Homepage Blocks Overview & Configuration

There are a number of blocks available to you as a Lede publisher that allow you to curate content on your homepage in a meaningful way for your site and users. This article gives an overview of each of the blocks available under the “LEDE HOMEPAGE” section in the WordPress block inserter.

General Information

When editing the settings for a block, in the right settings sidebar, under the “Block” tab, ensure that the name of the block you are planning to adjust displays at the top.
Optional: You can add a link to any block heading by clicking on the Title you have added and selecting the “Link” option from the formatting bar which appears. Enter your desired link, which can be a link to another page on your site or an external link.

Post block overview

Block Name	Backfills chronologically	Can be curated	Can backfill by taxonomy
Featured Post	✅	✅	❌
Featured Posts	✅	✅	❌
Featured Topic	✅	❌	✅
Post Grid	✅	✅	❌
Post River	✅	❌	❌

Featured Post

The Featured Post block is a single Post Card used to display one, large featured post.

The Post Card can be manually curated to feature a specific post.
- Alternatively, the Post Card can be left un-curated, in which case it will backfill from recent posts on your site.
Alternatively, the Post Card can be left un-curated, in which case it will backfill from recent posts on your site.
Image-related options:
- Select whether the featured image for the post displays on the right or left side of the block.
  - Under “Image Alignment”, select the radio button for Left or Right according to which side you want the featured image to display on.
- Select whether the Category Eyebrow displays as an overlay in the top left corner of the featured image. The overlay color is your primary brand color, as set in Brand Appearance settings.
  - Toggle on/off “Show Category Eyebrow”.
- Select whether an outline displays around the featured image. The outline color is your primary brand color, as set in Brand Appearance settings.
  - Toggle on/off “Show Featured Image Outline”.
Select whether the featured image for the post displays on the right or left side of the block.
- Under “Image Alignment”, select the radio button for Left or Right according to which side you want the featured image to display on.
Under “Image Alignment”, select the radio button for Left or Right according to which side you want the featured image to display on.
Select whether the Category Eyebrow displays as an overlay in the top left corner of the featured image. The overlay color is your primary brand color, as set in Brand Appearance settings.
- Toggle on/off “Show Category Eyebrow”.
Toggle on/off “Show Category Eyebrow”.
Select whether an outline displays around the featured image. The outline color is your primary brand color, as set in Brand Appearance settings.
- Toggle on/off “Show Featured Image Outline”.
Toggle on/off “Show Featured Image Outline”.
You can choose to have a text-only version of the Featured Post block.
- Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
  - Note: The above image-related options are not applicable if Lede Lite is turned on for the block.
Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
- Note: The above image-related options are not applicable if Lede Lite is turned on for the block.
Note: The above image-related options are not applicable if Lede Lite is turned on for the block.

Post Grid

The Post Grid block is a grid with Post Cards used to display four posts.

Each of the Post Cards can be manually curated with specific posts.
- Alternatively, the Post Cards can be left un-curated, in which case they will backfill from recent posts on your site.
Alternatively, the Post Cards can be left un-curated, in which case they will backfill from recent posts on your site.
The layout of this block depends on the size of the space it is placed within.
- By default, the Post Grid displays as a horizontal grid of four posts.
- If placed within a narrow column, the Post Grid displays as a vertical grid of four posts.
- If placed within a wider column, the Post Grid displays as a 2×2 grid of four posts.
By default, the Post Grid displays as a horizontal grid of four posts.
If placed within a narrow column, the Post Grid displays as a vertical grid of four posts.
If placed within a wider column, the Post Grid displays as a 2×2 grid of four posts.
You can move the posts around by clicking on the Move Up/Move Down arrows on each Post Card within the grid.
You can add a custom heading at the top of the Post Grid block (“Post Grid Title”).
You can assign a custom color for the text and background within the Post Grid.
You can choose to have a text-only version of the Post Grid block.
- Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.

