A Landing Page, often used as a GRC WordPress site’s home page, is a Page made up of three WordPress pages: the main content area and two additional pieces: the Top area (nasa_landing_top), which is optional, and the Right sidebar (nasa_landing_right).
The Top area is the blue area used mostly for emphasis. The Right area is the right sidebar. To set up a landing page, follow these steps.
Example of a NASA Landing Page
1. Create three new pages (or create two new pages, if you’re turning your Home Page into Landing Page): 1) the Main (or Home) content page, 2) the Top area and 3) the Right area.
- Make note of the IDs of your Top and Right pages as you create them. The ID will be the last number in the administration URL. For example, as I edit this page, I see the URL http://wordpress.grc.nasa.gov/wp-admin/post.php?action=edit&post=111 in my browser, so I know that the post ID is 111.
- As you create your Top and Right pages, make their “Parent” to be your Main page via the Parent dropdown.
Attributes of Parent and Template in Page Administration. Use "Template" in your Main Page, and Parent in your "Top" and "Right" Pages.
2. Go back to edit your Main page and assign the Main page as a Landing Page, under “Template” in the Page Admin page. Then add the following two Custom Fields:
- Key: nasa_landing_right Value: Page ID for the right content. (100in the example)
- Key: nasa_landing_top Value: Page ID for the top content. (99 in the example)
The Top and Right areas are designated in the Custom Fields of the Landing Page.
3. Tip: With the “Page Links To” plug-in installed (the settings for which appear at the bottom of any Page or Post admin page), set the page redirect to root for both your Landing Top and Right by simply adding “/” in the field labeled “Point to this URL.” (This prevents site visitors from seeing this page part by itself; and, conveniently, when you preview the page in the administration area, you’ll be presented with the page as a whole, rather than just the part.
4. Finally, right before the site is launched, in the settings for the plug-ins Dagon Design Sitemap Generator, Google XML Sitemaps and Search Unleashed (or Search Everything), enter the IDs of both the Home Top and Home Right pages into the fields that ask you to specify any “Excluded Pages” or “Excluded Posts.” This will prevent these special pages from appearing in either these site maps or the search results.
Formatting & Style Notes
Top Content
The top content consists only of the blue introductory, bold text. Therefore, it should be short and not overly formatted. You can have multiple paragraphs.
Right Content
The right content can contain any formatting you wish, but keep it brief. Use <h3> specifically for the specially styled headings (blue, bottom border). Be sure inserted images are resized to be no more than 150 pixels wide, by using the thumbnail version of any image and reducing its width appropriately.
