Featured Content

Featured Content is displayed just below the main navigation for a site. This area is reserved for two options that allow you to highlight content, events, or initiatives for your department/area/unit. Slides for the featured content area are powered by the most recent Posts, by Published date, in a particular category.

In short, the featured content area will not just display any posts, it knows that a particular category is where it should look for posts. The name of the category is set by the site’s administrators, but it can be changed at any time by going to Theme Options > Featured Content and choosing a different category. Note: To remove the featured content area from the front page altogether, do not choose a category.

FC sliderFeatured Content Slider

This is the default option in the Featured Content area. The Featured Content Slider creates a slideshow of up to 6 of your most recently published posts. These posts should also have a “featured image” attached to them and sometimes they require an excerpt.

 

 

 

FC stackerStory Stacker

This feature can be enabled in the Theme Options under Featured Content. The Story Stacker is a different way to showcase featured content. Rather than a slide show effect, the Story Stacker transitions the images without any movement effect. The story stacker is limited to 3 stories, however.

To enable the Story Stacker, click on Appearance in the Dashboard Navigation Menu, and select Theme Options. In the Featured Content tab, check the box under the Story Stacker heading. Then, click on Save Options and the Story Stacker will now appear on your front page.

 

Creating a Slide

featuredimageTo create a slide, click on Posts in the Dashboard Navigation Menu, and then select Add New. Give your post a title that is short and to the point. Next, select the Category the post needs to be included in so it will appear in the featured content area. Then add your content including all media you want visitors to be able to see upon clicking on the slide.

 

 

 

slider-ss
Story Stacker Images: 630×305 pixels

 

 

slider-lrg
Full-Width Images: 930×325 pixels

 

slider-sm
Half-Width Images: 450×305 pixels

 

Each slide needs a featured image, and you can set the featured image by clicking on Set featured image in the Featured Image box and choosing an image from your Media Library. You should choose an image that is of high quality and larger than you might need. Low-resolution images could become distorted looking and look unprofessional. In the Featured Image box, the recommended sizes for featured images are listed.

In the Featured Content Slider Options, you can change the text of the button for the slide from Read More to whatever your preference is. You can also check the box for a Full-Width Image to make the image stretch across the entire slide instead of appearing as a smaller bordered image. This box must be checked for a full-width image regardless of how large the feature image you have chosen is. The site will not automatically know to do this.

Excerpts can be specially crafted and short introductions to the post that will be displayed on the slide. If no excerpt is included, the site will automatically use the first few sentences of the post as an excerpt.

Editing a Slide

Since each slide is actually a post, to edit a slide, you will follow the same procedure as editing a post. Click on Posts in the Dashboard Navigation Menu, then click on All Posts. Click on the title of the post you are looking for and it will become editable.