Comment of the Day

The Comment of the Day block can be used to prominently feature a comment of your choice from any post on your site.
- Note: Not all sites on the Lede platform have commenting enabled. Commenting is a premium feature on the Lede platform. If you would like to have commenting enabled on your Lede site, please submit a ticket.
Note: Not all sites on the Lede platform have commenting enabled. Commenting is a premium feature on the Lede platform. If you would like to have commenting enabled on your Lede site, please submit a ticket.
To configure the Comment of the Day block:
- Optional: Add a title or heading in the “Comment of the Day Title” field.
  - Example: “Comment of the Day”
- Optional: Add a description in the “Featured Comment Description” field.
  - Example: “Here’s what our readers are saying.”
- Optional: Add a Call to Action in the “Comment of the Day ctaText” field.
  - Example: “Subscribe to join the conversation” with a link to your products page.
- Add the username of the featured commenter in the “NAME (WHO SAID IT?)” field.
- Add the featured comment text into the “Comment Text” field.
- Link the Comment of the Day block to the post that the comment is from.
  - Click the Featured Comment block (the block nested within the Comment of the Day block that includes the Comment Text).
  - Under “Post Selector”, in the “Search for posts” search bar, begin typing the title of the post you’d like to curate until the correct post appears in the results. You can scroll through the results if there are enough displaying.
  - Click on the post that you’d like to curate. The selected post title will now populate in the Featured Comment block.
Optional: Add a title or heading in the “Comment of the Day Title” field.
- Example: “Comment of the Day”
Example: “Comment of the Day”
Optional: Add a description in the “Featured Comment Description” field.
- Example: “Here’s what our readers are saying.”
Example: “Here’s what our readers are saying.”
Optional: Add a Call to Action in the “Comment of the Day ctaText” field.
- Example: “Subscribe to join the conversation” with a link to your products page.
Example: “Subscribe to join the conversation” with a link to your products page.
Add the username of the featured commenter in the “NAME (WHO SAID IT?)” field.
Add the featured comment text into the “Comment Text” field.
Link the Comment of the Day block to the post that the comment is from.
- Click the Featured Comment block (the block nested within the Comment of the Day block that includes the Comment Text).
- Under “Post Selector”, in the “Search for posts” search bar, begin typing the title of the post you’d like to curate until the correct post appears in the results. You can scroll through the results if there are enough displaying.
- Click on the post that you’d like to curate. The selected post title will now populate in the Featured Comment block.
Click the Featured Comment block (the block nested within the Comment of the Day block that includes the Comment Text).
Under “Post Selector”, in the “Search for posts” search bar, begin typing the title of the post you’d like to curate until the correct post appears in the results. You can scroll through the results if there are enough displaying.
Click on the post that you’d like to curate. The selected post title will now populate in the Featured Comment block.

You can assign a custom color for the text and background within both the Comment of the Day block and its nested Featured Comment block.

Post River

The Post River is a vertical list of between two and ten posts. You can insert multiple Post River blocks on the page.
You can type a custom heading at the top of the Post River, “Title (Optional)”.
- You can adjust the color for this title text.
You can adjust the color for this title text.
To set the number of posts that display in the Post River:
- Under “Post River Options”, use the slider to adjust the number of posts in the block. Alternatively, you can type the number of posts you want into the “NUMBER OF POSTS” field.
  - Note: You can have a maximum of twelve posts in each Post River.
Under “Post River Options”, use the slider to adjust the number of posts in the block. Alternatively, you can type the number of posts you want into the “NUMBER OF POSTS” field.
- Note: You can have a maximum of twelve posts in each Post River.
Note: You can have a maximum of twelve posts in each Post River.
You can display a “See all posts” Call to Action (CTA) at the bottom of the Post River block. To display the CTA:
- Under “Post River Options”, click the “Display CTA” toggle.
- The “CTA URL” field will automatically populate with the /all URL, which will direct users to a chronological list of all posts on your website. You can adjust this if desired.
Under “Post River Options”, click the “Display CTA” toggle.
The “CTA URL” field will automatically populate with the /all URL, which will direct users to a chronological list of all posts on your website. You can adjust this if desired.
You can choose to have a text-only version of the Post River block.
- Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.

