Working with Content Groups
NB: Content Groups are a very recent addition to PagePlay, so we're still getting this page updated.
What is a content group?
A content group gathers several content items on a page, such as paragraphs and photos, and gives them a type. The type decides how those items are laid out on your live site: side by side in columns, across a grid, as a rotating slideshow and so on.
You still edit each item exactly as you always have. The group simply tells your site how to arrange them, so the same simple PagePlay editor can build much richer page layouts.
[pending image of grid example]
Is it available on my PagePlay site?
Content groups are currently switched on for selected sites. If you click to insert an item and don't see Group Items on the insert bar, groups aren't enabled for your site yet.
To ask about having them added, email help@pageplay.com.
Group types
Group types are set up as part of your site's design, so the names and layouts you see may differ from the examples here. Every site with groups includes three standard types:
Feature
A section with an image shown as the background behind its content
Grid
Items sit side by side, 3 across on wide screens, then 2, then 1 on phones
Slides
Items rotate in the same space, such as photos or testimonials
Your site may have extra types designed especially for it. Some examples:
Columns
Two items side by side, stacking on narrow screens
Image Column
A featured image on one side and text on the other, alternating sides down the page; the image sits on top on phones
Hero
A large feature section, often with big text and buttons
Quote
A quotation with its attribution
[pending screenshot of type picker choosing]
How many items to put in a group
Each type has a minimum and sometimes a maximum number of items. Getting the number right is what makes the layout work.
Going over the maximum starts a new set. For example, 4 items in a Columns group (maximum 2) appear as two rows of two columns.
Falling below the minimum turns the layout off. If a set has fewer items than the minimum, those items show as ordinary content, without the group's layout. Nothing is lost, it just won't look like the type.
Plan in whole sets. For Columns or Image column, use an even number of items. A 3-item Columns group gives one row of two columns, then a single item shown as normal content.
Some types also expect particular content in a particular order, such as a photo followed by a heading and a paragraph. This varies from site to site. If you're unsure what a type on your site expects, email help@pageplay.com.
What can go in a group
Most single content items can go in a group, such as paragraphs and photos.
Items that contain other items can't, so you can't put these inside a group:
• lists
• galleries
• other groups
A group belongs to the page it was created on. To use a similar layout on another page, create a new group there.
Create a group
A group is made from items already on your page, so add at least one item to the page first.
1. Click where you want the group to go on the page.
2. On the insert bar, choose Group Items.
[pending screenshot insert bar with Group Items highlighted]
3. Choose a type from the list.
4. Select the existing items you want to include.
[pending screenshot new group in the editor, showing its items inside it]
Check how the group looks on your live site, including on a phone, to make sure it has the right number of items for its type.
Add, edit and move items
Items inside a group work just like items anywhere else on the page.
• Edit an item by clicking it, as usual.
• Add a new item by clicking where you want it inside the group and choosing from the insert bar.
• Move an item within the group, into it or out of it:
1. Hover over the item and click Move.
2. Click where you want it to go.
You can move a whole group around the page in the same way.
If you move the last item out of a group, the group is removed automatically.
[pending screenshot hovering an item inside a group, with the Move option showing]
[pending screenshot the drop positions shown while moving an item into a group]
Delete a group
When you delete a group, you're asked what to do with the items inside it:
• Keep the items to remove only the group. The items stay on the page as normal content.
• Delete the items to remove the group and everything in it.
There's no undo on PagePlay, so choose carefully. If you're not sure, keep the items: you can delete them one by one afterwards.
[pending screenshot the delete prompt showing the keep and delete options]
Troubleshooting
Group Items isn't on the insert bar
Groups aren't enabled for your site yet. Email help@pageplay.com to ask.
A group shows as normal content, not its layout
The set has fewer items than the type's minimum. Add another item to the group.
Some items appear in a new row or set
The group has more items than the type's maximum, so a new set has started.
I can't add a list or gallery to a group
Items that contain other items, including other groups, can't go in a group.
My group disappeared
Moving the last item out of a group removes the group.
The layout looks wrong
Some types expect certain content in a certain order. Email help@pageplay.com for guidance on your site's types.
Still stuck? Email help@pageplay.com and we'll help.