods are explained in sections two and three of this tutorial.
Section 1 - Creating a Featured Post
Step 1 - Select the Post Type
A standard featured post will add an image to the homepage carousel, which will link visitors to the post's content. Begin by logging into HillTop and mousing over the "Posts" tab (located in the menu at the top of any HillTop page) to create a drop-down menu.
This menu will list the site's existing Post Types. Click the title of the Post Type that you will be using to create the featured post (News, Press Releases, etc.). This will bring you to the page for your selected Post Type. Here, the existing posts can be edited or deleted, and new posts can be created.
Step 2 - Create a new Featured Post
From the Post Type's page, click the "+Create" button, located at the top of the right sidebar. This will bring you to the "Add (Post Type)" form.
Begin by entering the Title, which will appear as a link in the carousel. Next select the publication/creation date for the post.
After entering the title and date, locate the "Image" section, The image attached to the post will appear in the carousel.
- If you will be uploading a new image, click the "Upload Image" button. This will open a file browser, which will allow you to navigate to the image file on your computer. After locating the the image file, double-click it, then click "Select this Image" to attach it to the post.
- If you have already uploaded the image to the Warehouse, click the "Choose file from warehouse" button. This will open a pop-up window listing the current image files in the Warehouse. Use the search box, or scroll through to locate the appropriate image, then click the "Select" button to the left of the thumbnail to add it to the post.
Once the image is attached, enter the main body of text in the "Content" field. The information entered in this field will be shown to your visitors when they click on the carousel item.
If you would like the post to appear in the carousel immediately, ensure the "Published?" option is set to "Yes.
Next, locate the "Feature Groups" section. Here, you should see an option for "Homepage," along with a checkbox and "From" / "To" fields. Tick the checkbox, and enter the dates your post should be displayed in the carousel in the "From" and "To" fields. To display the post indefinitely, enter a start date in the "From" field, and leave the "To" field blank.
Once the "Feature Groups" section is complete, click the "Submit" button to create the post. The remaining fields and options can be left at their default settings. Once the new featured post has been created, it will appear in the first position on the carousel.
Section 2 - Redirecting a Featured Post to an Internal Page
Step 1 - Create a new "Redirect Post Type"
If you will be redirecting your visitors to a page within your own Web site, follow the steps below. If you will be redirecting to an external page, not on your Web site, see the section below.
The first step is to create a Post Type that is set to redirect to your chosen page. Begin by mousing over the "Posts" link, located at the top of any HillTop page, to create a drop-down menu. In the menu, click on "Manage Post Types."
This will bring you to a page which lists the existing Post Types. Here, click the "+Create" button, located in the right sidebar.
Clicking the link will bring you to the "Add Post Type" form. Begin by entering a title that describes the purpose of the Post Type (ex. "Agriculture Bill Homepage Redirect"). Next, enter the title again, in both the "Singular Record" and "Plural Record" fields.
In the "Website Page" drop-down menu, locate and select the page that you will be redirecting to. The carousel item will be linked to the page selected here.
Note: If you are unsure of the page path, right-click the "Pages" link, located in the menu at the top of the current page, and select "Open link in new tab" / "Open link in new window," or similar.
This will open a separate window or tab, listing the existing pages on the site. Use the "quick search" box to search for the title of the page you would like to redirect visitors to. Locate the appropriate page in the list of results, then note the information in the page's "Path" column. Select this path in the "Website Page" drop-down.After selecting the "Website Page," scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Submit" button. The remaining fields and options can be left at their default settings.
Step 3 - Create a Featured Post
Now that the Post Type has been set up to create the redirect, you will need to add a single post to the new Post Type. Begin by mousing over the "Posts" link, located at the top of any HillTop page, to create a drop-down menu. In the menu, click on the name of your new Post Type.
This will bring you to a page that will list the posts that have been added to the Post Type (currently blank). Here, click the "+Create" button in the right sidebar. Clicking the button will bring you to the "Add (Post Type)" form.
- First, enter the title, which will appear in the carousel on the home page.
- Next, select a publication date for the post in the "Date" field.
- Use the "Image" section to upload a new image ("Upload image" button), or select a previously uploaded image ("Choose from warehouse" button), which will be shown in the carousel.
- In the "Content" field, you will only need to enter a single space, as the post's content will not be displayed to visitors (all posts must have at least one character entered in this field, in order to be submitted successfully, and a space meets this requirement).
- After adding a space to the "Content" field, locate the "Feature Groups" section. Here, tick the checkbox for the "Homepage" Feature Group, and enter the dates it should be displayed. To display the post indefinitely, enter a starting date in the "From" field, and leave the ending date, in the "To" field, blank.
