While the Universal Page content type is ideal for most pages on your site, Article Pages provide greater flexibility and additional functionality when designing your homepage and landing pages.
Content can be displayed in a variety of custom blocks. All available custom blocks can also be viewed in our pattern lab.
The process for editing Article pages is a little different than other content types. We recommend spending some time trying out all of the different layout and block options to familiarize yourself with the configuration options.
Edit Metadata
Unlike Universal pages, the metadata and page content are managed separately for Article pages.
- Click on "Edit metadata". Note: This option will only appear for Article pages.
- Enter the page Title. The Title will be used as the value in the "title" tag for the page and will be shown in the browser's title bar. However, in most cases, the title will not be displayed on the page.
- Leave the Body, Tags and Image fields blank
- Uncheck the Published checkbox at the bottom of page if you want to work on page as a hidden draft
- Menu Settings: To add the page to your site’s navigation menu, check Provide a menu link. Select a Parent link if applicable.
- URL Alias: By default, URLs are generated automatically. Uncheck Generate automatic URL alias only if you want to create a custom URL (e.g., /name-of-page). Custom URLs can help search engines better understand your site’s structure. Example: This page is part of the Drupal Guide’s “Content Types” section: /drupal-guide/content-types/article-page
Edit Page Content
After saving the Metadata options, click on the Edit Content tab to begin adding content to your page.
Content on Article pages is organized into sections. Sections are horizontal containers, like layers of a cake, where you can add content blocks.
Sections
In the content area of the page, click +Add Section
Click the column layout you want for this new page section. Note: "One Column" sections display full width on the screen while "Tailwind One column margin" has narrow margins that provide white space to the left and right of the content block. Content blocks will display differently in different types of sections. Feel free to try sections with and without margins to determine the best layout for your page.
Under Configure Section:
Administrative Label - Provide a name for the block to help a user identify blocks on the page (Example: Student Testimonial). This label will not show on the published page.
Style List – You will typically leave this option blank (no choice selected) to allow the default theme styles to apply. However, you can utilize the margin and padding style options to adjust the spacing of the sections on your page.
Click "Add section" to insert the section on the page.
Content Blocks
After you add the Section, select and insert a content block. The content block will determine the type, layout and design of your content.
Click + Add block within your newly created section
Click +Create Custom Block at the top of the "Choose a block" menu. You will be selecting from a list of custom blocks that were created specifically for Tulane's Drupal theme.
Select the block type you want to use. Each block will have different configuration options.
Please note: There should only be one block in each section. Click +Add Section for every new block you add to your page. This will make it easier to keep track of your content and move sections up and down on the page as needed.
Do not add empty blocks to your page and then click Save. This will break the Article page.
Saving Your Changes
To save the page, scroll back to top of page and click the green Save Layout button. Note that your changes will not display on the published page unless you click the "Save layout" button after updating the content blocks. While changes appear immediately to logged-in users, it may take up to three hours for updates to appear for public visitors.
Editing Existing Content
- Click the Edit Content tab at the top of the page
Scroll down to the block you want to edit and hover your mouse over the pencil icon at the top right of the block. Click the pencil icon and select "Configure" from the dropdown list
- Click the blue Update button after making edits
- To save the page, scroll back to top of page and click the green Save Layout button.
Page Revisions
After your initial page creation, make sure that "Create New Revision" is checked off at top right of the Edit Metadata page every time you go back in and make edits to the page. In the Revision Log Message, you can enter info regarding the changes you're making to the existing page.
Under the page's Revisions tab, you can see the page's version history and can revert back to a previous version if needed.
Article Page Content Blocks
Accordions work well for breaking up long blocks of text into an expandable/collapsible view.
Accordion Example
Basic blocks have the standard toolbar and can include text, images and template snippets.
Basic Block Example
The Carousel block creates a slideshow of images that users can navigate through using arrows provided.
Content blocks include some combination of an image, header, title, description and call to action link.
There are several "view modes" available -- each view mode provides a slightly different display of the content. Once the content is dropped into the fields, you can switch displays using the View Mode dropdown.