Sponsorship

The Sponsorship block displays a Sponsorship setup in the Ad Campaigns (Sponsorships) section of the WordPress Admin. An Ad Campaign with the target set to “Homepage Card” will display.
Only one Ad Campaign can be featured on the page at any one time. It is not currently possible to feature multiple, different Ad Campaigns on a page.
This block does not require a Google Ad Manager (GAM) account to use.
This block has no click tracking enabled at this time. You will not currently be able to gather data about how many users click on the Sponsorship block ad.

Featured Topic

The Featured Topic block displays up to four posts related to a specific taxonomy (Categories or Tags).
You can choose among a number of Featured Topic block layouts.
- Horizontal (default, three-column layout)
- Vertical
- Grid
- Two column
Horizontal (default, three-column layout)
Vertical
Grid
Two column
You can select the number of posts to display in the block, between one and four. By default, four posts will display in the block.
- Note: It’s recommended to ensure that the Category or Tag you select for this block contains at least the number of posts you have selected. If there are less than the number of posts you selected in the taxonomy, the block will only display however many posts exist in the taxonomy.
Note: It’s recommended to ensure that the Category or Tag you select for this block contains at least the number of posts you have selected. If there are less than the number of posts you selected in the taxonomy, the block will only display however many posts exist in the taxonomy.
To choose the taxonomy for the posts:
- Under “Featured Topic Options”, enter the name of your desired Category or Tag in the Term Selector field.
- Click the name of the taxonomy you’d like to curate.
Under “Featured Topic Options”, enter the name of your desired Category or Tag in the Term Selector field.
Click the name of the taxonomy you’d like to curate.
You can choose to have a text-only version of your Featured Topic block.
- Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
Toggle on/off “Lede Lite”.
You can add a custom heading at the top of the Featured Topic block, “Title (Optional)”.
You can assign a custom color for the text in the Featured Topic block.

To Curate a Post Card

Click on an individual Post Card.
Under “Post Picker” in the Block Settings, click “Select”. A “Select Post” modal will pop up.
Click on the post you’d like to curate from the recent options or search for the specific post you have in mind. Click “Select”. The selected post will now populate in that Post Card.
- Both published and scheduled posts are available for selection. If you select a scheduled post, it will NOT appear in the Editor or on the frontend of the site until the publish time. In the interim, a backfilled post will appear on the frontend of the site.
Both published and scheduled posts are available for selection. If you select a scheduled post, it will NOT appear in the Editor or on the frontend of the site until the publish time. In the interim, a backfilled post will appear on the frontend of the site.
If you want to change the curated post, click on the “Replace” button under the selected post in the block settings sidebar and select a different post from the “Select Post” modal.

To Un-Curate a Post Card

Click on an individual Post Card.
Under “Post Picker” in the Block Settings, click the “Reset” button.
The selected Post Card will now revert back to backfilled posts.

Setting the Text or Background Color on Blocks

You can assign specific text and/or background colors to some WordPress blocks. The ability to assign text and/or background colors to a block is indicated in that block’s settings. If a “Color” setting is not present in the block’s settings, you cannot customize the colors of that block.
To change a block’s text or background color, click on the block.
- Under “Color”, click “Text” or “Background”, then select your desired color. You can choose from your brand colors available under “Theme”.
Under “Color”, click “Text” or “Background”, then select your desired color. You can choose from your brand colors available under “Theme”.

To remove the selected text or background color, click the kebab menu (three vertical dots) labeled “Color Options” to the right of the “Color” heading.
- Click “Text” or “Background” to reset the color of the selected element to default. Or, click “Reset all” to reset them both.
Click “Text” or “Background” to reset the color of the selected element to default. Or, click “Reset all” to reset them both.

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