Once the "Feature Groups" section has been completed, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Submit" button. Your image should now be displayed in the carousel, and clicking the title should redirect to the page that was selected in the first step.
Note: To create redirected posts for additional Web pages, these steps will need to be repeated. Each subsequent page you would like to link to from the featured section will require its own redirect Post Type and Post.
Section 3: Redirecting a Featured Post to an External Page
Step 1 - Create a New "Redirect" Page
If you will be redirecting your visitors to an external page, the process includes one extra step, where you will create a new Web page that is set to redirect to an external page.
Begin by creating a new HillTop page - this page will redirect to the external page where you would like to send your visitors. Click the "Pages" link, located in the menu at the top of any HillTop page. This will bring you to a list of the existing pages on the site. Next, click the "Add new page" link, located in the right sidebar. This will bring you to the "Add Page" form.
Here, enter a title for the page. Note - the page title will not be visible to visitors, and can describe the page's function. For example, if you will be redirecting to a page about an agricultural issue, the page could be titled "Homepage Agriculture Redirect (Do Not Delete)," or similar.
Once you have entered the title, locate the "Section" field, which lists the existing pages, and their paths on the site. The page will not appear in the site's menu system, and can effectively be added to any section.
However, you may wish to select a section that is related to the content on the page that your visitors will be redirected to. For example, if you are redirecting to an external page that references an agricultural issue, you could select "Home / Issues / Agriculture" for the section.
After selecting a "Section," locate the "Show in Menus?" option. This option must be set to "No." By selecting "No," the page title will not appear in the site's menu system - whether in the main navigation menu, or the "Related" sidebar sections.
Next, you will create the redirect for the page. Locate the "Redirect to URL" section, and enter the full URL (http://...) of the external page you would like to redirect to. Once the new item has been added to the carousel, visitors who click the title will be sent to the address entered in this field.
After entering the URL, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Submit" button. The remaining fields and options on the form can be left at their default settings.
Step 2 - Create a New Post Type
The next step is to create a Post Type specifically for the redirect page. Begin by mousing over the "Posts" link, located at the top of any HillTop page, to create a drop-down menu. In the menu, click on "Manage Post Types."
This will bring you to a page which lists the existing Post Types. Here, click the "+Create" button, located in the right sidebar.
Clicking the link will bring you to the "Add Post Type" form. Begin by entering a title that describes the purpose of the Post Type (ex. "Agriculture Bill Homepage Redirect"). Next, enter the title again, in both the "Singular Record" and "Plural Record" fields.
In the "Website Page" drop-down menu, locate and select your newly created redirect page. Note, the last entry in the paths listed here will be the page's title. Returning to the earlier example, a page titled "Agriculture Homepage Redirect (Do Note Delete)," that has been assigned to the "Home / Issues / Agriculture" section, would be listed as "Home / Issues / Agriculture / Homepage Agriculture Redirect (Do Not Delete)" in this drop-down.
By selecting the new redirect page as the Post Type's "default page," viewing any Post that has been added to this Post Type will automatically redirect to the page that was selected in the "Redirect to URL" field, in the previous step.
After selecting the "Website Page," scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Submit" button. The remaining fields and options can be left at their default settings.
Step 4 - Create a Featured Post
Now that everything has been set up to create the redirect, you will need to add a single post to the new Post Type. Begin by mousing over the "Posts" link, located at the top of any HillTop page, to create a drop-down menu. In the menu, click on the name of your new Post Type.
This will bring you to a page that will list the posts that have been added to the Post Type (currently blank). Here, click the "+Create" button in the right sidebar. Clicking the button will bring you to the "Add Post" form.
- First, enter the title, which will appear in the carousel.
- Next, select a publication date for the post in the "Date" field.
- Use the "Image" section to upload a new image ("Upload image" button), or select a previously uploaded image ("Choose from warehouse" button), which will be added to the gallery/carousel on the homepage.
- In the "Content" field, you will only need to enter a single space, as the post's content will not be displayed to visitors (all posts must have at least one character entered in this field, in order to be submitted successfully, and a space meets this requirement).
- Locate the "Feature Groups" section. Here, tick the checkbox for the "Homepage" Feature Group, and enter the dates it should be displayed. To display the post indefinitely, enter a starting date in the "From" field, and leave the ending date, in the "To" field, blank.
Once the "Feature Groups" section has been completed, scroll to the bottom of the page and click the "Submit" button. Your image should now be displayed in the carousel, and clicking the title should redirect to the page that was entered in the first step.
Note: To create redirected posts for additional Web pages, the steps of this tutorial will need to be repeated. Each subsequent page you would like to link to from the featured section will require its own redirect page, Post Type, and Post.