Setting Up Panels
Website navigation can make or break conversions. Historically, most sites used one navigation for the entire website with only minor changes throughout. But with so many dynamic page types, you deserve more control than that. You can tweak every other aspect of your different site pages, so why should navigation be any different?
NOTE: This is a continuation of our tutorial series on customizing navigation and sidebars on your website. We previously covered creating Widgets, which allows you to add predefined elements to different pages and Menus, which is list of navigation links.
What Are Panels?
When we use the term “panels” we’re referring to the upper menu, header, footer, and sidebars of your website. Within a panel, you can decide which links or widgets to display on each page.
For example, on your main feature page you may not want to have any sidebars, but on your blog a sidebar might be perfect for displaying relevant content.
Setting up Panels
Creating a Panel
There are 2 ways to create a new panel:
- From the left menu
- From within the Panel page
Once you’ve added a new panel:
1. Name your panel
2. Select which type of panel you want – you can see the active panels on the left, you can select which panels to activate on the right, as well as whether to include a menu and widgets
- Menu – A menu is a list of links that you setup and can add to one or multiple panels
- Widget – A widget is a small block that performs a specific function. Examples include showing a list of categories, calendar, recent posts, etc.
NOTE: We recommend creating the panel, saving it, and then going to the menu and widget sections to edit what displays in the panel.
3. Click save. You can always edit after saving.
Editing a Panel
To edit a panel, navigate to the main Panel page, hover over the panel you would like to edit, and select the Edit option.
Adding Panels to Your Content
Select Panel on Pages and Posts
Adding a category on a post page is a simplified process.
- Open a post or page
- Scroll to the Panels box – on desktop, it is in the right-hand menu, on tablet it is before the editor
Select Panel for Category
1. To navigate to the Category List page on the Left Menu hover over posts and click on Categories.
2. Hover over the category you want to edit and click edit
3. Scroll down to the Select Panel, select the panel you wish to use on the category from the dropdown list and save.
NOTE: Find out more about setting and designing your categories with our easy to follow Category and Tag tutorial
Changing the Default Panel
To change the default panel on the main Panel List Page:
1. Via the left menu, go to the Panel List page
2. Check the box next to the panel you would like to make default and at the top click the dropdown Bulk Actions and click Set as Default
Conclusion
Different templates and pages need different navigation and links. This can be a logistical nightmare to setup on most platforms. With Lunteer, have complete control over your headers, footers, and sidebars to maximize conversions.