Setting Up a Blog

To create a blog you'll need four things:

1. A main blog page
2. An archive Structure
3. A blog post Structure
4. Blog posts

Note that 1-3 can all be created for you in the Site Grower setup process.

Creating a main blog page

Note: this can be created for you when using the initial Site Grower process setting up a new site if you include a blog page in the pages step.

Your main blog page is the page on your site that will be the entry point to your blog. It will likely have a URL like, yoursite.com/blog.

On this page, you'll want a list of your latest blog posts.

The easiest way to create this page is to use a page template from the Blog folder. Do this while in builder mode by clicking on "New" in the top toolbar, then clicking "New From Template," and then going to the "Blog" folder.

Alternatively you can create a new page from scratch and use the Posts module. Make sure that when configuring your posts module, you leave the Post Query Source as "Custom," which is the default. 

By default, the Posts module will load the last ten posts.

You can then design your posts module by changing settings in the "Design" tab:

Creating an Archive Structure

Note: this is created for you when using the initial Site Grower process setting up a new site.

The archive Structure is what will be shown when someone clicks on a category or tag link on your blog posts. It shows the posts of that category, tag, etc.

If you already have an archive Structure created and you just want to edit it, you can go to the top left toolbar menu, then "Structures," then "Set Defaults," and then click the "Edit Structure" button for the Archive:

If you do not already have an archive Structure created, you can create one by clicking "New" in the top toolbar, then "New Structure." You can call this new Structure whatever you want, but it is recommended to call it something like "Archive."

When designing your archive Structure, you'll want to be sure to include 2 main things (in addition to the Header and Footer). The title of the page, and a Posts module. Use a Heading module for the title of the page and connect it to the Post Title:

This will ensure that the title of the archive page shows the name of the particular category, tag, etc. that is being shown.

Next, you'll want a Posts module, this time set up to use the "Main" query source, which means it will just use whatever the default query for the page is (this is the desired behavior of an archive page, where WordPress is already telling the posts module what posts to load).

An archive Structure does not need a Content module.

Once your archive Structure is created, you will need to set it as the default Structure for the Archive type. Go to the top left menu, then "Structures," then "Set Defaults," then select your new Structure from the dropdown beside Archive, then click "Save Defaults."

Creating a Blog Post Structure

Note: this is created for you when using the initial Site Grower process setting up a new site.

The blog post Structure allows you to set up the general design of your individual blog posts.

If you already have a blog post Structure created and you just want to edit it, you can go to the top left toolbar menu, then "Structures," then "Set Defaults," and then click the "Edit Structure" button for the Blog Post:

If you do not already have a blog post Structure created, you can create one by clicking "New" in the top toolbar, then "New Structure." You can call this new Structure whatever you want, but it is recommended to call it something like "Blog Post."

When designing your blog post Structure, you'll want to be sure to include 2 main things (in addition to the Header and Footer). The title of the post, and a Content module. Use a Heading module for the title of the page and connect it to the Post Title (as is show in the Archive Step above).

This will ensure that the title of the blog post is always shown when viewing a blog post.

Next, you'll want to add a "Content" placeholder module. This is where the content of the blog post will be shown.

Once you've finished designing your blog post Structure, you will need to set it as the default Structure for the Blog Post type. Go to the top left menu, then "Structures," then "Set Defaults," then select your new Structure from the dropdown beside Blog Post, then click "Save Defaults."

Creating Blog Posts

Once you have those three pieces in place, you're ready to create blog posts!

To create a blog post, just click "New" in the toolbar, and then "New Post with Structure." By default, the default Blog Post Structure will be the selected Structure.

Click "Create," give your blog post a title, and you'll have your first blog post.