Images:
- Using One Column layout: horizontal, vertical, square images work nicely in vast majority of the Content block views
- Using Tailwind One Column Margined layout: vertical images work better with most Content block views due to the narrow margins
Examples of all view modes:
- Contentblock1*
- Contentblock2
- Contentblock3
- Contentblock4*
- Contentblock7
- Contentblock8
- Contentblock9*
- Contentblock10
*Do not use Tailwind One Column Margined with Contentblock1, Contentblock4 or Contentblock9 view mode
Call to Action blocks allow for a prominent link button with optional descriptive text above it.
CTA Example
Hero blocks allow for a prominent banner/heading across the top of a page.
There are several "view modes" available -- each view mode provides a slightly different display of the content. Once the content is dropped into the fields, you can switch displays using the View Mode dropdown.
Hero images should be at least 1800 pixels wide for best quality. Please compress images before uploading to Drupal.
Hero videos should be under 50 MB and must not include any audio (spoken words, music, etc.). For improved accessibility for all visitors, avoid fast, sweeping shots, as they can be distracting or cause dizziness for visitors with cognitive disabilities or certain medical conditions.
Examples of each view mode:
View Modes Using the Focal Point Tool for Image Media:
Several newly added view modes now support the Focal Point module, which allows you to define the most important area of an image for responsive display.
- Hero 2 Extra Wide Responsive Example 1
- Hero 2 Extra Wide Responsive Example 2
- Hero Narrow Extra Wide Responsive Example 1
- Hero Narrow Extra Wide Responsive Example 2
When uploading or editing an Image media item, a crosshair tool will appear over the image. Click on the most important area—such as a face or key object—to set the focal point. This ensures that the selected area remains centered and visible across all responsive crops and layouts throughout the site. Use the “Preview” button (with the magnifying glass icon) to see how the image appears at various responsive sizes. You can adjust the focal point as needed. This feature is also available for existing images.
Note: If an uploaded image does not render properly after saving, edit the image again and click the Preview button to trigger the responsive view modes to render correctly. And after previewing the image, click 'Save' once more for good measure.
Image & Text blocks contain side by side image and text with optional small and main titles above them.
There are two "view modes" available -- each displays the content the same way but one has a dark green background and the other has a light blue background. Once the content is dropped into the fields, you can switch displays using the View Mode dropdown.
Examples of both view modes:
Image Content Grid blocks display photos in rows of 2, 3 or 4. Each photo in the grid can be hyperlinked (but it's not required). If you include an image description, it will appear below the photo.
Examples of all view modes:
The Masonry Grid block is a photo grid layout that does not have a fixed row height and places images based on available vertical space. This grid layout works best with a minimum of 12 photos.
Photogrid blocks display photos in rows of 3. Each photo in the grid can be hyperlinked (but it's not required). If you include an image description, it will appear in a green overlay when you hover over the photo.
Pulled Quote blocks display text on the page as an attention-grabbing visual element.
There is no need to include quotation marks in the Quote field or a dash in the Attribution field.
Quick Links blocks create a prominent grid of button links with a gold textured background.
Quick Links Example
Quote Images blocks display quotation text in white over an image. The quotation/attribution text can float either to the right or left.
A Social Media Icons Block allows you to add a row of departmental or school social icons to an Article page
The Standalone Image block allows you to upload a single image on the page.
If you'd like an image to run full width across the page, the compressed image must be at least 2000 pixels wide.
Standalone text blocks provide four ways to display short blocks of text.
There are four "view modes" available -- each view mode provides a slightly different display of the content. Once the content is dropped into the fields, you can switch displays using the View Mode dropdown.
Examples of all view modes:
Statistics blocks allow numerical data to be displayed in a visually appealing way.
There are several "view modes" available -- each view mode provides a slightly different display of the content. Once the content is dropped into the fields, you can switch displays using the View Mode dropdown.
Examples of all view modes:
The Youtube video block allows you to embed a video on the page. Use One Column for a full-width video. Use Tailwind One Column Margined for a video with margins.
All available custom blocks can also be viewed in our pattern lab.
